Where does a noun appear in a sentence?

A noun will be found as the subject of a sentence or a clause, and as the object of a verb or a preposition.

Examples:

Aunt Jane made cookies for the children. (subject of the sentence)

The cookies that Aunt Jane made are for the children.

Aunt Jane made cookies for the children. (direct object of the verb)

Aunt Jane made cookies for the children. (object of the preposition)

A noun will be found as an attributive noun, working as an adjective.

Example: She made almondcookies.

A noun will be found as a partitive noun (also called a noun counter) used to count or quantify an uncountable noun.

Example: The children each had a glass of milkwith their cookies.

A noun will be found as a subject complement, a noun following a linking verb that restates the subject.

Example: Aunt Jane is a good cook.

A noun will be found as an object complement, a noun following an object that restates the object noun.

Example: Aunt Jane is fond of the children, Jack and Jill.

A noun will be found as a noun of direct address.

Example: Aunt Jane, thank you for the cookies.

A noun will be found as a possessive noun used to show that something in the sentence belongs to that noun.

Example: The children's chatter made Aunt Jane smile.

A noun will be found as a collective noun, a noun used to group people and things in a descriptive way.

Example: Aunt Jane sent a batch of cookies home with the children.