Exercise is important. And by exercise we don’t only mean the sweaty kind that you periodically engage in so that you don’t feel like you’re wasting that money you pay to some gym every month. Exercising your peevery is important as well, and your complaining-about-language muscles need exercise just as much as your opening-that-jar-of-pickles muscles (or whatever it is you use those muscles for).
Functional shift (“the process by which a word or form comes to be used in another grammatical function”) is a thing that people often get exercised about, particularly when a verb becomes a noun (invite & impact). But sometimes adjectives become nouns (myriad & fun), and this is also something one could become upset about, if one wished to (many people do). However, much like rippling abdominal muscles, remaining angry at the natural shifts of language is not something that comes easily to most people; it has to be worked at. In order to maintain your proper level of spleen let’s take a look at another adjective that has slumped over into nounhood: creative.
«Hmm, which word can we mess up next?»
At some point over the past decade, it became acceptable for adults to describe themselves, in a professional context, as creative. The word even sprouted a noun form. «I am a creative,» a coder or juice-bar mogul might state, with an absence of doubt that would have embarrassed a Grammy-decorated songwriter in humbler times.
— Janan Ganesh, Financial Times (London, Eng.), 4 Nov. 2017I try to stay current with what my parents would have called the «younger generation,» and what I call colleagues, friends, nieces and nephews. Here’s one for you to trot out and be irritated by. It seems that the adjective «creative» is now in use as a noun.
— Messenger Inquirer (Owensboro, KY), 31 Aug. 2016I thought my irritation with marketing had peaked until I found out recently that «creative» is used as a noun for marketing campaigns. Ugh. Yes, I know that language evolves. But mutation is at the very heart of evolution and some mutations are not helpful or welcome.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement (London, Eng.), 24 Sept. 2015
The citations above share some qualities: all are from the past few years, none like the use of creative as a noun, and all (mistakenly, it turns out) think that this use is recent. While the adjective form of creative may be much older (early 16th century), the word has been used as a noun for almost 200 years.
It is to be lamented certainly that the three Armies of India do not form one great whole, but, while the distinctions do exist, the good policy of promoting harmony amongst them should dictate to the Government the avoidance of all such creatives of jealousy as this staff dispute has unavoidably proved.
— The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce (Bombay, Ind.), 19 Jan. 1839Yet the great Sydenham discovered of “Peccant humors,” “Coctions,” “Commotions,” and “Effervescences” which we now believe for the most part to have been mere creatives of a void imagination.
— The Western Lancet (San Francisco, CA), 1 Nov. 1872The epoch of enthusiasm in colonization affairs is over and gone; the enormous immigration which of itself indicated this method of outlet has subsided, and we are free to contemplate the creatives of the past triad of years in the way of agricultural settlements by Jews.
— The American Hebrew (New York, NY), 10 Oct. 1884
Granted, these 19th century uses of creative as a noun are simply using the word as a synonym for creation, a meaning that has not remained in use. What of the use of creative to mean “a creative person”? We regret to inform you that this use is over a hundred years old, so you may not blame it on the millennials.
If creatives intellectual work is to prosper and increase in America it must be treated with recognition and respect….— The Times of India (Mumbai, Ind.), 6 Aug. 1912
But what about the ‘modern’ sense of creative … you know, the one that all the kids are using these days to refer to people involved in advertising campaigns and suchlike. The advertising sense is fairly new, having only been in use since the 1930s.
A dose of the anonymous Groucho is recommended to the college creatives who think of the advertising “game” as a promised land where one may deign to accept a great deal of money for having fun among the pencils and paint pots and typewriters.
— Hope Hale, The New York Herald Tribune, 30 Nov. 1930Mr. Chevins said that too often “we creative men” are letting the research men create the advertising. “Too many of our so-called creatives are joining that unseemly and unsightly group in advertising, the pack of pin-striped pinheads who have never given birth to anything but the blues.”
