Word Class: Nouns & Verbs
Grammar Practice
In English, word classes help us identify a word and its functions. Nouns help us identify people, places and things. Verbs help us describe actions. In the table below, see how just changing the nouns and verbs in a sentence changes the whole meaning.
Nouns | Verbs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Function | Used to name people, animals, places, things, or ideas | Used to indicate a physical or mental action, or a state of being | |
Examples | Mary, cat, Singapore, shirt, table, answer, intelligence | eat, run, think, develop, answer, exist, appear | |
In a sentence | – I need the receipt to enter. | – Can you buy tickets? | |
Tip! | Proper nouns are specific names of a person, place, or thing and are always capitalised. | Verbs can serve as the subject of a sentence when they are in gerund form (when they end with “-ing”). For example, “Singing is my passion.” | |
