English Grammar: The Noun
⚠️ The Core Concept
Words are NOT born as Nouns.
A word becomes a Noun only when it functions as a Subject or Object in a sentence.
Don’t look at the word; look at the work it does.
1. Detailed Classification of Nouns
A. VISIBLE (Everything you can see/touch)
1. Person: Rohit Teacher Student Mother
2. Place: Delhi School Kitchen Village
3. Thing: Pen Car Mobile Water
B. UNIT (Measurement & Counting)
1. Count: Dozen Pair Score Gross
2. Measure: Liter Meter Kilogram Inch
3. Money: Rupee Dollar Pound
C. FELT ONLY (FAQS – Abstract Nouns)
These have no physical body. They are concepts understood by the mind.
|
F – Feeling
Love Hate Anger Joy |
A – Action
Laughter Theft Movement Choice |
Q – Quality
Honesty Bravery Wisdom Height |
S – State
Childhood Youth Poverty Sleep |
Note: “Laughter” is an Action Noun because it is the name given to the act of laughing.
D. NOUN EQUIVALENT
Definition: Words that are structurally Adjectives or Verbs but function as a Noun in the sentence.
- VERBIAL NOUN Smoking is injurious.
(Here ‘Smoking’ is the Subject name of an activity). - ADJECTIVAL NOUN The Rich should help the poor.
(Here ‘Rich’ means ‘Rich People’, acting as the Subject).
2. Contextual Analysis (Identity Crisis)
Below are proofs that a word changes its identity based on the question it answers.
1. Word: “HOME”
ADVERB
Kiran went home.
Logic: Went Where? → Home.
Because it answers “Where” (Place), it is an Adverb.
Because it answers “Where” (Place), it is an Adverb.
NOUN
Shikha loves her home.
Logic: Loves What? → Home.
Because it answers “What” (Object), it is a Noun.
Hint: “Her” (Possessive) confirms a noun follows.
Because it answers “What” (Object), it is a Noun.
Hint: “Her” (Possessive) confirms a noun follows.
2. Word: “LOVE”
VERB
They love cricket.
Logic: It is the Action done by the subject “They”. It shows doing something.
NOUN
Love is blind.
Logic: What is blind? → Love.
It is the Name of a feeling (Subject).
It is the Name of a feeling (Subject).
3. Word: “TOMORROW”
ADVERB
I will come tomorrow.
Logic: Come When? → Tomorrow.
Answers “When” (Time), so it is an Adverb.
Answers “When” (Time), so it is an Adverb.
NOUN
Tomorrow never comes.
Logic: What never comes? → Tomorrow.
Answers “What” (Subject), so it is a Noun.
Answers “What” (Subject), so it is a Noun.
English Grammar: The Noun
1. Identification Method: The Question Test
The Golden Rule: To find a Noun, go to the Verb (Action) and ask these 3 questions. If you get a logical answer, that answer is a Noun.
WHO?
For Subject (Person)
WHOM?
For Object (Person)
WHAT?
For Things/Abstract
2. Practice Lab: Finding Nouns in Sentences
-
1. Ram called Shyam.Who called? → RamCalled Whom? → ShyamExplanation: “Ram” is the person doing the action (Subject), and “Shyam” is the person receiving the action (Object).
-
2. The sun shines brightly.What shines? → SunExplanation: “Sun” is the thing doing the shining.
Note: “Brightly” answers “How?”, so it is an Adverb, not a noun. -
3. She bought a car.Bought What? → CarExplanation: “Car” is the object being bought.
Note: “She” is a Pronoun replacing a person’s name, so we don’t label it a Noun here. -
4. Honesty is the best policy.What is best? → HonestyIs What? → PolicyExplanation: Even though you cannot see “Honesty” or “Policy”, they are Nouns because they are the names of a Quality and a Concept.
-
5. Poverty brings sadness.What brings? → PovertyBrings What? → SadnessExplanation: Both are Abstract Nouns. “Poverty” is the name of a state/condition, and “Sadness” is the name of a feeling.
-
6. Laughter is the best medicine.What is best? → LaughterIs What? → MedicineExplanation: “Laughter” is an Action Noun (the name of the act of laughing). “Medicine” is a visible Thing.
-
7. I have two dozen bananas.Have What? → DozenOf What? → BananasExplanation: “Dozen” acts as a Unit Noun here (Subject of the count), and “Bananas” is the Thing.
-
8. Give me a liter of milk.Give What? → LiterOf What? → MilkExplanation: “Liter” is the name of the measurement unit. “Milk” is the name of the material.
-
9. This bag weighs five kilograms.Weighs What? → KilogramsExplanation: “Kilograms” is the Object here because it answers the “What” of the weighing action.
-
10. He spent a thousand rupees.Spent What? → RupeesExplanation: “Rupees” is the currency unit.
(Tricky Point: “Thousand” here is an Adjective describing how many rupees). -
11. Smoking kills people.What kills? → SmokingKills Whom? → PeopleExplanation: “Smoking” looks like a verb, but it is the Name of the activity (Gerund), so it is a Noun.
-
12. The brave fight alone.Who fights? → The BraveExplanation: “Brave” is usually an Adjective, but “The Brave” represents a group of people (The Brave People), making it a Noun Equivalent.
-
13. Tomorrow never comes.What never comes? → TomorrowExplanation: Here “Tomorrow” is the Subject (the name of the concept), not an adverb of time. It answers “What”, not “When”.
-
14. Walking improves health.What improves? → WalkingImproves What? → HealthExplanation: “Walking” is the name of the exercise (Gerund Noun). “Health” is the name of the state (Abstract Noun).
-
15. To err is human.What is human? → To errExplanation: “To err” means “to make a mistake”. This whole phrase acts as the Subject Noun (Infinitive).