Nouns: How do we
identify them?
Because
of the fact that adjectives can be considered as nouns, and that nouns can be
considered adjectives, some still find it confusing to identify nouns in
sentences. This, therefore, raises the question “how can one identify nouns as
they appear in sentences?”
In
a nutshell, nouns can be identified based on its location, on its appearance,
and on its function. For this discussion, the bolded words pertain to the nouns
in the sentences so as to aid the readers in locating the same. It bears
stressing that the manner by which this discussion is presented was adopted
from the MSA Comprehensive English Handbook (please refer to references).
I.
Identifying nouns based on its LOCATION.
A. After
determiners
Example: The women were called to
support the troops.
B. After
prepositions
Example: Jose left his toy in the car.
C. Before
and after verbs
Example: Andres
left the house yesterday.
D. After
adjectives
Example: The generous businessman
E. After
nouns and noun phrases (i.e. after appositives or appositive phrases)
Example: Bell’s invention, the telephone, was featured in last month’s
issue of The Inquirer.
II.
Identifying nouns based on its
APPEARANCE.
A word is a noun when it ends with suffixes such as –age (as in reportage), -ce (as in appearance), -cy (as in presidency), -dom (as in kingdom), -ion (as in association), -ism (as in federalism), -ity (as in infidelity), -ment (as in excitement), -ness (as in cleanliness), -or (as in executor), -ship (as in friendship), -sy (as in idiosyncrasy), -tion (as in generalization), -ty (as in realty), -ure (as in curvature).
A noun also has cases.
The case nouns indicate how a particular nouns functions in a sentence (i.e.
whether it is a subject or an object therein). The subjective case of nouns, on the one hand, indicates that the noun
in the sentence is the subject therein and is, therefore, the doer or the one
being talked about in the sentence. The objective
case of nouns, on the other hand, indicates that the noun in the sentence is
the receiver of the action. Lastly, the possessive
case of nouns indicates (as its name suggests) possession and/or ownership.
III.
Identifying nouns based on its FUNCTION.
A. As
subject of a verb
Example: The saleslady
introduced herself to the customer.
B. As
complement of a linking verb
Example: Manolo is
the valedictorian of their class.
C. As
object of a transitive verb
Example: Gregorio hurled the ball towards
the wall.
D. As
objective complement
Example: The members elected Teodora Hernandez as Chairperson.
E. As
object of a preposition
Example: They nominated Miriam for the party presidency.
F. As
nominative of a direct address (i.e. nouns used in direct quotations)
Example: Apolinario,
take this.
G. As
appositive (i.e. a noun that renames the subject and/or object in the sentence.
It is usually placed in between commas)
Example: Bell’s invention, the telephone, was featured in last month’s issue of The Inquirer.
The
next time you read a sentence, try identifying the nouns therein using what you
have learned in this discussion.
References
Brown,
Anne Cole et al. English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
Celse-Murcia,
Marianne and Diane Larsen-Freeman. The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFLTeacher’s
Course (2nd Edition). Singapore: Thomson
Learning Asia, 2008.
Forlini,
Gary et al. (ed.). Prentice Hall Grammar and Composition (4th
Edition). New Jersey:Englewood
Cliffs, 2001.
Haley-James,
Shirley et al. English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988.
Hosler,
Mary Margaret. English Made Easy (5th Edition). New York:
McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2005.
Kahn,
John Ellison et al. (ed.) “How to Write and Speak Better (3rd
Edition).” Toucan BooksLimited and WoodCraft
Editing and Writing Limited. Hong Kong: The Reader’s Digest
Association Ltd., 1993.
Martin,
Jerome. English. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1984.
Rivero-Hernandez,
Clarissa. et al. MSA Comprehensive English Handbook. Quezon City: MSAAcademic
Advancement Institute, 2005.
Winterowd,
W. Ross and Patricia Murray. English Writing and Skills. San Diego, CA:
CoronadoPublishers, 1985.