— New York Herald Tribune, 26 Apr. 1959Undoubtedly, many were cries from the creatives to the effect that, “if you had sold the campaign I prepared, we still would have had American.”
— The Irish Times (Dublin, Ir.), 13 Feb. 1969
We have entries for creative as both adjective and noun, with the noun defined as “one who is creative, especially one involved in the creation of advertisements,” and “creative activity or the material produced by it especially in advertising.” This noun use of the word may taste unwelcome, like a rancid licorice drop mixed in with a plate of strawberries, and you may continue to excitedly kvetch when other people use it, but it is neither recent nor unusual. When you are exercising your complaining-about-language muscles it is very important to remember that “new to me” and “new” may not always be the same thing.
Table of Contents
- What is the verb of creative?
- What is the sentence of creative?
- How do you use creativity in a sentence?
- Is creative an adjective or adverb?
- What comes to your mind when you hear the term creative?
- What are the synonyms for creative?
- What part of speech is the word creative?
- What is creativity in one word?
- How do you show creativity?
- What is an example of creative thinking?
- What are the different types of creative thinking?
- How do you find a creative solution?
- What are the barriers of problem solving?
- What is a scamper tool?
- How can I be more creative in problem solving?
We have entries for creative as both adjective and noun, with the noun defined as “one who is creative, especially one involved in the creation of advertisements,” and “creative activity or the material produced by it especially in advertising.” This noun use of the word may taste unwelcome, like a rancid licorice drop …
What is the verb of creative?
the state or quality of being creative. 2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
What is the sentence of creative?
Examples of creative in a Sentence Adjective She’s a very creative person. She has one of the most creative minds in the business. They’ve come up with some creative new ways to make money. a creative solution to a difficult problem He teaches creative writing at the university.
How do you use creativity in a sentence?
(1) I admired the creativity which prevailed among the young writers. (2) A good teacher can encourage artistic creativity. (3) They hope the new rules will not stifle creativity. (5) She felt her creativity was being strangled.
Is creative an adjective or adverb?
adjective. having the quality or power of creating. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing. originative; productive (usually followed by of).
What comes to your mind when you hear the term creative?
It is the tendency to create works of art, science and business from thoughts generated from our mind, heart and soul. …
What are the synonyms for creative?
other words for creative
- gifted.
- ingenious.
- innovative.
- inventive.
- original.
- productive.
- visionary.
- clever.
What part of speech is the word creative?
creative
| part of speech: | adjective |
|---|---|
| definition: | able to make or do something new or with imagination. Lucas is a creative chess player.That creative inventor designed a new kind of wheelchair. synonyms: imaginative, inventive similar words: adept, artistic, clever, ingenious, inspired, original |
What is creativity in one word?
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
How do you show creativity?
10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
- You don’t have to be a genius.
- Think process, not product.
- Share something small, every day.
- Open up your cabinet of curiosities.
- Tell good stories.
- Teach what you know.
- Don’t turn into human spam.
- Learn to take a punch.
What is an example of creative thinking?
Examples of creative thinking skills include: problem solving, writing, visual art, communication skills, and open-mindedness. To show your creative thinking skills on a resume or during a job interview, don’t just list them: provide real-life examples of how you used them.
What are the different types of creative thinking?
12 Types of Creative Thinking
- Abundance Mentality. Supporting, extending and connecting the ideas of other people as opposed to a rivalrous approach to solving a problem.
- Divergent Thinking. Challenging accepted assumptions and ideas.
- Brainstorming.
- Preserving Ambiguity.
- Creativity of Constraints.
- Design Thinking.
- Counterfactual Thinking.
- Abstraction.
How do you find a creative solution?
Here are 12 tips for kickstarting your creativity and discovering more innovative solutions to problems.
- Come up with bad ideas first.
- Get visual.
- Solve the opposite problem.
- Copy someone else.
- Act it out.
- Set boundaries.
- Take a break and do something else.
