Question

Say whether the underlined nouns are Common, Proper, Collective or Abstract:
The soldiers were rewarded for their bravery.
A) Soldiers – Abstract; bravery – Common
B) Soldiers – Proper; bravery – Abstract
C) Soldiers – Common; bravery – Abstract
D) Soldiers – Collective; bravery – Common

Answer 1

Hint: Noun is a word that names something such as name, place, thing or idea. Nouns are of eight types: common nouns, proper nouns, concrete and abstract nouns, countable and uncountable nouns, collective and compound nouns.

Complete answer:
In this question, we have to identify the type of noun for ‘soldiers’ and ‘bravery’.
Option A) Soldiers – Abstract; bravery – Common: this is an incorrect answer because abstract nouns are those nouns who do not have physical existence but they can be felt, however, soldiers have physical existence. So, soldiers cannot be abstract nouns. However, abstract nouns are ideas, qualities, conditions, friendships, happiness, sadness, lies, truth and etc. Common nouns are those nouns named for something which is common for many things, person, or places. So, bravery cannot be a common noun. Therefore, this option is an incorrect option.

Option B) Soldiers – Proper; bravery – Abstract: is an incorrect answer because proper nouns are the name that is given for a single person, place, animal or thing. Such as Australia, Italy, Rohan and etc. So, soldiers cannot be a proper noun. And abstract nouns who do not have physical existence but they can be felt, however, bravery is an abstract noun because we cannot see it but can feel it. So, bravery is an abstract noun. We need both the sub-options to be correct – soldiers are not proper nouns and bravery is an abstract noun. Thus, this is an incorrect option.

Option C) Soldiers – Common; bravery – Abstract: is the correct answer because common nouns are those nouns named for something which is common for many things, person, or places. So, soldiers are common nouns. And bravery is an abstract noun because abstract nouns are those nouns who do not have physical existence but they can be felt. So, bravery can be felt. Thus, both the sub-options lie in the correct type of noun. Thus, this is the correct option.

Option D) Soldiers – Collective; bravery – Common: is an incorrect answer because collective noun is the word for the group of things, people or things and etc. Such as team, family or jury. So, soldiers do not come under collective nouns. Bravery also does not come under common nouns because common nouns are those nouns named for something which is common for many things, person, or places. So, this is an incorrect option.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: Common noun is the name given to every person or thing of the same class or kind. Abstract noun is the name given to a quality, action or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs. Soldiers is a general term that refers to army men and bravery is an abstract noun as it is a quality which is intangible.