WHAT'S AN ABSTRACT NOUN?

First, let's make sure you understand how to recognize abstract nouns when you see them. Abstract nouns are the names of things you can't visualize. They are usually the names of a condition or quality, like:

efficiency reliability attention relationships performance situation knowledge function

Verify for yourself that you can't form a picture of these words without attaching them to some personal experience of your own. A noun is usually abstract if it ends in one of these suffixes:
-tion -ism

-ity

-ment

-ness

-age

-ance/-ence

-ship

-ability

-acy

These suffixes "kill" verbs and adjectives by turning them into nouns.

Write the verbs that are the roots of these commonly used abstract nouns: Relation Recommendation

Improvement Observation Reference Application Development Connection Analysis Utilization Variability Conformity
Whenever you see a word with one of these suffixes, see if you can rewrite the sentence to use the verb root instead.

USE TERMS YOUR READER CAN PICTURE

Because there is a continuous spectrum between the totally abstract and the totally concrete, some words cannot be clearly called one or the other. So many words -- like music, life, test cannot be labeled either abstract or concrete.

Look at this list of words and number them, with 1 indicating the most abstract and 8 indicating the most specific and concrete: machine station wagon product vehicle conveyance

Edsel car rusty green Volkswagen If you had trouble, go back and try to form a picture of each word. Use the clarity of your picture to guide your numbering.
Look at this abstract for a technical paper and try to identify specifically why it fails to inform as well as it could:

The recent identification of high concentrations of aged urban pollutant haze in the Arctic Basin suggests the possibility of climate modification through the interaction of the haze with solar radiation. The presence of the absorbing aerosol layer over a high-albedo surface will lead to an enhancement in the absorption of solar radiation by the atmosphere and surface surface system. This additional heating will manifest itself as an increase in the temperature of the atmosphere and an increase in the rate of ice melt in the spring.

Notice all the abstract nouns in the passage above. (If you have trouble, look for words ending in the suffixes in the table at the beginning of the lesson.) Virtually all of the information in this abstract is buried in its abstract nouns. Although you can figure out what it is trying to say if you read it carefully, the stilted tone that results from all those abstractions hinders understanding rather than making it easier. What if the abstract were rewritten this way?

Recent increases of urban pollutant haze

in the Arctic Basin could modify the Arctic climate by absorbing more sunlight. The additional heating could make the ice melt faster in the spring.

What do you think about this new version? Does it contain all the information the first one had? Does it sound somehow "less professional"? Is it easier to read? Is it clearer and more informative? Write your impressions as specifically as you can in the space below:

ELIMINATE VAGUENESS AND COSTLY AMBIGUITY

The more concrete you make your nouns, the more specific, and therefore informative your writing will be. On the other hand, if you use only abstract nouns, your writing will be vague and open to many interpretations. Remember... writing that seeks to inform should say precisely the same thing to each reader. When your writing is full of abstract nouns, you'll get as many interpretations as you have readers. As a side benefit, using concrete nouns forces you to clarify your own fuzzy thinking. Be aware, too, that if you use a lot of abstractions, you may have hidden motives for keeping your reader in the dark. Read through this passage and use your green highlighter pen to mark all the abstract nouns:

This laboratory is conducting research with certain new materials that may combine one or more properties previously requiring separate production processes. These developments promise improved efficiency in manufacturing and will

eventually lead to products with exciting new possibilities and even some that are revolutionary in concept.

Now rewrite this passage, making up some concrete facts to substitute for all the abstractions in the passage.

Which version would you, as a reader, prefer, assuming that you wanted to be fully informed about this laboratory's activities? Which one would you, as a writer, use if you wanted to confuse your reader and keep the laboratory's work secret?

IF YOU MUST GENERALIZE...

Abstractions often show up when you want to make some kind of generalization. If you must make a general statement, there are two ways you can help make it more informative:

1. Remove as many abstract nouns as you can. 2. Sharpen its focus with representative examples and concrete illustrations.
Look at these "before and after" examples and learn how to replace generalizations with concrete specifics. Mark the abstract nouns in the "General" examples with your green highlighter. Underline the concrete nouns in the "More specific" examples: General: New circuit-testing methods are much faster than the old procedures, but they often overlook faulty components. More Specific:

The computer-controlled circuit tester checks out our memory boards ten times faster than technicians could, but it passed twenty percent more faulty regulators last month. General: Pesticides increase crop yields, but often cause damage to the environment and sickness in people. More Specific: Since 1975, when malathion was introduced in India, 65 percent more corn was produced, but birth defects increased fourfold. General: With reference to your request for information about our new product line, we are happy to send you our new catalog, in which prices have been substantially reduced. We would appreciate your business. More Specific: Thank you for asking about our new copiers. We think the Snazzo Model 820 will suit the needs of an office your size. Our new catalog describes a special 20-percent discount on copiers purchased during December. May we call you to demonstrate the 820 in your office? Notice how often abstractions appear in the general statements above and how they contribute to their vagueness.

For practice, notice in each of the following examples how:

1. Abstract subjects attract weak verbs. 2. Awkward phrases find their way into the sentence. 3. The real subject of the sentence has been relegated to a subordinate detail (usually the object of a preposition). 4. The sentenc