Concrete vs Abstract Nouns

What are they? When you think of nouns, you probably think of people, places or objects. While these are all nouns, they are not the only type. While concrete nouns are something tangible, abstract nouns are intangible. People, places, animals and objects are all concrete nouns. Conversely, abstract nouns encompass actions, events, ideas, states of mind, qualities and conditions.

Concrete nouns Concrete nouns are perceivable by the senses and name something you can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. These include people, animals, places and objects. Consider the following concrete nouns: People: dentist, firefighter, man, Rita Animals: barracuda, gorilla, puppy, tiger Places: Empire State Building, island, mountain, Turkey Objects: cake, fruit, keys, coffee cup

Concrete nouns Consider the following examples: Example 1: Kathy nestled the black kitten in her arms. “Kitten” is an example of a concrete noun. A kitten registers with the five senses: you can see a kitten, pet its fur, smell its breath, hear it purr and taste its kisses. Example 2: Kyle and Nina ordered a large pizza for lunch. “Pizza” is an example of a concrete noun. You can see, feel, smell and taste pizza.

Abstract nouns Abstract nouns name things you cannot see, hear, smell, taste or fell. In other words, abstract nouns are not tangible. They name actions, events, ideas, states of mind and qualities. Consider the following abstract nouns: Actions and events: childhood, Friday, September, war Ideas: energy, freedom, ideas, luck States of mind: anger, courage, depression, freedom Qualities: beauty, truth, kindness, truth Conditions: cancer, a cold, the flu, diabetes

Abstract nouns Abstract nouns exist, but your senses cannot perceive them. Instead, you are encompassing the meaning because you perceive its existence even though you cannot picture it in your mind. Consider the following examples: Example 1: When Anthony dove into the swimming pool to rescue a drowning child, his bravery amazed the people sitting poolside. “Bravery” is an abstract noun. You can see the other nouns “Anthony,” “swimming pool” and “people.” You cannot see the quality “bravery.” It has no flavor, texture, size, shape or color. Example 2: Naomi’s childhood was traumatic. “Childhood” is an example of an abstract noun. You can see the other noun “Naomi” You cannot see Naomi’s “childhood.”

Abstract nouns While abstract nouns are intangible, in some cases, you may question whether a noun is concrete or abstract or feel unsure. Consider the following example: Example 1: Samantha saw the jump from the corner of her eye. In order for a jump to take place, there is a jumper (subject), and the “jumper” is omitted in the above sentence. “The jump” is an abstract noun. By writing “the jump,” you change a verb into a noun and abstract the animal, person or thing that did “the jumping.” If you wanted to avoid the abstract noun “jump,” you would write: Samantha saw the fish jump above the lake’s surface from the corner of her eye. When the sentence is reconstructed, “jump” turns into a verb, eliminating the use of “jump” as an abstract noun. You can imagine a jump occurring, but you cannot imagine it without the fish doing the action.

Proper nouns What are Proper Nouns? While a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea a proper noun gets more specific. It gives us the actual name of the person, place, thing, or idea.  The actual names of people are proper nouns. So are the names of states, streets, rivers, oceans, countries, companies, institutions, churches, and more.

Proper nouns One of the easiest ways to fully grasp the meaning of proper nouns is to compare them with common nouns.  A common noun refers to the general names of things.  Look around you and name the items you see.  A desk, a chair, a lamp, a window, a door. When you go shopping, who do you see?  A man, a child, a salesperson, an attendant, a toddler, a policeman.  These are all general, common nouns.  Now lets compare common nouns to proper nouns. Common Noun/Proper Noun man/James woman/Julie state/California company/IBM, Suzuki store/Neiman Marcus restaurant/McDonald’s mountains/Merapi countries/Ireland, France, America soldier/Lieutenant Mark Davis river/the Mississippi River institution/University of Georgia

Proper nouns Capitalizing Proper Nouns The rules for capitalizing proper nouns are pretty simple. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. However there are times when a word can be used as either a common noun or proper noun and you might get confused as to when you should use the capitalized form. For example, “father” can either be common or proper. One rule for thumb is that if you are using the word as a title and name it should be capitalized. “I had dinner with my father last night.” “Would you like to have dinner with me, Father?” See the difference? In the first example the word was used more generally as a common noun. In the second example, the word was used like a name. In this instance the term “father” took the place of the actual name, such as “Bob.”