名詞回答了「What is it?」和「Who is it?」等問句，賦予人、事物和地點等名稱。
舉例
- dog
- bicycle
- Mary
- girl
- beauty
- France
- world
一般在英文的名詞當中，並不像有些其他語言會區分男性（陽性）或女性（陰性）。然而，在論及人或動物時，會經由不同形式或字詞透露名詞的性。
舉例
| 男性 | 女性 | 中性 |
|---|---|---|
| man | woman | person |
| father | mother | parent |
| boy | girl | child |
| uncle | aunt | |
| husband | wife | spouse |
| actor | actress | |
| prince | princess | |
| waiter | waitress | server |
| rooster | hen | chicken |
| stallion | mare | horse |
有許多意指人的角色和工作的名詞，沒有性別之分；例如 cousin、teenager、teacher、doctor、student、friend、colleague 等。
舉例
- Mary is my friend. She is a doctor.
- Peter is my cousin. He is a doctor.
- Arthur is my friend. He is a student.
- Jane is my cousin. She is a student.
如果非得區分這些名詞的性別，就在名詞前加 male 或 female 即可。
舉例
- Sam is a female doctor.
- No, he is not my boyfriend, he is just a male friend.
- I have three female cousins and two male cousins.
當描述的事物本身不具有性別（例如交通工具、國家等），有時候人們會用性別代名詞來稱呼，表達親密和熟悉感。但要用中性代名詞 (it) 來稱呼，當然也是正確的。
舉例
- I love my car. She (the car) is my greatest passion.
- France is popular with her (France's) neighbours at the moment.
- I travelled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth; she (the Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.