CONCRETE and ABSTRACT nouns

Nouns are words that serve to designate people, objects, feelings... etc. Within the nouns, we can find a classification that refers to the type of noun and its nature. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will see what are concrete and abstract nouns In addition to establishing a series of examples of each of them so that you can understand and identify them better.

First of all we are going to define what nouns are. These serve to define and designate those objects, people, animals, feelings... etc. In other words, they are the ones that serve to name everything that surrounds us. Having said that, we can now go on to define what concrete nouns are.

Inside of classification of nouns, we meet the concrete nouns which are those that refer to objects or entities that are real and tangible. That is, these always refer to beings or things that exist physically in reality and therefore can be captured and perceived through the senses. These types of nouns are very common and are used to name the things that are around us.

Concrete nouns have a series of their own characteristics. We can say, therefore, that concrete nouns have a gender and a number. Expressed in another way, a specific noun will always be either feminine or masculine and can always be presented in the singular or plural. In addition, these will always present a relationship of agreement with the articles or adjectives that accompany them in a sentence. Let's look at a simple example.

The word chair is a concrete, feminine singular noun. The chair exists in reality and we can grasp it through the senses. Next we are going to see how to use it in a sentence so that it is consistent with the rest of the elements of the sentence:

• In my house there is a table with four chairs nice wood.
• Your room is only decorated with a chair old woman.

Types of concrete nouns

On the other hand, within the concrete nouns we can find the following classification or types:

• Individual concrete nouns: they always refer to an entity or object that is composed of a single individual. Some examples of this type of noun are: drawer, closet, window, horse, dog, cat... etc.
• Nouns collective concrete: are those nouns that refer to objects that have to do with a set of beings. In other words, they are words that name a group in which several individuals participate. To understand it better, these examples will suffice: dozen, pack, herd, flock... etc.
• Common concrete nouns: they name an entity as a whole, that is, they have a purely lexical meaning. These are, for example, the following: woman, man, song, specialist, doctor... etc.
• Proper concrete nouns: they will be those that refer to something in particular, do not have a lexical meaning and are always capitalized. Here we find the proper names or cities. Thus we can find the following examples: Madrid, Zamora, Alicante, Antonio, Juan, Manuela, Miguel, Rodrigo, Vázquez, Almagro… .etc.

Next, and now that we know what concrete nouns and their types are, it is time to know what are abstract nouns. These are those types of words that serve to designate or name objects or entities that are part of the intangible environment.

These nouns are used to name those realities that cannot be perceived by the senses. We could say, therefore, that the referents of abstract nouns come from the world of the mind or ideas and that they cannot be captured by the senses.

In order to better understand them, it is necessary that we see a series of examples in which it becomes clear this characteristic of abstract nouns, that of the representation of ideas or mental images what cannot be grasped by the senses. These always belong to an immaterial or intangible reality for the human being. Here are some of them:

• Allegory
• Love
• Harmony
• Art
• Beauty
• Calculation
• Chaos
• Coherence
• Cohesion
• Compassion
• Despair
• God
• Division
• Loss
• Falsehood
• Ugliness
• Fraternity
• government
• Hypocrisy
• Story
• Idea
• Impossibility
• Hell
• Justice
• Legality
• Liberty
• Afraid
• Multiplication
• Hate
• I forget
• Opposition
• Order
• Originality
• Paradise
• Passion
• Thought
• Perseverance
• Politics
• Purpose
• Prudence
• I remember
• Subtraction
• Meaning
• Sincerity
• Surprise
• Suggestion
• Sum
• Tradition
• Courage
• Truth

As you can see, the nouns that serve to name objects, people or situations found in our physical and mental environment, can be divided into two types taking into account their nature. We hope that with this lesson you have been able to know what concrete and abstract nouns are through their definition and their examples. In order to continue improving your knowledge and implement your learning about Spanish language In a simple way, we invite you to visit our sections where you will find more lessons. We are sure that you will learn a lot.