Words that name
Look around the room you are in. Everything you can point at has a word for it. Chair. Window. Floor. Light.
Those words are nouns. A noun is a word that names something.
Four things a noun can name
| A noun can name | Examples |
|---|---|
| a person | teacher, doctor, brother, friend |
| a place | school, park, kitchen, farm |
| an animal | dog, rabbit, whale, bee |
| a thing | cup, kite, book, cloud |
Four groups, one job. Every one of those words names something.
Words that are not nouns
Plenty of words do other work. They do not name anything.
- “ran” tells what somebody did
- “sleepy” tells what somebody is like
- “and” joins two things together
Try this test. Can you put the word “a” or “the” in front of it and have it sound right? “the cup” works. “the ran” does not.
Words to know
- noun: a word that names a person or a place or an animal or a thing
Your turn
Say noun or not a noun.
- “teacher”
- “jumped”
- “library”
- “happy”
- “spoon”
Check your answers
- Noun. It names a person.
- Not a noun. It tells what somebody did.
- Noun. It names a place.
- Not a noun. It tells what somebody is like.
- Noun. It names a thing.
Remember
- A noun names a person, a place, an animal, or a thing.
- Words that show action are not nouns.
- If “the” fits in front of it, it is probably a noun.