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Old 25-Sep-2004, 18:39
Anonymous
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Default abstract nouns

If we use our senses to identify concrete nouns, and we do not use our senses to identify abstract nouns, can you help me identify the following nouns? a walk, run, sneeze, attempt or any other action
sight, sound, smell, touch, taste
drumbeat, helium
I am so lost. Can we just identify a concrete noun by if it is made up of anything on the periodic table? Or is it more than that?
I can taste a lemon, and I can taste the sourness. Are lemon and sourness both concrete?
I can hear the chords, and I can hear the music. Are those both abstract? ieeyyyyyyy
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Old 26-Sep-2004, 03:04
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Try this, llessard:

'Concrete' means tangible, physical; 'abstract' means conceptual.

I can see, hear or smell any action. I can hear a drumbeat or a sneeze, I can swallow helium (or any of the elements, if I have suicidal tendencies), I can see you taking a walk or having a short run.

You can taste the lemon or the citric acid within, but the sourness is the mental concept of that taste, so 'sourness' is an abstract noun.

You hear the chords which are a physical combination of tones-- chords and tones are both physical constructs-- but whether it is music or not depends on your sensibility. Some would call 'rap' music, but I would not: 'music' is in the mind of the beholder, hence an abstract noun.

Does that help any?
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