A noun is a word that names people, places or things.  But nouns don't stop there.  Nouns also name ideas or qualities.  Nouns name:

• Things you can touch like people! You are a noun.  The George Washington Bridge is a noun.  Cars are nouns.
  • People - humans, John, Sarah, You, I, We, They, Thomas Jefferson
  • Places - Hong Kong, Frankfurt, New York, Ohio, Mexico, beach, yard
  • Things - refrigerator, toaster, cars, computer
• Things you can't touch.  Freedom is a noun, so is sisterhood, kindness, bravery, or courage. 
  • Ideas or qualities - Justice, equality, brotherhood

There are two classes of nouns - proper nouns and common nouns.  A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing.  A common noun names a class of things.  

• Proper nouns - London, The Queen Mary, New York, California
• Common nouns - town, country, zoo, carnival

So, that's pretty much it about nouns (until we talk about pronouns!).  Stay tuned for more parts of speech discussions in future posts.