Classifications of consonants
abstract and cocrete noun.
- Bu sahifa navigatsiya:
- Philosophical concepts
Personality traitscourage loyalty compassion maturity elegance stupidity aggression patience |
Philosophical conceptsindustrialism causality relativity ethics capitalism democracy |
Figure 2
Of course, there are thousands of other abstract nouns, but these are just some common ones to help you understand.
Forming abstract nouns with suffixes.
Often you can create abstract nouns from verbs, adjectives, and even concrete nouns by taking the root word and adding a suffix. This is a great way to discuss the general concept behind something besides specific examples.
Take the verb relax. To describe the general state of relaxing, add the suffix -ation to make the abstract noun relaxation. The adjective good takes the suffix -ness to become the abstract noun goodness. The concrete noun friend needs -ship to make the abstract noun friendship.
Specific words use specific suffixes, so you can’t just mix and match them at will. Consult a dictionary if you’re not sure on the correct suffix. Be careful: Some words change completely when they become abstract nouns. The abstract noun of weak is weakness, but the abstract noun of strong is strength.
Using abstract nouns in a sentence. Abstract nouns follow all the same rules as other nouns. They work perfectly well as subjects and objects, follow capitalization rules as usual, and can take a possessive form (e.g., freedom’s price). They can also be singular or plural; however, you first must identify whether they’re countable or uncountable (also known as mass nouns).
Countable and uncountable abstract nouns. One of the hardest parts about abstract nouns is determining whether they are countable or uncountable—often they can be both, but only one is correct depending on the usage.
Basically, if an abstract noun has a general or broad meaning, representing all occurrences, it is uncountable.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
No one wins without talent.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal.” —Winston Churchill
If, however, an abstract noun refers to a specific incident or occurrence, then it follows the rules of a countable noun, using articles (a, an, the) and quantifiers like few and many. If your specific abstract noun refers to more than one occurrence, you make it plural by following the regular rules for nouns.
The time I spend with you lasts forever.
You have a talent for winning.
“If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?” —Jerry Seinfeld
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