Concrete Nouns

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns are defined as nouns that are connected with our sensory experiences, touch, sight, smell, sound and taste.  A long list of nouns that come under this category as because there a number of things which we experience through our senses, such as flowers, food, song of the birds, a full moon night, etc.  

Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns, as the name suggests, cannot be comprehended by sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste.  They are felt through feelings or emotions, these are again numerous; some examples of abstract nouns are, adoration, aversion, fear, etc.
The table given below gives a list of concrete nouns and abstract nouns; it clearly shows the difference between two types of nouns. 

You can see from the above list a teacher is a person who is visible to our eyes, while we are unable to see, touch or smell courage or loyalty.
Example:
1.       My Smart Phone has a beautiful ring tone.
2.       My teacher is very articulate and can talk on any subject.
Why do we need to know the difference between a concrete and an abstract noun?  Experts say a well written essay; blog needs to contain both types of nouns, concrete and abstract.  If we use too many abstract nouns the writing becomes difficult and incomprehensible and if we use too many concrete nouns the writing becomes dull and uninteresting.  Judicious use of both concrete and abstract nouns helps the reader to both enjoy and understand the ideas expressed.

Categories of Concrete Nouns:

Concrete Nouns are subdivided into four types:
1)      Proper Noun:  Nouns that are names of specific person and places, e.g. Jerry, or France
2)      Common Noun: Names that are given too many things and places, e.g. a city or a flower.
3)      Material Noun: Names of specific substance, e.g. iron, uranium, etc.
4)      Collective Noun:  Names given to a group of things or people, e.g. army, flock of birds, herd of cattle.

Countable and Non Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, e.g. a flower (a single flower) and flowers, (many flowers). Countable nouns can be both singular and plural as seen from the above example.  Non countable nouns cannot be counted, e.g.  air, rice, or cream, etc.
It is not possible to give a detailed list of concrete nouns; however, the following list gives some idea of concrete nouns that are used frequently. 
 
Concrete Nouns List

Animals	Clothes	Buildings	Eatables	Furniture
dinosaur	Evening Gown	House	Pizza	Computer  Table
squirrel	Stocking	Apartment	Salad	Queen Bed
Shark	Shirt	Museum	Roasted duck	Dressing Table
Cow	Tie	Houses of Parliament	Éclair	Easy Chairs
Elephant	Tee shirt	Cottage	Fruit salad	Book case
Rat	Jeans	Mansion	Red Wine	Lamp
Hen	Socks	Beach House	Biscuits	Dining chairs

Example:
                Many soldiers were given medals for their acts of bravery in the Iraq War.
                Tom saw a shark heading towards him and was paralyzed by fear.