Nouns are one of the important parts that are required to form a complete sentence or statement. It is stated as to be telling about the specific place, time, name, or thing. And can be further sub-divided into many types depending on the nature. The different nouns are – Collective Nouns, Common Nouns, Proper Nouns, Concrete Nouns, Countable Nouns (Count Nouns), Uncountable Nouns (Mass Nouns), and Abstract Nouns. The whole subtypes of nouns have different definitions and examples for them.
Concrete Nouns vs Abstract Nouns
The main difference between Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns is that Concrete Nouns are the ones that signify to the specific people or things (includes – that can be felt, touched, smelled, tasted, watched, and heard). In other words, they include all the items that consist of all the things with five senses. Whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the Abstract Nouns are the ones that tell us about the things that focus on the beliefs, ideas, conditions, and feelings. They all are the things that cannot be felt with the five senses.
Concrete Nouns are the ones referring to the items or things that can be felt physically. The division includes the things that can be mentioned by a specific name or place or things, also the things that can be experienced or observed by an individual like – smelled, touched, seen, hear, taste. Some of the examples for the same are – beach, tune, cat, dog, etc.
Abstract Nouns are the ones referring to the items or things that cannot be felt physically. The division includes all of the items that are felt, observed, the feelings, ideas going in mind, certain beliefs that are followed all can be put within this category. Some of the good examples for the same are – time, love, sadness, friendship, truth, etc.
Comparison Table Between Concrete and Abstract Nouns
| Parameters of Comparison | Concrete Nouns | Abstract Nouns |
| Definition | Includes all the specific things, names, places | Includes all of the beliefs, ideas, different feelings |
| Tangibility | Yes | No |
| Five Senses | It can be anticipated through it | It cannot be anticipated through it |
| Compatibility | With proper, common, countable, uncountable, collective nouns | With uncountable and common nouns |
| Examples | Bravery, Anger, Sadness, Adulthood, and many more | Dog, Lion, Microwave, Air, Water, and many more |
What are Concrete Nouns?
Concrete Nouns are nouns that usually mention specific places, things, or people. These nouns include all the things that can be anticipated through the five senses that are – observe, taste, smell, heard, and touched. Thus, these are said to be the easier ones to be distinguished among the other fellow types of nouns.
According to its definition, concrete nouns also include fictional characters, places, people, or things that are popular and are known. For example – Cinderella, Godzilla, Wakanda, Iron Man, and many others.
These nouns are highly accountable as tangible. They are also compatible with various other fellow types of nouns that are – proper, common, countable, uncountable, collective nouns. Some of the great examples include – Men, Women, Tables, Trees, Flowers, Friends, and many more others.
What are Abstract Nouns?
Abstract Nouns are the nouns that are known for expressing the individual emotions, state of mind, belief, qualities, concepts, ideas, events, etc. These nouns do not include the things that are related to the five senses experienced or felt by a person that are – smell, observe, touch, hear, and taste. They are hence quite difficult for a person to distinguish between them.
In other words, it includes the things that are not known as physical objects. Because beside locating unphysical things, they focus on the individual’s feelings, emotions, beliefs, etc. Also, that is why they are characterized as intangible nouns.
The compatibility of abstract nouns is unlikely those of concrete nouns as they are only compatible with the uncountable nouns and common nouns. Some of the examples include – Anxiety, Pain, Peace, Openness, Happiness, Joy, Beauty, Patience, Charity, Opportunity, Curiosity, Sacrifice, Life, Past, and many more.
Main Differences Between Concrete and Abstract Nouns
- Concrete Nouns are the one that is categorized and includes all the specific things, names, and places, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Abstract Nouns are the nouns that include all the things related to the idea beliefs, and various feelings.
- Concrete nouns are the nouns that are known as tangible, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Abstract nouns are the nouns that are known as intangible.
- Concrete nouns include all the things that contain five senses – seen, touch, taste, hear, smell, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, Abstract nouns are the nouns that do not include things related to the five senses.
- The Concrete nouns are compatible with many other nouns of the category that are – proper nouns, common nouns, countable nouns, uncountable nouns, and collective nouns, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the Abstract nouns are compatible with uncountable nouns and common nouns.
- Some of the examples for Concrete nouns are – Santa Claus, Lord Rama, men, women, water, electron, brain, elbow, and much more other whereas comparatively, on the other hand, some of the examples for Abstract nouns are – Fear, Hate, Courage, Democracy, Adventure and many more others.
Conclusion
To summarize, the above discussion includes the two different types of nouns that are – concrete nouns and abstract nouns. The two of them can be categorized differently on a different basis. English has varied topics that are necessary to be known and learned for forming a simple or complex statement or sentence. The nouns, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, adjectives, model verbs, verbs all are quite an important part of the vocabulary.
Concrete Nouns are the type of noun that is categorized to be things with physical acceptance or are in reality existing. Some of the examples for same are – trees, America, flowers, books, chairs, and many more others. While looking at Abstract Nouns, on the other hand, these are categorized as the nouns that particularly focus on the ideas, feelings, events, state, concepts, etc. Some of the examples for the same are – Warmth, Generosity, Thought, Joy, Indifference, and many more others.
References
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-child-language/article/abs/development-of-noun-definitions-a-metalinguistic-analysis/4A3461FF9BE8FA8CDE5532505C2E7E73
- https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004264953/B9789004264953_005.xml
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00227/full
- https://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/46244