Evil is an abstract noun.
Words that can function as subjects in sentences are called nouns . These are names that refer to beings or objects. Abstract , for its part, is an adjective that refers to the quality that exists beyond the subject or that which is symbolic (as opposed to the material or physical).
The idea of an abstract noun , in this way, is linked to the terms that allow us to name objects created by thought or perceived through intelligence . It is possible to differentiate, therefore, between abstract nouns and concrete nouns (which are responsible for naming objects that are perceived through the senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste).
Abstract noun example
An example of an abstract noun is “evil.” The notion is associated with the condition of one or that thing that is bad. Because “evil” is not something that can be detected through the senses, but is a mental construction, it can be classified as an abstract noun. For example: “This young man's evil is evident in each of his actions,” “He is a man who has no evil,” “I don't think it was a joke: it was simply evil.”
Many times abstract nouns are constructed from the addition of suffixes to a verb or an adjective. If we focus our attention on the previous example, “evil” derives from “bad” .
Among the most used abstract nouns is piety.
Main features
In order to better understand what an abstract noun means, there is nothing better than knowing other specifications or characteristics of it such as these:
-They also refer to feelings, sensations and elements that have to do with our imagination.
-Specifically, compared to the so-called concrete nouns, which are those that we can establish that have a tangible character, the abstract ones cannot be “touched”. That is, these are only given shape through thought, emotion, imagination...
-It is common that, when forming the nouns in question from verbs, adjectives or other nouns, suffixes such as “-dad” or “-encia” are used. Examples of this are humility, freedom, generosity, evil, decency, innocence...
-This type of nouns are considered to be one of the five large groups in which nouns are classified. Thus, in addition to them there are the specific ones, the common ones, the own ones and the collective ones.
Other of the many examples of abstract nouns are craving, ambition, banality, desire, spirituality, lust, foolishness, obsession or pity.
Sentences with abstract nouns
Sentences that can help us delve even further into this type of nouns can be the following:
-“The generosity of human beings sometimes has no limits.”
-“If there is something that defined Juan, it was his great kindness.”
-“The love that Manuel felt towards Carmen was truly unique.”
-“Isabel showed good signs of her selfishness when she did not want to share food with her friends.”
“Joy” , “faith” and “hunger” are also abstract nouns: “Since Marita left I lost my joy” , “I have faith that everything will change” , “Hunger doesn't let me think clearly” .