Definition of noun if the second step for the subject the noun in English Grammar. So, you might think.
What comes first?
Isn’t it?
The first comes the meaning of noun. If you have read it, continue reading here. Else I would recommend you to read the first subject.
You will find little difference between the two. You may take both the term equally as well.
The Definition of Noun
We have been coming across the definition of noun since our childhood. Let us see some below-
Noun is a naming word.
You can say this is the simplest and shortest definition of the subject.
Let grow up and see some other one.
A noun is a name of a person, place, or thing. Like – Saurabh, California, table, etc.
I think this definition is good enough to work. However, there is another definition. Let us see it.
Nouns are naming words. They are the names of persons, places, animals, things, qualities, actions, feelings, etc.
So, this is the third definition of noun. We will see this definition in detail.
Let’s go into details of the definition of noun
Name of Persons
First, we see that noun is the names of persons. See the noun examples below-
- My brother is a tallboy.
- Her sister is Birju Kumar.
- The postman is working in the office.
Here in the sentences, you can see many names. Brother, tallboy, sister, Birju Kumar, and the postman are the names of persons. That is why they are nouns.
Names of Places
Secondly, we see that a noun is the name of places. We can make it clear with the examples below.
- My school is located at Amari, Azamgarh.
- The bus stand is near to temple.
- Lucknow is in India.
Let us examine the above sentences. Amari is a place that is a village. Azamgarh is also a place that a district. Temple is a place where people offer prayers. Lucknow is a city. India is a country. So here, in all the sentences, the words in bold show places. Therefore, they are nouns.
Names of Animals
Here in this section, we see that a noun is a name of animals. Let’s have look at the following sentences.
- Cows are the mother of Hindus in India.
- The mongoose does not like snakes.
- Dogs are trendy among human beings.
Here, in the sentences, there are many animals. They are cows, mongoose, snakes, and dogs. These words are the names of animals. Therefore, all the words are noun.
Let us go to the next one for the subject of the definition of noun.
Names of Things
Here, we know that a noun is a name of things. It means all the items can be listed as nouns.
Let’s see the examples below.
- The bulb is glowing white.
- Put those books in the almirah.
- My classroom has three windows and two doors.
Let’s observe all the above noun sentences. Here in the sentence, there are many things like bulb, books, almirah, windows, and doors. They all are the names of things. That is why they all are nouns.
Names of Qualities
A noun is a name of qualities as well. If there is a quality in a sentence, that is a noun.
See the examples below for clarification.
- Honesty does not grow on trees to pick quickly.
- Patience fetches the victory for a person.
- Hard work is long ago forgotten to be the key to success.
In the above sentences, honesty, patience, and hard work are the qualities of a man. And we know that the names of qualities are called nouns. So they are nouns.
Amazing! You have come to the end of the subject, the definition of noun. Here is the second last headline.
Keep it up.
Names of Actions
The names of the actions show that they are nouns. All the terms of activities are nouns.
See the examples and observe yourself.
- Everyone enjoyed the music at the fair.
- Reema is crazy after the songs of Jagjit Singh.
- No one wins the race without practice.
After observing the above three sentences, you can see three activities – music, songs, and race. They can be termed noun be
cause all the names of actions are called nouns.
Names of Feelings
A noun is also a name of feelings. It may be any kinds of emotion – a sad one or a happy one. The following examples explain it better.
- All the children at the party were happy.
- Our teacher tries to control his anger.
- Everyone exclaimed in wonder.
All three sentences have some feelings. The first sentence show happiness. The second one shows anger, and the last one shows wonder. So all these feeling can be said to be nouns.
Let’s conclude the definition of noun
We can conclude the definition of noun by saying –
A noun is the names of persons, places, animals, things, qualities, actions and feelings.
If you are clear about the subject – the definition of noun, you can move onto the types of noun. And for the practice of noun examples, you can work on noun examples sentences.
Underline the nouns from the following sentences to make the definition of noun clear.
- All the quadrupeds run very fast in forests.
- The cuckoo is the bird that sings in a very shrill voice.
- You do not give correct answers.
- Butchers are not respected well in the society.
- Dogs have curved tails that can not be straightened.
Underlining correct nouns in the above noun examples sentences, you will prove your understanding of the definition of noun.