Questions: Nouns: People, Places, Things, and Ideas

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of an abstract noun?

• A. mountain
• B. teacher
• C. courage
• D. London

Answer: (C)

Courage names an idea or quality that cannot be physically touched or seen — it is abstract. Mountain and teacher are concrete nouns (physical, observable things or people). London is a proper noun (a specific named place). Abstract nouns are often overlooked because students associate nouns with physical objects, but ideas, emotions, and qualities are equally valid nouns.

Question 2

Abstract nouns like 'happiness' and 'justice' are not really nouns because they can seldom be physically touched or seen.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

A noun is defined by its grammatical function — naming an entity — not by whether it is tangible. Abstract nouns name concepts, qualities, states, and ideas. They behave grammatically just like concrete nouns: they can be subjects ('Justice was served'), objects ('She sought happiness'), and can take articles and plurals. The 'can you touch it?' test correctly identifies many nouns but fails for the abstract category.

Question 3

What is the difference between a common noun and a proper noun? Give one example of each.

Model answer: A common noun names a general category of person, place, or thing (e.g., city, river, dog). A proper noun names a specific, unique entity within that category and is always capitalized (e.g., Paris, Amazon, Fido).

The key distinction is specificity: 'city' could refer to any city, while 'Paris' refers to one particular city. Capitalization is the written marker of proper nouns in English, which is why inconsistent capitalization is a reliable sign that a student is still developing this distinction.