Nouns or “naming words” are parts of speech. Look at the following:

• David was a great ruler.
• I have bought some pencils.
• This knife is sharp.
• Many people were climbing the stairs.
• We must speak the truth.

“David”, “ruler”, “pencils”, “knife”, “people”, “stairs”, “truth” are kinds of nouns.

 

Naming words or nouns perform some roles in a sentence:

As Subjects:

A sentence may have a noun which is doing some work.  Look at the following sentence:

• Anita ate an apple.

Here, the subject is “Anita”. “Anita” answers the question “Who ate an apple?”

 

As Objects:

A sentence may have an object to a verb.

• I threw a ball.

Here , “ball” is an object to the verb “threw.”

These objects can be either direct or indirect.

• Tom gave Rina a rose.

In this sentence, “Rina” is an indirect object and “rose” is a direct object.

As Subject Complement:

Sometimes a noun is a subject complement as in the following:

• John is a doctor.

The word “doctor” is a subject complement as it follows a linking verb “is” which is a form of a verb “to be.”

 

As Object Complement:

The noun may also work as an object complement. Have a look:

• The teacher made Tim the class monitor.

Here, “class monitor” is the object complement to “Tim” as it follows the verb “made” that means a naming, making or a creating word.

 

As Appositive:

A noun that follows another is an appositive noun. As in the following:

My sister, Sarah, works as a banker.

Here “Sarah” is an appositive as it follows the noun “sister.”

 

As Modifiers:

Nouns can be used as a “describing word” or an adjective.

My nephew is a terror machine.

Here “terror machine” describes “my nephew” and is a noun.