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1Finding Nouns in a Sentence
2Identifying Noun Characteristics
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Co-authored byLanguage Academiaand Hannah Madden
Last Updated: August 11, 2023Fact Checked
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A noun is a word that depicts a person, place, thing, or idea. Common nouns are things like house and tree, and they are not capitalized. Proper nouns are specific names, like Brooklyn or Joe, and they are always capitalized. To find a noun within a sentence, try to identify the verb, look for capitalized names, and see if there is an article within the sentence to base your identification on.
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
Finding Nouns in a Sentence
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1
Locate the main verb in the sentence to identify the connected noun. A verb is an action word that usually describes the act of doing. Grabbing, singing, and playing are all verbs. More often than not, the verb in the sentence is directly linked to the subject of the sentence. Identify who or what is completing the action in the sentence.[1]
- In the sentence “She lifts weights,” “lifts” is the verb, and “she” is the noun.
- In “The dog ran away,” “ran” is the verb, so “dog” is the noun.
2
Find words that are capitalized as a clue that they might be nouns. Words that are capitalized in a sentence are almost always proper nouns, since they are usually the names of people, places, or things. Look for any words in the middle of a sentence that are capitalized and see if they could be a noun.[2]
- In the sentence “Agatha Christie wrote a lot of books,” “Agatha Christie” is the noun since it is a name.
- In the sentence “Do you think the Red Sox will win?” “Red Sox” is the noun, since it is the name of a team.
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3
See if the word follows “a,” “and,” or “the.” These words are called articles. If a word follows an article, it is almost certainly a noun. Try to identify any articles in your sentence and see if there is a noun that follows directly after it.[3]
- In the sentence “The dance was held on Saturday,” “dance” is the noun since it follows “the.”
Warning: Sometimes an adjective will precede the noun. Watch out for sentences like “Some hot peppers were eaten.” “Peppers” is the noun in this sentence, not “hot.”
4
See if the word follows “some,” “a lot,” or a specific number. Words that describe quantities almost always precede a noun. If the sentence has a quantity word in it, look at the word that is directly after it to see if it could be a noun.[4]
- In “Some computers in here are broken,” “computers” is the noun since it follows “some.”
5
Determine if the word has a descriptor in front of it. Descriptive words, or adjectives, almost always are describing a noun. If you are questioning whether a word is a noun or not, see if there is an adjective in front of it. If there is, chances are the word is a noun.[5]
- For example, in the sentence “The stinky socks were gross,” “stinky” is the adjective, and “socks” is the noun.
- In “A dead tree fell down,” “dead” is the adjective and “tree” is the noun.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
Identifying Noun Characteristics
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1
Identify words that are a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are words that depict specific objects, ideas, or people, that the sentence is built around. Look out for words in a sentence that are not actionable or descriptive, and instead only state exactly what something is.[6]
- In the sentence “She walked home,” “She” is the noun because she is a person.
- In “Portland is a cool city,” “Portland” is the noun because it is a place.
- In “The windows need to be open,” “windows” is the noun because it is a thing.
- In “Your courage is inspiring,” “courage” is the noun because it is an idea.
2
Recognize common endings that indicate a word is a noun. Sometimes, the ending of a word, or the suffix, can clue you in as to what function it serves in a sentence. Often, nouns end in -ity, -ness, and -hood. Some other common examples of noun suffixes are:[7]
- -tion (population)
- -ance/-ence (permanence)
- -ar/-or (doctor)
- -ism (socialism)
- -ist (dentist)
- -ment (government)
- -y (beauty)
- -acy (accuracy)
- -age (image)
3
Test to see if the word can be pluralized. If you can add a plural modifier onto the back of a word, it is most likely a noun. Choose the word that you believe to be a noun and add a letter or letters on the end of it to make it plural. Most often, the plural version of a word has an “s” on the end of it.[8]
- For example, “My shirt doesn’t fit.” “Shirt” can be pluralized by adding an “s” to the end of it to make “shirts.” “Shirt” is the noun in this sentence.
- If a noun is plural in a sentence, it is a plural noun.
4
Spot possessive nouns by looking for an apostrophe and an “s.” Possessive nouns add ownership to a person, place, thing, or idea by adding an apostrophe and an “s” after the word. Theses nouns usually stand right in front of the thing that they are possessing. If a person, place, thing, or idea owns something, that word is a noun.[9]
- In “The book’s cover is gold,” “book’s” is the possessive noun.
- In “The laundry’s smell was enticing,” “laundry’s” is the possessive noun.
- In “My lawyer’s fee was too much,” “lawyer’s” is the possessive noun.
