Uses of Nouns

Subject

 Word something is said about in a sentence

 Examples:
• The driver sped up then the traffic lights
turned yellow.
• The book was written by Agatha Christie.
• Mary had a little lamb.
 Direct Object

 Refers to the receiver of the action

 Answers “what” or “whom”
 Examples:
• Elsa will meet Anna at the marketplace.
• The dog fetched the ball.
• He doesn’t understand Calculus.
 Indirect Object

 To/for what, to/for whom the action is done

 Recipient of the direct object
 Not all sentences have indirect objects
• The father made his son a sandwich.
• Mrs. Griffin assigned the class ten math
problems.
• Nana gave Tim some chocolates.
 Predicate Noun

 Follows the verb and renames the noun

 Examples:
• Paul is a good writer.
• My sister is still a student.
• The Vice President is the true leader.
 Object of a Preposition

 Prepositions are words that link an object to the

rest of the sentence
 Examples:
• He immediately left after the movie.
• I work with your father.
• My best friend lives around the corner.
 Appositive

 Follows a noun and renames it.

 Examples:
• My sister Patty lives in the next town.
• My favorite author, Agatha Christie, had written
over eighty detective novels.
• The youngest player in the team, Stephen, is
one of the best players.
 Objective Complement

 Renames a direct object, as opposed to appositive

which can rename any noun
 Can be determined if you insert “to be” before
the noun
 Examples:
• We elected Jessie (to be) President.
• I consider Emily (to be) my partner.
• He saw my sister Mae yesterday.
 Retained Object

 Follows a passive voice verb

 “To be” (is, are, was, were, be) + past participle
 Examples:
• I was given a new book.
• Mr. Cruz was elected chairman of the board.
• The children were sent home early.
 Noun of Direct Address

 Used when talking directly to someone

 Example:
• Boss, I’m running late!
• Gina, what have you been doing for the past
hour?
• Mr. President, the Oval Office is ready.
Noun Cases
 Nominative Case

 Also called Subjective case

 Noun is the subject of the verb, or the doer of the
action
 To find it, ask “who” or “what” to the verb
 Examples:
 Rami Malek won best actor in the Oscars.
 Freddie Mercury loved cats.
 Queen is one of the greatest bands.
 Accusative Case

 Also called Objective Case

 Noun is direct object of verbs or prepositions
 Direct object is when the action is done to that
person or thing
 Examples:
 The stall sells milk teas.
 John saved a stray cat.
 My family went to the beach.
 Dative Case
 Noun is indirect object of the verb
 Indirect object is when the action is done for the
person or thing
 The sentence can still have a complete thought if
you remove the dative noun. But the sentence
will be incomplete without the accusative noun.
 Examples:
• The teacher gave the students homework.
• Fetch Marshall some water.
• The suitor gave the girl a bouquet of flowers.
 Genitive Case

 Also called Possessive Case

 Used to show ownership or possession
 Examples:
• This is Michael’s homework.
• Mia’s bag was purple.
• The cats’ litter box needs to be cleaned.
 Vocative Case

 Noun is the name of the person spoken to or

addressed
 Examples:
• Mr. President, the people are suffering from
this water crisis!
• Flowers for you, Jennifer.
• Your Honor, the prosecution is ready to present
its case.