As you may know, a noun is a name given to a person, a thing, an animal, or a place.
What do you mean by a thing?
A chair is a thing. You can see and feel a chair.
It is not a person. It is not a name of a place. It is just a thing.
A book is a thing. You can see and feel a book.
Remember that a noun is something that you can have, or something that you can give, whether it is something you can hold, or something that you cannot hold.
Take for example advice.
I can give you an advice.
Advice is an abstract noun because you cannot see or feel an advice.
Please don't confuse advice with advise.
Both are different. Advice is a noun and advise is a verb.
Since a noun is something you can have, you can take, or you can give, and since I can give you an advice, advice is a noun.
Again, since you cannot see or touch advice, it is an intangible noun or an abstract noun.
What does abstract mean?
Abstract means something that exists in our thoughts but not in reality.
We can talk about it. We can hear about it. But we cannot see it. We cannot touch it. We cannot hold it in our hands. We cannot push it or pull it.
But we can think about it.
Consider the next sentence:
The girl's courage saved many lives.
What did the girl use to save many lives?
She used courage.
Although you can see the result of courage (many lives were saved), you can also see an act of courage, but as a word, compared to a chair, can you see courage?
You cannot.
Therefore, courage is an abstract noun.
Hence, whenever you use a noun that cannot be seen or touched, or felt by hand, is an abstract noun.
Some examples of abstract nouns are
Intelligence, smartness, fear, honesty, truth, charity, confidence, compassion, love, failure, dedication, hostility, necessity, luxury, quality, need, friendship, success, aimlessness, policy, kindness, grace, happiness and enmity.
Can you find out abstract nouns in the following sentences?
People can be happy even in poverty.
It is poverty.
In ancient times many philosophers came to India in search of knowledge.
It is knowledge.
His hardwork paid in the end.
It is hard work.
She has a strong sense of independence.
It is independence.
People believed in his leadership.
It is leadership.
The nurse served her patients with compassion.
It is compassion.
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