When you begin to learn grammar, you probably start with two of the most common parts of speech: nouns and verbs. Getting the hang of the difference between these two parts of speech puts you on the right track to becoming a good writer.

Nouns name things. Many times, you will hear people define nouns as persons, places, or things. But they can also name feelings, ideas, and acts.

Need an example? We just gave you one! An example is a noun. Some of our other favorite nouns are badger, Abraham Lincoln, vampire, Antarctica, couscous, love, indigestion, liberty, and painting.

A noun that names one thing is singular. A name that names more than one thing is plural. For more information on singular and plural nouns, all you need to do is ask a moose.

Verbs describe the action. We use verbs in sentences to describe what the nouns do. Monkeys peel bananas. Monkeys eat bananas. Monkeys love bananas. Peel, eat, and love are all verbs in these sentences.

Hold on! Just a second. Not so fast. Just a couple of paragraphs ago, we said that love was a noun. Then we said love was a verb. Which is it?

Believe it or not, it’s both! Yes, it’s true. A word can be both a noun and a verb. In fact, there are many words that can be used to name a person, place, or thing and also describe an action.

For example, if you’re going fishing, you’ll need bait. Once you find an earthworm, you can use it to bait your hook. If it’s hot while you’re fishing, you might get thirsty for a drink. If you brought drinks in a cooler with you, you can drink the drink that you brought!

There are many, many more examples of words that can be both nouns and verbs. Here are a few that you’re probably familiar with:

bowl

exit

fly

park

ship

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