- Try a SWOT analysis.
What are the barriers of problem solving?
Common barriers to problem solving are cognitive blocks that impede the ability to correctly solve problems. These can be perceptual, emotional, intellectual, expressive, environmental, and cultural.
About the Tool SCAMPER is a mnemonic that stands for: Substitute. Combine. Adapt. Modify.
How can I be more creative in problem solving?
Follow these steps to start improving your creative problem-solving skills.
- Use a strategic framework.
- Practice empathy.
- Get a hobby.
- Relax your assumptions.
- Practice persistence.
- Question standard practices.
- Consider your past experiences.
- Become an expert in your field.
December 16, 2004 by Steven Garrity in Usability & Design, Writing
Pet peeve: people who use the word “creative” as a noun. Example:
“The ad will run on Friday, but the creative will be ready by Wednesday.”
If you say things like that, I don’t like you. Don’t bother offering justifications.
(disclosure: According to Dictionary.com, “creative” can be used as a noun to describe a person who “displays productive originality” – I don’t like that either, but it’s not as bad)
24 thoughts on “Creative is not a noun”
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“The creative” is an adjectival noun, like like someone being in “the running”. Unlike gerundives with the “-ing”, however, they smack of communications-brand-speak.
Use such as “they are creative” in which is a noun as you described is no different that “she is funny”. I don’t want to be forced to say “she is a funny girl” to achieve the more acceptable “that is the creative team”.
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Can’t you just not like the person’s usage of the word, without making a decision to not like the whole person?
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You’re right.
No justifications, no nothing, you’re just spot on.
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Half the web design agencies I know use “creative” in this way. The other half, though, use a word like “comp”, which is pretty much just as meaningless. What is the appropriate non-hatred-engendering noun?
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Creative is not a noun, God is not a verb, and creatives aren’t gods. They’re worship-me fags, in the best, least-hateful sense of the term.
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as in, bundles of firewood?
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It’s offensive to people who -are- creative, because it commoditizes and belittles what they do. To a production/project manager, “the creative”, “the tech”, etc are replaceable pieces in a larger puzzle.
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I don’t like it either, but you’re going to want to get used to it, because it is quickly becoming an industry standard (potentially all encompassing) term within this industry (the creative industry, mind you, not describing us, but rather that which we produce). Designers are creatives, a peice of art is a creative. Its silly, but that’s the lingo we’re using these days. So get out there and produce some creatives!
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Why can’t you just create some products?
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> you’re going to want to get used to it
Quite simply,
No. 🙂
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Hey, they’re coders not gramarians. On the other hand it could be that Al Haig has been teaching English.
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“The creative”. I’ve heard this for ages. Sounds like a great title for a John Grisham novel.
I’ve also heard people discuss their clients this way, as in “client doesn’t like the creative”, or “I’ll have to send that to client for approval”. Somehow, it would sound okay in a British accent, but from a Canadian it just sounds condescending and intensely impersonal.
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I have issues with ‘creative’ being used to blanket all sorts of ideas, jobs, people, things. Used as a adjective mostly and certainly have issues with it dropped in as a noun.
If you have time, this is a good example.
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Which sounds better, “Pardon me, design diety? Could you please release the creative to the publishers?” or “Hey, pierced peon, haul your pale ass over to Kinko’s and run off a couple hundred more fliers for the Nascar nachos promo!”
Language should be flexible and expressive. ‘Creative’ as a noun is a useful shortcut because it encompasses a wide range of work like illustrations, graphic designs, video clips and written copy. Creative as a noun is primarily used to refer to ‘creative’ marketing material. There isn’t much point in getting self righteous about the words we use to describe marketing fluff, is there?
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How do we feel about “Creative” being used as a noun to describe a person who creates? My boss will use the sentence “I’m not sure, let me go round up the creatives and see what they think.” He’s grouped the UI Designer, the Graphic Designer, and the Developers together collectively as “The Creatives”. I kinda like it 🙂
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I don’t want to be a weiner, but you’ve raised questions about your official title as “Creative Director”.
Do you direct the creative (like an Art Director or a Music Director directs the art or the music)?
Or are you a director who is creative (like a Sleepy Director is sleepy or a Purple Director is purple)?
The second one is lame and implies other directors aren’t creative, but the first breaks the law. Thus my confusion! Are there other interpretations I’ve not derived from your (grammatically) ambiguous title?
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Very good point Rob, which is it Steven?
Do you direct the creative or are you a director who is creative?
Either way your job title is pretty silly given your feelings towards the use of the word “creative” when describing graphic design work.
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Touché Rob.
I do think my dorky job title is still inline with my indictment of “creative-as-noun” people. Please understand that it is with some shame that I discuss myself as a “Creative Director”, especially given the size of our firm.
The title, Creative Director, does not use the word ‘creative’ as a noun. Rather, it describes the type of director. We also have a Technical Director – and he doesn’t “direct the technical”, he is the “director that of things technical”.
I think my glass house remains intact for now.
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You guys are all haters and semantic game players. I know what kind of person you’re talking about in this discussion, and it has nothing to do with the word “creative” as a noun.
Me? I can’t stand the word “smoothie”, but that doesn’t mean I hate you because you drink your breakfast.
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Well, everything aside, I would like to submit a late comment to say damn straight. I hadn’t heard it used that way at the time of the posting but I just started a new job this week and now hear it about 25 times a day. Drives me insane. Pretty much all of those ‘power’ words and phrases do, and this one immediately climbed to the top of the charts.
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Reading Milton Glaser’s 10 Things I Have Learned talk from the AIGA Voice Conference in March of 2002, I was heartened to see he agrees with my distaste of the word “creative” as a noun:
Unfortunately in our field, in a so-called creative activity – I’ve begun to hate that word. I especially hate when it is used as a noun. I shudder when I hear someone called a creative.
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Good point Rob
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if you go out into the world just looking for an excuse or a reason to be offended you will find opportunities everywhere.
now here is a person who says “I don’t like you”
because of the way they used a word.
are you kidding me?
do some net browsing, find some kind of a life .
Comments are closed.
For a lot of us “designers” there is a dilemma as to how to communicate to potential clients and partners precisley what it is that we do. How do we wrap up all our talents, abilities, interests and skills into a single descriptive word that truly means something not just for ourselves but for others wanting to employ us. Then at some ambiguous point in recent history designers began adopting the word “creative” as a noun as in “I’m a creative”.
Immediately, this peeved many who immediately found it ridiculous and I have to admit I was one of them. Everyone knows you shouldn’t use an adjective as a noun and if you do it better be a deliberate attempt at satire otherwise you risk sounding…well… ignorant.
But that is exactly what Shakespeare did. Out of necessity, whim or perhaps frustration he invented over 1700 words that we use today by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and creating words altogether original. I’ve never heard anyone refer to Shakespeare as ignorant, so whats the problem?
The real issue seems to be not so much about violating English grammar but of timing and acceptance. English is a living language and as such is ever evolving. Add our internet culture in the mix and you have a recipe for a kind of hyper accelerated evolution of English with new words being used as anyone sees fit.
For some, this is very worrisome but the fact remains you can’t stop it and once it enters into the dictionary the fight is truly over such is the case with creative as a noun:
CREATIVE: One who is creative; especially : one involved in the creation of advertisements. – Merriam Webster Dictionary
So it looks like all of us: graphic designers/web designers/art directors/motion graphiteers (I just made that up. What do you think?) have an official license now to label ourselves as “Creatives”. But I see a caveat.
All humans posses creativity in some form or fashion. At first it may not be too obvious but it’s there. Some people have ideas so unique and awesome floating in their heads that it can change life as we know it but at the same time they have trouble drawing even the most rudimentary stick figures on paper. Would anyone say Einstein was not creative just because he lacked good design sense?
