Nouns Definition‌

Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.

In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or clause; these are known as predicate nouns.

The Subject

The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling the action of the verb. For example:

• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun dog is performing the action of the verb chase.)
• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The proper noun Mary is performing the action of the verb read.)

  Objects

  Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a verb, the indirect

  object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

  Direct objects

  Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or clause. For example:
• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb chase.)
• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The noun book is receiving the action of the verb read.)

  Indirect objects

  An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of the verb. For instance:
• “Please pass Jeremy the salt.” (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the direct object
  salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.)
• “I sent the company an application for the job.” (The noun company is receiving the direct object application, which receives the action of the verb sent.)

  Objects of prepositions

  Nouns are also used after prepositions to create prepositional phrases. When a noun is part of a prepositional phrase, it is known as the object of the preposition. For example:
• “Your backpack is under the table.” (The noun table is the object of the preposition under,
  which creates the prepositional phrase under the table.)
• “I am looking for work.” (The noun work is the object of the preposition for, which creates the prepositional phrase for work.)

  Predicate Nouns

  Nouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes known as predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the subject. If the noun is accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as articles, adjectives, or prepositional phrases), the entire noun phrase acts predicatively.
  For example:
• “Love is a virtue.” (The noun phrase a virtue follows the linking verb is to rename the subject love.)
• “Tommy seems like a real bully.” (The noun phrase a real bully follows the linking verb
  seems to rename the subject Tommy.)
• “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.” (The noun phrase a blessing in disguise follows the linking verb is to rename the subject this.)
  (Go to the section on Subject Complements in the part of the guide that covers Syntax to learn more about predicate nouns.)