Noun vs Adjective
Knowing the difference between noun and adjective is a must in English language as noun and adjective are two parts of speech of the English language that are used differently. A noun indicates the name of a person or a thing. On the other hand, an adjective qualifies a noun that it describes. This is one of the main differences between noun and adjective. However, every time a noun or an adjective is used in the English language, we should always remember that from the parts of speech noun and adjective are very much closely related. Therefore, knowing the difference between noun and adjective clearly becomes important.
What is a Noun?
A noun is a word that indicates the name of a person, place or thing. If we go all the way to refer the Oxford English dictionary, here is what it has to say about a noun. A noun is “a word (other than a pronoun) used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things (common noun), or to name a particular one of these (proper noun).” Look at the following examples.
Jade played with Kate.
Albert read the Bible
In both the sentences given above, you can find that the words Jade, Kate and Albert are names of human beings and hence they are called as nouns. The nouns can be common too as in the following sentences.
He reads a book.
She smells a rose.
In the sentences given above, you can find that the words book and rose are common nouns. They also name objects. Therefore, they are known as nouns.
It is interesting to note that you can form the noun forms of verbs too such as running, calling and dancer. The word running is the noun form of the verb run. The word calling as in the word video-calling is the noun form of the verb call and the word dancer is a noun form of the verb dance. Thus, it is understood that nouns can be coined from the verbal forms.
What is an Adjective?
An adjective, on the other hand, qualifies a noun that it describes as in the sentences given below.
She likes red roses.
He hates brown rice.
In both the sentences mentioned above, you can find that the words red and brown qualify the two nouns roses and rice respectively. Adverbs too at times can act as adjectives as in the following examples.
Albert is a fast runner.
Cheetah is a swift animal.
In both the sentences given above, the words fast and swift that can act as adverbs too are used as adjectives in describing the two nouns runner and animal respectively.
What is the difference between Noun and Adjective?
• A noun indicates the name of a person or a thing. On the other hand, an adjective qualifies a noun that it describes. This is one of the main differences between noun and adjective.
• There are different types of nouns. Common nouns are one of them.
• Nouns can be made from verbs.
• Adverbs too at times can act as adjectives.
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