People, places, things, and ideas are all nouns. They are organized into two categories: concrete and abstract.

Concrete

These nouns are physical and can be touched, heard, seen, smelled or tasted. If it can be identified through the five senses, it is concrete. This category includes many proper nouns (persons, places and things that are capitalized), such as “Iowa,” “Howard,” “Franklin D. Roosevelt” and “Rome, Italy.” Although the words “he,” “she” and “it” might seem to fit into this category, they are pronouns and do not belong here at all.

“The horse ran through the grass and headed toward the barn.”

“A fragrance of cookies came from the kitchen.”

“Stacy felt Bob give her a poke in the shoulder.”

Abstract

Anything that cannot be identified using the five senses is “abstract,” such as emotions, ideas, attributes, states of being and so forth.

“Courage and compassion are necessary for days like these.”

“Frank is known to be a man of great wisdom.”

“Childhood should be a time of joy and peace.”