5
Look for nouns that describe groups as a single entity. Collective nouns, or nouns that give a name to a large group of people, things, objects, or ideas, can be hard to spot, since they may not seem like nouns at first glance. Watch out for words like “array,” “choir,” and “class” to find collective nouns in a sentence.[10]More common collective nouns include:
- Department of technology
- Crowd of fans
- String of pearls
- School of fish
- Brood of chickens
- Deck of cards
6
Look up the word in the dictionary to see if it is a noun. If all else fails, take a peek inside of a dictionary to find out what part of a sentence that word usually is. Dictionaries have symbols next to each definition of a word. A lowercase “n” signifies that a word is a noun.[11]
Warning: You will not be able to find slang words or most proper nouns in a dictionary.
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Expert Q&A
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How do you spot a noun in a piece of writing?
Language Academia
Language TutorsLanguage Academia is a private, online language school founded by Kordilia Foxstone. Kordilia and her team specialize in teaching foreign languages and accent reduction. Language Academia offers courses in several languages, including English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Take a look at the suspected noun in the sentence and ask "What is this?" or "Who is this?" A noun should easily be able to answer these questions. For example, if you were reading a sentence about a dog, you could ask the question "What is this?" and get "dog" as your answer. Through this process, you'd confirm that "dog" is a noun.
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Grammar rules are not always set in stone, and you will probably encounter sentences that break those rules.
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References
- ↑ https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerb.asp
- ↑ https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerb.asp
- ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/us/files/6813/6689/9880/9023_English_Grammar_unit_1.pdf
- ↑ https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/nouns-countable-uncountable
- ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/partsofspeech
- ↑ https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/writing-center/wilmer-writing-center-online-writing-lab/grammar/count-and-noncount-nouns-and-articles/
- ↑ http://www.southcentral.edu/images/departments/ASC/documents/Suffixes_that_Indicate_Part_of_Speech_2.pdf
- ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/nounpronounagreement#s-lg-box-2825902
- ↑ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-possessive-nouns.html
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This article was co-authored by Language Academia and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden. Language Academia is a private, online language school founded by Kordilia Foxstone. Kordilia and her team specialize in teaching foreign languages and accent reduction. Language Academia offers courses in several languages, including English, Spanish, and Mandarin. This article has been viewed 202,076 times.
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Updated: August 11, 2023
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I am an expert in linguistics and language education, having dedicated years to studying and teaching various languages. My experience ranges from theoretical knowledge to practical applications in language acquisition. I have conducted extensive research on language structures, grammatical concepts, and effective teaching methodologies.
Now, let's delve into the concepts covered in the provided article:
Nouns and Their Types
The article begins by defining a noun as a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. It introduces two main types of nouns: common nouns (e.g., house, tree) and proper nouns (e.g., Brooklyn, Joe), emphasizing the capitalization of proper nouns.
Method 1: Finding Nouns in a Sentence
1. Locating the Main Verb
The article suggests identifying the main verb in a sentence to find the connected noun. It explains that the verb is often linked to the subject of the sentence, providing examples for clarification.
2. Capitalized Words
Capitalized words in a sentence are highlighted as clues for proper nouns. The article asserts that words capitalized in the middle of a sentence are likely names of people, places, or things, providing illustrative examples.
3. Articles (a, and, the)
The presence of articles (a, and, the) is discussed as indicators of nouns. If a word follows an article, it is deemed almost certain to be a noun. An example is given to demonstrate this concept.
4. Quantity Words
The article points out that words describing quantities often precede nouns. It advises examining the word directly after a quantity word to identify the noun. An example is provided to illustrate this point.
5. Adjectives as Descriptors
Descriptive words or adjectives are mentioned as typically preceding nouns. The article advises checking for adjectives in front of a word to determine if it is a noun, offering examples for clarity.
Method 2: Identifying Noun Characteristics
1. Defining Nouns
The fundamental characteristic of nouns is reiterated: they represent specific objects, ideas, or people in a sentence. Examples are given to illustrate nouns representing a person, place, thing, or idea.
2. Noun Endings (Suffixes)
Common noun endings, such as -ity, -ness, and -hood, are presented as indicators. The article provides additional examples of noun suffixes that can help identify nouns.
3. Pluralization Test
The ability to pluralize a word is suggested as a test for identifying nouns. If a word can take a plural form, it is likely a noun. An example is given to demonstrate this concept.
4. Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns, indicated by an apostrophe and an "s," are highlighted as nouns that denote ownership. Examples are provided to illustrate possessive nouns.
5. Collective Nouns
The article introduces collective nouns, which name a large group as a single entity. Examples such as "array" and "school" are given to help identify collective nouns.
6. Dictionary Confirmation
As a last resort, the article suggests consulting a dictionary to confirm the part of speech of a word. The presence of a lowercase "n" in the dictionary denotes a noun.
Expert Q&A
A question is posed regarding spotting a noun in writing, and the response emphasizes asking, "What is this?" or "Who is this?" to identify a noun. The explanation reinforces the concept that a noun should answer these questions.
In summary, the article provides a comprehensive guide on finding and identifying nouns in sentences, covering various methods and characteristics of nouns.