Concrete nouns in English

Concrete nouns are some of the most common words in English. You'll literally see, smell, taste, touch, and hear them everywhere because these are nouns we can experience through one or more of our five senses.

In this reference, we will explore the definition of concrete noun, look at the different types of concrete nouns in English and learn to use them in sentences. We will also look at common mistakes learners make with this part of speech.

What is a concrete noun?

Concrete nouns are tangible objects that can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or heard. Examples of concrete nouns include animals, places, people, objects, and ideas.

Unlike abstract nouns, which are ideas or concepts that cannot be experienced with anything other than our minds, concrete nouns are physical objects that surround us. For example, the word "chair" is a concrete noun because it is something that can be seen and touched. The word "love" is an abstract noun because it is something that cannot be seen or touched.

Concrete noun examples

Let's look at some examples of concrete nouns to better understand what they are.

• Animals: dog, cat, bird, fish
• Places: house, park, mountain, beach
• People: teacher, student, doctor, lawyer
• Objects: book, table, chair, laptop

As you can see, concrete nouns are physical objects that can be experienced through our senses. However, some words can be both concrete and abstract nouns. For example, the word "time" can refer to a physical object (e.g. a clock) or an abstract concept (e.g. the time of day).

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List of concrete nouns

Here is a list of 10 common concrete nouns of each type:

• Animals: Dog, cat, mouse, rabbit, bird, fish, snake, turtle, frog, cow
• Places: House, park, school, beach, mountain, restaurant, store
• People: Teacher, student, doctor, lawyer, mother, father, sister, brother
• Objects: Book, table, chair, laptop, car, phone, pen, pencil, paper, computer

How to use concrete nouns in sentences

Now that you know how they work, let's look at some concrete noun sentence examples.

Concrete nouns are often used as the subject of a sentence. For example:

• The dog barked.
• The teacher gave us an assignment.
• The river is full of fish.

Concrete nouns can also be used as objects in a sentence. For example:

• I bought a new book.
• We went to the park.
• She wore a dress.

In addition, concrete nouns can be used in prepositional phrases. For example:

• The cat sat on the chair.
• The students ran around the school.
• We stopped at the store.

We can also have more than one concrete noun in a sentence. For example:

• The mother and daughter went shopping.
• The dog and cat chased each other around the house.
• The lawyer and doctor discussed the case. 
    
   
   

Concrete noun plural forms

It's important to make sure that the noun you're using is in the correct form. When talking about a group of people, you want to use the plural form of the noun.

For example:

• The lawyers presented their argument. (plural)
• The lawyer presented his argument. (singular)

In addition, both singular and plural form is the same for certain nouns.

For example:

• The sheep is on the hill. (singular)
• The sheep are on the hill. (plural)

Summary

A concrete noun is a type of noun that can be experienced through one or more of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. We explored concrete nouns in English and looked at what a concrete noun is and how to use them in sentences. We also looked at a lot of examples and learned to change their form according to the meaning we want to convey.

Over time, you'll effortlessly use concrete nouns and not even think about the type of word you're using in your speech.