An abstract noun is a noun that refers to something non-physical—something conceptual that you can’t perceive directly with your senses. Examples include “sadness,” “analysis,” “government,” and “adulthood.”
Abstract nouns are contrasted with concrete nouns, which are words like “cat,” “desk,” or “Andrew” that refer to physical objects and entities.
Examples: Abstract nounsFamily is important to me.
The passage of time isn’t easy to perceive.
The article derides the quality of popular music. The author’s snobbishness is plain to see.
Published on
February 24, 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
March 11, 2023.
A concrete noun is a noun that refers to a physical thing, person, or place—something or someone that can be perceived with the five senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste). Examples include “pencil,” “dog,” “Timbuktu,” and “Patricia.”
Concrete nouns are contrasted with abstract nouns, which are words such as “politeness” describing concepts that you can’t perceive directly with the senses.
Examples: Concrete nounsMy house is made of brick and mortar.
A cat ran across the garden and climbed the fence.
Jan was supposed to be flying to Amsterdam, but he forgot his passport and didn’t realize until he got to the airport.
ChatGPT, the popular AI language model, is quite new. Educational institutions and style guides are still working out their policies on when and how content from the tool can be used and cited in academic writing.
Guidelines are still evolving, so we provide formats based on what the different style guides have said about the issue so far. This article will be updated over time to reflect the latest guidelines as different authorities develop their recommendations.
ChatGPT, the popular AI language model, is a really exciting piece of technology. In response to your inputs, it can instantly generate fluent, human-sounding responses. But how accurate is the information in those responses?
While testing the tool, we’ve come to the conclusion that, though its language capabilities are impressive, the accuracy of its responses can’t always be trusted. We recommend using ChatGPT as a source of inspiration and feedback—but not as a source of information.
Below, we explain what ChatGPT does well and what kinds of things it tends to get wrong. We also explore why its responses aren’t always reliable and look at the best ways to use it responsibly.
A possessive noun is the special form of a noun that’s used to indicate ownership (possession). The possessive noun represents the owner (possessor) of something and usually comes right before another noun representing what they own (e.g., “Jeremy’s car”).
Possessive nouns are formed from the basic versions of nouns by adding an apostrophe and the letter “s”: for instance, “boy” becomes “boy’s.” The possessives of plural nouns normally only add an apostrophe, not an additional “s”: “boys” becomes “boys’.”
Possessive nouns don’t always indicate literal ownership. “Alice’s brother” doesn’t suggest that Alice owns her brother; the possessive is just used to show their relationship.
Examples: Possessive nounsMy house’s front door is painted green.
Granddad’s hearing isn’t what it used to be.
That’s my room, and this one is Nari’s.
The first noise I heard in the morning was a rooster’s crowing.
Published on
February 13, 2023
by
Jack Caulfield
Revised on
March 2, 2023.
People are still figuring out the best use cases for ChatGPT, the popular chatbot based on a powerful AI language model. This article provides some ideas for how to use the tool to assist with your academic writing.
ChatGPT can assist you with the following steps when writing a paper, thesis, or dissertation:
NoteUniversities and other educational institutions are still developing their policies on how ChatGPT (and similar tools) may and may not be used by students. Always follow your institution’s guidelines over any suggestions we give.
An appositive (also called an appositive noun or appositive phrase) is a noun phrase that follows another noun phrase and provides additional information about it. The two words or phrases are described as being in apposition.
The usual structure is the antecedent (a noun phrase that the appositive will give more information about) followed by the appositive itself, either set off by commas or, if it’s essential to the meaning of the sentence, without any additional punctuation.
Examples: AppositivesMy best friend, a doctor, is coming to town.
The capital of France, Paris, is a popular destination for tourists from across the world.
The authorJane Austen is best known for her second novel, Pride and Prejudice.
A gerund is a word like “swimming” in the sentence “I have always enjoyed swimming.” The term refers to the “-ing” form of a verb when it functions as a noun.
A gerund usually refers in a general way to the activity represented by the verb it’s derived from. Above, “swimming” means the activity of swimming in general, not a specific instance of swimming.
Gerunds are different from other nouns in that they can be modified by adverbials (e.g., “I enjoy swimming in the sea”) and can take direct objects (e.g., “playing my guitar always relaxes me”).
Examples: GerundsCycling is a fun activity, a convenient mode of transport, and a good form of exercise.
Published on
February 2, 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
February 22, 2023.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement means choosing a pronoun that matches its antecedent (the earlier noun or noun phrase it refers to) in terms of number, person, and gender. Agreement errors can cause confusion or just make your writing read poorly.
For example, the sentence “Jennifer is here, and she isn’t happy” is correct because the pronoun “she” is singular (Jennifer is one person), third-person (Jennifer is not the speaker and isn’t being directly addressed), and feminine (Jennifer is a woman).
The vast majority of common agreement errors relate to number (singular vs. plural). Examples of some errors and how they can be fixed are shown in the table below. The following sections explain various contexts where mistakes commonly occur.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement errors
Error
Correction
The box of pencils remained in their place.
The box of pencils remained in its place.
Each day will bring their own challenges.
Each day will bring its own challenges.
One should look out for themselves.
One should look out for oneself.
NoteFor convenience, examples of agreement between possessive determiners (e.g., “their”) and their antecedents are included in this article. Even though these determiners are not pronouns, they are closely related and cause the same kind of confusion.
Subject-verb agreement follows many of the same principles but is about the relationship between a verb and its subject rather than a pronoun and its antecedent.
Published on
January 27, 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
March 15, 2023.
As well as is an expression that means “in addition to.” It’s used as a conjunction or preposition to connect two parts of a sentence, usually placing emphasis on the one that comes before it. Synonyms of “as well as” include “along with,” “besides,” and “plus.”
Examples: As well as in a sentenceIt’s important to consider the risks as well as the rewards.
As well as being delicious, coconut water offers a number of health benefits.
This chapter explains how the model was developed, as well as reviewing related literature.
