A Noun by Any Other Name

Each semester I like to, on the very first day, ask my students, "What is a noun?"

Invariably, a student answers, "A person, place or thing."

I smile politely and offer up further questions to challenge that age-old definition and to further the class discussion.

"Sure, but what about vegetables and animals? Aren't those nouns too?"

"And what about emotions or philosophies or ideas? What about love, peace, and joy?"

Would we have to make an exhaustive list of descriptions in order to include the meaning of all nouns? In other words, would we want to say "A noun is a person, place, animal, insect, vegetable, emotion, idea, philosophy...?"

It's time to think about nouns beyond "person, place, or thing."

Here are just a few suggestions...

1. Nouns fit "nicely" in certain spots in sentences. Take the following:

I like__________. Many nouns (or verbs being used as nouns) fit there. I like Spam. I like meatballs, I like bipartisanship.

I like oiuygfdoiuy. (What's that? Well, you might guess that the word is a noun.)

2. Nouns can often be quantified or qualified.

__________ are mean. Tall____________.

Think of this like "Mad Libs"

Bulldogs are mean. Tall buildings, etc.

3. Nouns can often be made plural.

ant-ants, pea - peas

In Spanish, nouns have gender. They are masculine or feminine. The definite article (el or la) listed in front of the noun (any noun) lets you know which gender is assigned.

Please learn these as a pair...el lápiz, el laboratorio, el día, etc.
Don't rely on the word's ending for information about its gender.


Today's tech tip: Try using Google images to search for pictures of a new noun you are learning. What does a "pupitre" look like? I often do this, in English and Spanish, for words that are difficult for me, like those that describe architectural features.