65. You will notice that another use of abstract nouns is to name actions. The verb is the part of speech which expresses action, therefore many abstract nouns are formed from verbs. Notice the following list:
| Verbs | Abstract Nouns | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | learn | learning |
| 2. | invent | invention |
| 3. | choose | choice |
| 4. | defend | defense |
| 5. | try | trial |
| 6. | judge | judgment |
| 7. | read | reading |
| 8. | please | pleasure |
| 9. | elect | election |
| 10. | move | motion |
66. An abstract noun is also the name of a condition. These nouns are derived from the concrete noun which is the name of the person or thing which is in the condition.
| Concrete Nouns | Abstract Nouns | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | slave | slavery |
| 2. | friend | friendship |
| 3. | thief | theft |
| 4. | man | manhood |
| 5. | child | childhood |
| 6. | leader | leadership |
| 7. | hero | heroism |
| 8. | martyr | martyrdom |
Exercise 2
Form abstract nouns from the following adjectives, verbs and nouns.
- long
- simple
- rapid
- lovely
- loyal
- fresh
- prove
- sing
- run
- behave
- believe
- reflect
- write
- child
- agent
- infant
- rascal
- clerk
- president
- coward
NUMBER FORM
67. So we find that we classify our nouns according to the special work which they do. Now sometimes we find it necessary to change the form of the noun to make it express our thought. Thus we say, book, man, boy, knife, when we wish to express the idea of only one of each object mentioned. But when we wish to express the idea of more than one of them, we say, books, men, boys, knives.
We say, The boy calls; the boys call. The form of the noun boy is changed by adding an s to it. The meaning has also changed. Boy denotes one lad; boys denotes two or more lads. Any change in form and meaning of words is called inflection. The change to denote more than one object is called number. The word boy, denoting one is in the singular number; the word boys, denoting more than one is in the plural number.