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Within the category of nouns, there are multiple types of nouns including common and proper nouns. So, how do you know which noun to use?
Learn about what common and proper nouns are and find out when it’s best to use common vs. proper nouns in writing.
Then, conveniently review your content to make sure it’s grammatically correct with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.
A noun is defined as a person (John Doe), a place (Dallas), a thing (paperclip), an animal (dog), or an idea (future).
Nouns make up the largest class of words in English and are a foundation for writing a sentence in English.
Nouns can serve as a subject or direct or indirect object of a sentence, can be singular or plural, and can be replaced by a pronoun.
There are two primary types of nouns — proper and common nouns.
A common noun is sometimes also called a generic noun.
Common nouns describe a class or category of persons or things. They don’t refer to a specific or particular individual within the category.
Common nouns may be paired with limiting modifiers such as “some” or “every” or articles like “a,” “an,” “my,” or “your.”
Examples of common nouns:
Common nouns are not capitalized. The only time to capitalize a common noun is if it’s the first word in the sentence.
In a sentence, “book” can be paired with limiting modifiers like “a book” that describes a non-specific, unnamed book.
Examples of a common noun in a sentence:
A proper noun may also be called a proper name and is usually capitalized in English. They refer to a particular person or thing.
This includes the names of people, places, animals, things, and ideas, as well as, the names of days, months and holidays.
Examples of proper nouns:
These examples are the names of the specific nouns that they represent.
Proper nouns can also be the names of brands such as Google or Meta. In English, the first letter of each word within the proper noun is capitalized, regardless of its position within a sentence.
Examples of a proper noun in a sentence:
Proper nouns refer to a unique person, place, brand, idea, thing, or animal, and are rarely in plural form.
However, there is an exception if there are multiple specific nouns being referred to:
Example Sentences:
To tell the difference between a common vs. proper noun — look for capitalization.
When writing, however, it can be more difficult to determine if a noun is common or proper.
Another way to tell a common noun apart from a proper noun is that a common noun isn’t a name. A common noun may also include determiners such as “a,” “any,” and “this.”
If you are unsure, try adding a determiner before the word to see if it makes sense.
Examples:
Are common nouns ever similar to proper nouns? Yes, they can be; let’s look at the example of “dad.” “Dad” may describe a parent with children or a name that’s used to speak to a parent.
In this case, context can help us determine if the noun is naming a specific person or using the noun generally.
Example Sentences:
The first example above shows “mom” used as a common noun.
When we use possessive adjectives before a word, it indicates a common noun. In the second example, the noun “Dad” is used as the title of these individuals. Titles, like names, are proper nouns.
Common and proper nouns are the primary categories of nouns. By incorporating them correctly into your writing, you can properly refer to general categories of persons, places, or things (common nouns) or specific persons, places, or things (proper nouns).
Review your writing with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker to avoid common grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
Then, learn tips and best grammar practices in our top grammar guides:
