Nouns

What is a noun?

A noun is a naming word. It names a person, an animal, a place or a thing. In the KICD English curriculum, Grade 4 learners learn to use nouns correctly when speaking and writing.

Examples: teacher, goat, Mombasa, book.

Common nouns

Common nouns name any person, place or thing. They do not need a capital letter unless they start a sentence.

• boy, market, bus, mango

Proper nouns

Proper nouns name a particular person, place or thing. They always begin with a capital letter.

• Wanjiru, Mount Kenya, Lake Victoria, Monday

Singular and plural

Singular means one; plural means more than one.

• Add s: book, books
• Add es after s, x, ch, sh: bus, buses; dish, dishes
• Change y to ies: baby, babies
• Irregular: child, children; man, men; tooth, teeth

Nouns in sentences

• The farmer sold maize at the market.
• Achieng visited Kisumu on Saturday.

Common mistakes

Do not forget capital letters for names of people, towns and days. Do not say "childs" or "mans".

Try it

• Write three proper nouns about your county.
• Write the plurals of: leaf, church, baby.
• Underline the nouns: "Otieno kicked the ball across the field."