To determine if a word is a noun, ask yourself:
* Does it name a person, place, thing, or idea? "Ship" names a thing.
* Can you put "the," "a," or "an" in front of it? You can say "the ship," "a ship," or "an old ship."
Example sentence:
* The ship sailed across the ocean.
In this sentence, "ship" is the subject of the sentence and is clearly a noun.