Defining Nouns

Defining Nouns
By Chris Commodore©2001

I am a noun; I stand to name
Distinguishing things not the same
I set the pace on every page
I reign throughout the language

I indicate each entity
That readers feel and see
Like kindness, Peter, Maine and ring
Abstraction, person, place, or thing

Add to a verb an “ing”.
And I become a gerund
Like itching, ringing, drinking
And still, I am a noun

If I name things specific
Like Melville’s Moby Dick
Or ancient England’s London Town
Then I’m a Proper Noun

When I name basic entities
Like boys and dogs and trees
Or man or woman pet and ground
Then I’m a Common Noun

But there are words like flock of sheep
With or without their wool
A lot of fish attending school
Then I’m  Collective Noun

At other times I name a lot
That you can’t feel and touch
Like kindness, love, hate, fear, and frown
Then I’m an Abstract Noun

Two or more sections in a word
All joined to make a name
With such a word, it’s still the same
I’m just a Compound Noun

And there’s one final type of name
Of solid things with mass
Such words are nouns, like stone and glass
These are the Concrete Nouns