Question

Point out the noun or nouns in the following sentence, and say whether they are common, proper, collective, or abstract:
I believe in his innocence.
a) I - proper
b) I - proper; believe - common
c) I - proper; innocence - common
d) innocence - abstract

Answer 1

Hint: Collective nouns are used to denote a collection of other nouns. Common nouns are non-specific naming words. Proper nouns are specific naming words and abstract nouns are intangible naming words.

Complete answer:
A proper noun is a naming word used for an individual human, a place, or an organization, starting with a capital letter, always. For example, ‘Taj Mahal’, ‘James’, and ‘Meena’ are all proper nouns, as they are specific names of objects and people.
A collective noun is a collection of things taken as a whole, as in multiple parts make one whole. For example, the word ‘murder’ is used to describe a group of crows.
Similarly, common nouns are nouns denoting regular objects or a general concept as opposed to one specific individual. They are the opposite of a proper noun. For example, words like ‘school’, ‘garden’, and ‘monument’ are common nouns.
An abstract noun is a noun denoting an idea, quality, or state that cannot be seen rather than a concrete object. For example, the words ‘truth’, ‘danger’, ‘happiness’, etc are abstract nouns.

Now let’s have a look at our options one by one-
a) I - proper - This option suggests that the word ‘I’ is a proper noun. However, the word ‘I’ is not a noun at all. This is an example of a pronoun. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) I - proper; believe - common - This option suggests that the word ‘I’ is a proper noun. However, the word ‘I’ is not a noun at all. This is an example of a pronoun. The word ‘believe’ is not a noun, but a verb. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) I - proper; innocence - common - This option suggests that the word ‘I’ is a proper noun. However, the word ‘I’ is not a noun at all. This is an example of a pronoun. The word ‘innocence’ is a noun, but not a common noun. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) innocence - abstract - The word ‘innocence’ is suggested to be an abstract noun. This is the required answer, as innocence is not tangible. So, this is the correct option.


Note:
Each option gives you a different answer. Try to identify what ‘collective nouns’, ‘proper nouns’, ‘abstract nouns’ and, ’common nouns’ mean. This will help you to choose the correct option.