A concrete noun is a person, place, or thing that can be experienced through one or more of the five senses. It is something material and not abstract. Examples of concrete nouns are chairs, houses, and cars. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, are immaterial and refer to ideas or concepts.
To understand concrete nouns better, let's look at an example. When trolls experience these concrete nouns and see the rising sun turn their bodies to stone, they realize Gandalf's ingenuity too late. In this sentence, 'trolls', 'sun', and 'stone' are all concrete nouns that can be experienced through one or more of the five senses. It is important to be able to differentiate between concrete and abstract nouns in order to use them correctly in writing.
The Common Core State Standards require continuous attention to this skill in the upper grades as students increasingly apply sophisticated writing and speaking. To test your ability to identify concrete nouns, try this quick quiz:
- Strength
- Gandalf
- Fiction
