Nouns
You learn to find the noun: the word that names a person, a place, an animal or a thing.
How to do the test
- Look for a word that names a person, a place, an animal or a thing.
- Say the word with the in front of it.
- If it sounds right, it is a noun.
A worked example
Tap the noun. A tiny frog jumped away.
- It names an animal.
- Put the in front of it: the frog.
- That sounds right, so it is a noun.
- Try the same with jumped: the jumped sounds wrong, so it is not a noun.
- Frog is the noun.
More examples
Tap the noun. Mia laughed loudly.
- It names a girl.
- It starts with a capital letter because it is a name.
- Mia is the noun.
Tap the noun. We flew to Spain yesterday.
- It names a country.
- It starts with a capital letter because it is a name.
- Spain is the noun.
Watch out
You tap the describing word, like old or tiny, because it stands next to the noun.
Say the in front of it. The old sounds unfinished, but the clock sounds right, so clock is the noun.
Tips
- Names of people and places, like Mia and Spain, are nouns too. They start with a capital letter.
Exceptions
- Some nouns name an idea you cannot touch, like joy or kindness. They are still nouns.
Why it works
A noun is the name of something. You can always say the in front of it. Words that do something or describe something sound wrong with the in front, and that is how you hear the difference.