Abstract nouns Vs Concrete nouns
There are two types of general nouns: concrete nouns and abstract nouns. Concrete nouns are things that can be seen or touched. For example:
a) A chair: He sat on a chair.
b) A table: Your book is on the table.
c) A dog: The dog ate my food.
d) A bottle: She drank a bottle of wine.
On the other hand, abstract nouns cannot be seen or touched. They often refer to a quality, a state, a concept, or a feeling – things that don’t have any physical existence. In effect, your five senses cannot detect this group of nouns: you cannot see them, you cannot hear them, you cannot smell them, you cannot taste them, and you cannot feel them. Here are some examples of abstract nouns:
a) Intelligence: He’s a boy with a lot of intelligence.
b) Joy: She was weeping with joy.
Notice how most abstract nouns are uncountable. Here are some more examples:
a) Love: There isn’t much love here.
b) Hate: He was filled with hate.
c) Kindness: She showed a great deal of kindness.
d) Fear: He was shaking with fear.
e) Anger: She was crying with anger and frustration.
f) Imagination: You need a lot of imagination to do something like this.
g) Loneliness: He has a fear of loneliness.
h) Happiness: I’m just looking for happiness.
i) Sadness: He felt a mixture of sadness and joy.
j) Bravery: She was awarded for bravery.
k) Cowardice: The soldiers were reprimanded for cowardice.
l) Embarrassment: He felt a great deal of embarrassment.
m) Beauty: She was famous for her beauty.
n) Confidence: He’s suffering from a lack of confidence.
o) Luck: They didn’t have any luck.
p) Bitterness: They are feeling a great deal of bitterness.
q) Boredom: Boredom is a big problem among teenagers.