So to say “I’m a creative” can be interpreted by some as “I’m creative and you are not”. It’s easy to see how this might detract from a designers true intention and purpose in helping others to beautify their brand and businesses.
This is a tough one. Hard to say when or if I’ll come around.
Someone says, «Hey, have a look at the new creative for our site!»
and I can’t help but to think how stupid
that sounds. Creative what?
Do we really need yet another word to describe a creation? Aren’t
words like logo, advertisement, design, layout, or presentation
sufficient and less vague at the same time?
As if the word «creative» hasn’t already been abused to the point
of being totally meaningless: «Hey, look what Bob did. That’s very
creative!»
Yo, moron. Odds are good that you mean «original» there.
Any time someone creates something, it is by
definition a creative exercise. So you’re stating the obvious.
As for it being «very creative», how do you judge that exactly?
Damned language. It keeps «evolving» in stupid ways.
(No. I have no idea why this bothers me. But it does, in a «my Internet
is down» sort of way.)
Ahhh. It feels good to have that out of my system.
Flame away if you’re bored. 
Posted by jzawodn at August 01, 2003 03:49 PM
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творческий, созидательный
прилагательное ↓
- творческий, созидательный
creative abilities — созидательные, творческие способности 
creative power — творческая /созидательная/ сила
creative frustration — творческое бессилие
существительное
- амер. разг. творческий работник
Мои примеры
Словосочетания
the first step in the creative process — первый шаг в творческом процессе
a creative and innovative young designer — творческий и передовой молодой дизайнер
creative personality — творческая личность
creative imagination — творческое воображение
creative juices — творческий стимул
creative climate — творческий климат
creative development — творческий путь
creative solution — творческое решение проблемы
creative teamwork — творческая группа
creative thinking — творческое мышление
creative fare — льготный целевой тариф
creative manner — творческая индивидуальность
Примеры с переводом
She’s a very creative person.
Она очень творческий человек.
She has a very original and creative mind.
Она обладает очень оригинальным и творческим умом.
Rossetti’s wife and creative muse
жена и творческая муза Россетти
Flexibility is intrinsic to creative management.
Гибкость является неотъемлемой частью креативного менеджмента.
I teach creative writing at Trinity College.
Я преподаю литературное творчество в колледже св. Троицы.
You’re so creative! I could never make my own clothes.
Ты такая творческая личность! Я бы никогда не смогла делать свою собственную одежду.
The company must find creative ways to woo new employees.
Компания должна найти творческий путь привлечения новых сотрудников.
ещё 10 примеров свернуть
Примеры, ожидающие перевода
Diaghilev did his great creative work in France. 
Be creative — allow your imagination to run wild.
She has one of the most creative minds in the business.
Для того чтобы добавить вариант перевода, кликните по иконке ☰, напротив примера.
Возможные однокоренные слова
recreative — развлекающий, забавный, занимательный, освежающий, восстанавливающий силы
creativity — креативность, творческие способности
creatively — творчески
Формы слова
noun
ед. ч.(singular): creative
мн. ч.(plural): creatives
Asked by: Brain Von
Score: 4.6/5
(56 votes)
What type of word is creative? As detailed above, ‘creative’ can be an adjective or a noun. Noun usage: He is a visionary creative. … Noun usage: The design team has completed the creative for next month’s multi-part ad campaign.
Is creative an adjective or adverb?
CREATIVE (adjective) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary.
What’s an adjective for creative?
imaginative, innovative, visionary, ingenious, inventive, artistic, inspired, originative, innovational, original, radical, revolutionary, trailblazing, deviceful, formative, innovatory, pioneering, experimental, expressive, fertile, Promethean, blue-sky, clever, avant-garde, unusual, unconventional, unorthodox, new, …
Is the word artsy an adjective?
adjective, art·si·er, art·si·est. Informal. arty.
Is an adjective a word type?
