# Introduction to Reading English/Nouns

A noun names :
* persons, places, animals or things (man, canteen, flower)
* concepts or ideas (peace, joy, democracy)
* quality, property or condition (strength, blackness, apathy)

## Classification of Nouns

* Proper noun is the distinctive name of anything. It always begins with a capital letter . Examples: Wikiversity, John Doe, America
* Common noun is the general name for anything. It always begins with a small letter . Examples: parent, cat, boy

## Special Classes of Nouns

* Concrete noun names something that can be perceived with the five senses (sight, sound, touch, smell and taste). Examples: air, flower, food, water
* Abstract noun names something that can't be perceived with the five senses. Examples: love, truth, belief, sympathy
* Collective noun names a collection or a group of similar things. Examples: flock, herd, pack, etc.
* Mass noun a noun that is very rarely plural and is never with articles 'a' and 'an'. Examples: advice, equipment, fruit, information, weather
* Compound noun is made up of two or more words forming a unit idea. Examples: skyscraper, rubout, commander-in-chief

## Properties of Nouns

* Person
* Number
** Singular in number indicates one object only. Examples: bus, girl, boy, town, stone
** Plural in number indicates two or more objects. Most noun form their plural by adding -s or -es Examples: bag-bags, tree-trees, glass-glasses, church-churches
* Gender determines the sex of a noun.
** Masculine gender indicates the male sex. Examples: brother, gander, nephew, father, John
** Feminine gender indicates the female sex. Examples: mother, sister, doe, Mary
** Common gender indicates uncertainty of sex which is either male or female. Examples: teacher, parent, horse, cat, child
** Neuter gender indicates that an object is without sex. Examples: rock, leaf, sea, montain, hill, paper
* Case shows the relation of a noun to other words in the sentence or phrase.
** Nominative case indicates that a noun is doing or being something in the sentence. A noun in the nominative case can be either a subject or predicate but not both in the sentence.
** Objective case indicates that a person or a thing is being acted upon. A noun in the objective case can be use as object of the verb or object of the preposition.
** Possessive case indicates that a person or a thing owns something. The possessive form of a noun is usually formed by adding an apostrophe (') or an apostrophe s ('s)

## Uses of Nouns

* Subject refers to the word about something is said in a sentence.
* Predicative nominative or predicate noun renames, identifies or explains the subject in a sentence. It is normally placed after a linking verb.
* Direct object refers to the receiver of the action in a sentence. It answers the question What? or Who?
* Indirect object tells to whom, to what, for whom or for what a thing is done.
* Object of the preposition answers the question What? or Whom? after the preposition.
* Appositive refers to a noun that identifies or provides further information about another word in the sentence.
** Essential appositive makes the meaning of a sentence clear. It is usually not set off by a comma.
** Non-essential appositive may be omitted in the sentence without changing the meaning of it.
* Objective complement adds to the meaning of or renames the direct object. It appears only with these verbs: appoint, call, consider, declare, elect, judge, label, make, name, select or think.
* Direct address is the name or word by which a person is addressed. It is set off by a comma.