Abstract nouns
Understand and use abstract nouns to name ideas, qualities, and states that cannot be perceived by the senses
What a learner can do afterwards
- Sort words like 'freedom', 'table', 'courage', 'pencil', 'childhood' into abstract and concrete noun categories
- Complete sentences using appropriate abstract nouns: 'Her _____ (brave → bravery) inspired the whole team'
- Write three sentences each containing a different abstract noun (e.g. 'honesty', 'friendship', 'happiness')
The lesson
You already know that nouns name people, places, and things. Some nouns name things you can see and touch, like a dog or a chair. Other nouns name feelings, ideas, and qualities that you cannot touch at all. These are called abstract nouns.
Look at these two groups. Concrete nouns: table, pencil, apple. You can touch each one. Abstract nouns: freedom, courage, childhood. You cannot hold freedom in your hand or see courage on a shelf, but they are still real, and they are still nouns.
Many abstract nouns come from describing words. Take the word brave. Add an ending and it becomes bravery, a noun that names the quality itself: 'Her bravery inspired the whole team.'
To check if a word is an abstract noun, ask yourself: can I see it, touch it, or hold it? If the answer is no, it probably names a feeling or an idea, so it is abstract.
Abstract nouns name ideas and feelings you cannot touch, while concrete nouns name things you can.
Watch it
Where it sits
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Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.