English has four major word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. … Nouns are the most common type of word, followed by verbs. Adjectives are less common and adverbs are even less common.
37 related questions found
What are the 10 types of adjectives?
The 10 types of adjectives are as follows:
- Adjective of Quality.
- Adjective of Quantity.
- Adjective of Number.
- Demonstrative Adjective.
- Distributive Adjective.
- Interrogative Adjective.
- Possessive Adjective.
- Emphasizing Adjective.
What are adjectives give 10 examples?
10 Examples of Adjective
- Charming.
- Cruel.
- Fantastic.
- Gentle.
- Huge.
- Perfect.
- Rough.
- Sharp.
Is artsy an insult?
“Artsy” insinuates cute and fun and whimsical. It means meaningless, effortless (not in a good way) and not at all complex. No artist wants to go into the opening of their gallery exhibition and hear people say that their work is “artsy.” It’s insulting. It belittles the work that the artist has put into their work.
Is craftsy a word?
(informal) Suggesting traditional handicraft.
What is the verb for creative?
To be creative is to create. Let’s stop treating creativity as a noun and more as a verb.
What is a word for a creative person?
In this page you can discover 35 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for creative, like: inventive, artistic, original, imaginative, innovative, clever, productive, omnific, ingenious, gifted and demiurgic.
Is creative a noun or a verb?
We have entries for creative as both adjective and noun, with the noun defined as “one who is creative, especially one involved in the creation of advertisements,” and “creative activity or the material produced by it especially in advertising.” This noun use of the word may taste unwelcome, like a rancid licorice drop …
What is a creative adverb?
adverb. /kriˈeɪtɪvli/ /kriˈeɪtɪvli/ in a way that involves the use of skill and the imagination to produce something new or a work of art.
What is the verb of original?
originate. (transitive) To cause to be, to bring into existence; to produce, initiate.
Is creativity an adverb?
In a creative manner.
How do you describe an artistic person?
An artistic personality type uses their hands and mind to create new things. They appreciate beauty, unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people, sights, textures and sounds. These individuals prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination.
How do you describe an artsy person?
The definition of artsy is someone who is very involved in, and enthusiastic about, artistic endeavors, though it may also describe someone who is pretentious about their enthusiasm for the arts. An example of someone who is artsy is someone who shows constant interest in his sculpting and painting.
What do you call someone who is artistic?
1. Artist, artisan, artiste are persons having superior skill or ability, or who are capable of producing superior work. An artist is a person engaged in some type of fine art. An artisan is engaged in a craft or applied art.
What is an artsy girl?
Artsy type women are eccentric, free-spirited personalities with quirky imaginations and innate creativity – who often seem exotic and elusive. The key to attracting these bohemian ladies lies in projecting common artistic beliefs and interests through your appearance, activities and knowledge.
Is Arty a bad word?
Unfortunately, arty often carries a negative connotation — and is sometimes even hyphenated — so I would suggest using artistic.
What’s the definition of artsy fartsy?
chiefly US, informal + disparaging. : pretentiously artistic : arty On the surface, it seems to be the year of bigger, more audience-friendly pictures, the triumph of the Hollywood majors over the artsy-fartsy indies.—
What are 10 nouns?
10 Types of Nouns That You Use All The Time
- Common Noun.
- Proper Noun.
- Abstract Noun.
- Concrete Noun.
- Countable Noun.
- Uncountable Noun.
- Compound Noun.
- Collective Noun.
What are some examples of adjectives?
What is an adjective? Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns: enormous, doglike, silly, yellow, fun, fast. They can also describe the quantity of nouns: many, few, millions, eleven.
What are the 10 examples of noun?
10 Examples of Proper Nouns
- Asoka was a wise king.
- Sita is a good girl.
- London is on the bank of the river Thames.
- Kalidasa is the Shakespeare of India.
- Paris is the capital of France.
- China is the most populous country in the world.
- Bill Gates is the richest person in the world.