Parts of Speech Part 1 of 9: Nouns

Over the next few weeks we will be doing a blog series on the nine parts of speech. First we will cover nouns. Nouns label a person, place, or thing. They make up a large part of our English vocabulary. All nouns can also be sorted into either “common nouns” or “proper nouns.”

Common nouns are all around us. Your computer, desk and cellphone are things. A bedroom, home, and school are all places. Brother, mother, and friend are ways we label a person.

Proper nouns are names for a specific person, place or thing. The word city is a common noun, but Provo is a specific city. Provo is a proper noun. The same rule applies for things. When you go out for dinner you can order a soda, or you could order a Coke. Coke is a proper noun for a type of soda.

The following sentence uses both a common and proper noun for a person:

“My brother’s name is Daniel.”

Brother is a common noun, but the word Daniel is a proper noun for the same person.

It is important to learn as many nouns as you can. The more nouns you know the better your English will become. Follow us on twitter as we will be posting more about nouns all week!