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Nouns (Abstract) 01
In the sentence 'The man had the patience to stand and fish all day' it is the word 'patience' that is the abstract noun.

Nouns (Abstract) 01

In English, an abstract noun is often a quality or attitude. "Happiness" is an example of an abstract noun that is a quality. "Careless" is an example of an abstract noun that is an attitude.

One general way that you can tell the difference between the abstract and the concrete, is that you cannot touch something which is abstract. "Concrete", like the building material of the same name, is, by definition, something you can touch. This is not an altogether satisfactory definition however. What about music? You can't really touch music, can you? If it is very loud, or has a strong bass line or percussion, you might feel the sound waves, however. And you can certainly hear music. So "music" is not an abstract noun. It would be more accurate to say that abstract nouns cannot be experienced through the senses. "Smile" and "hug" are concrete nouns, but "love" and "friendship" are abstract nouns.

See how much you have remembered from your lessons about abstract nouns by playing this quiz on the subject

1 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
The king's ....... was known all over the world.
kingdom
land
money
wisdom
Wisdom is a quality and is therefore an abstract noun
2 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
The lifeguard was praised for his ....... in saving lives.
article
bravery
catalogue
report
"Bravery" is an abstract concept
3 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
She offered him ....... of her help at the concert.
lists
programmes
reassurance
schedules
Remember that you cannot touch an abstract noun. In the above answers there are three things you could touch and one (reassurance) that you could not touch and it is this latter that is the abstract noun
4 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
Don't lose your temper and shout! ....... is a virtue.
Patience
Viola
Violin
Voice
"Patience" cannot be experienced by the senses. Instead you might use evidence to deduce that someone is patient
5 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
Keep going, keep trying, your ....... will get you results.
book
game
map
perseverance
To persevere means to keep trying
6 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
Working together needs .......
co-operation
eggs
money
people
With nouns you can put "the" or "a" in front of them and the same is true of abstract nouns, but remember that you cannot touch an abstract noun. You could touch money, eggs and people, but not co-operation
7 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
It was always his ....... to become a musician.
ambition
job
study
work
"Ambition" is abstract, meaning that it cannot be seen directly, or experienced with the senses
8 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
Jane thanked John for his .......
bag
book
kindness
pencil
"Kindness" is a quality and is therefore an abstract noun
9 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
He did not care about his studies - his ....... was obvious.
book
grade
indifference
writing
Indifference is an attitude and is therefore an abstract noun
10 .
Select the abstract noun to complete the following sentence.
The ....... between the two countries lasted for centuries.
friendship
inhabitants
land
people
"Friendship" is an abstract concept
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - What is a noun?

Author:  Sue Daish

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