Inanimate nouns, such as “rock” and “house,” do not usually take on a possessive form in English. Young people tend to use them as the object of a sentence, leading to a passive voice. They contrast with animated nouns, which denote living things.
An inanimate noun indicates an inanimate place, thing, or idea, such as the words “rock,” “house,” and “love.” In the English language, these types of nouns typically do not take on a possessive form through the addition of an apostrophe and an “s” which is commonly used with other types of nouns. Some research indicates that young people tend to prefer making an inanimate noun the subject of a sentence, which can result in a passive voice. These types of words contrast with animated nouns, which denote living people, animals, and other organisms such as “woman,” “boy,” and “cat.”
There is a wide range of words that qualify as an inanimate noun, since it can apply to any nonliving thing, place, or concept. For the most part, these names are used in much the same way as animated ones, although there are some important distinctions. An inanimate noun usually lacks a possessive form in English through the use of “-‘s” as a suffix. Instead of saying “car door,” most English speakers simply say “car door.” There are exceptions to this, however, such as “yesterday’s news” or the “clock minute hand”.
The words “that” and “which” are typically used as part of a modification clause after an inanimate noun. This can be seen in phrases like “The car that was blue” or “The rock, which I gave to my friend, was petrified wood”. In contrast to this, “who” is often used to refer to an animate noun denoting a person, such as “The boy who cried wolf.”
Research with young English speakers also demonstrated a natural tendency to use an inanimate noun as the object of a sentence, rather than the subject. This works well for sentences like “The boy hit the ball” or “The cat jumped on a chair,” as the animated noun is performing the action. However, using an inanimate noun as an object can lead to a passive voice in a sentence, which can be a problem in writing.
Many young people, and even experienced writers, naturally want to use the animate noun as the “doer” of a sentence. In an expression like “The blanket fell on the cat,” however, the inanimate noun is the subject performing the action of the sentence. If this is rewritten as “The cat was under the blanket falling” then it becomes a passive sentence. The subject no longer performs the action, which can make it a little boring or less dynamic and interesting to read.
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