Question

Identify the common noun(s) from the below sentence:
I was quite impressed by his fluency in speaking the tribal language.
A. Impressed
B. fluency, language
C. fluency
D. language

Answer 1

Hint: A generic name for the person, place, or thing in a class or group is a common noun. A common noun is not capitalized until it starts a sentence or appears in a title, unlike proper nouns. Concrete (perceptible to the senses), abstract (involving general concepts or qualities), or collective nouns are all examples of common nouns (referring to a group or collection).

Complete answer:
Common nouns are nouns which do not refer to a particular person, place or thing. They are not capitalized. Abstract nouns are not common nouns. In the given sentence we have to identify the common noun. So, let us look at all the options to identify the common noun in the sentence.

Let us loo into the given options:
Option A) Impressed – This option is not correct because in the given sentence, the word-impressed is the past tense form of the verb - impress. It is not a noun. Hence, option A is incorrect.
Option B) fluency, language– This option is not correct because the word “fluency” in the sentence is an abstract noun not a common noun and “language” is a common noun. Hence, option B is incorrect.
Option C) fluency – This option is not correct because “fluency” is an abstract noun not a common noun. Hence, option C is incorrect.
Option D) language - The word language in the sentence is a common noun and note that it is not capitalized. Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Thus the correct answer is option (D) i.e, language.

Note: People make the mistake of capitalizing common nouns unnecessarily. Some titles, such as president, seem to be begging for a capital letter because we want to emphasize their importance instinctively. However, if it does not name something or someone specific, even this lofty title is a common noun (in this case, a specific president).