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Common vs. Proper Nouns: A Comparative Guide

Find out what proper nouns and common nouns are. Then get insight into when it’s best to use common vs. proper nouns in this comparative grammar guide.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

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.

What Are Nouns?

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.

  • Proper nouns are defined as the name of a particular person, place, animal, thing, or idea.
  • Common nouns are general words that describe an entire category or type. For instance, it’s not limited to describing a particular person or thing.

What are 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:

  • Person: sister, teacher, librarian, doctor
  • Place: city, country, state, mountain
  • Thing: book, door, plant, rug
  • Animal: llama, tiger, emu, beetle
  • Idea: justice, friendship, sorrow, courage

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:

  • Every city participates in the annual census.
  • Many teenagers play soccer on the weekends.
  • The dogs bark at a passersby

What are proper nouns?

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:

  • George Washington (a person’s name)
  • Canada (a country’s name)
  • Spot (a dog’s name)
  • A Tale of Two Cities (a book’s name)
  • Pythagorean theorem (an idea’s name)
  • January (a month’s name)

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:

  • Johnny works at Google.
  • Lina is travelling to Canada next Monday.
  • Gina is reading A Tale of Two Cities for her English class.

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:

  • I drove to four Walmarts yesterday.
  • There are three Matthews at my company.

Common vs. Proper Nouns: How to Tell The Difference

To tell the difference between a common vs. proper noun — look for capitalization

  • Proper nouns are always capitalized.
  • Common nouns aren’t capitalized unless they are at the start of a sentence.

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:

  • A book - this pairing sounds natural.
  • A Linda - this pairing sounds awkward and wouldn’t be used in typical English.

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:

  • My mom booked a flight to Paris.
  • “Can you pass the salt, Dad?” Emily asked.

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. 

Final Thoughts

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:

Alyssa English

Alyssa English is a writer focused on B2C content for writers and teachers. As a certified ESL instructor, Alyssa is passionate about language and communication. She’s familiar with the grammatical conventions of and distinctions between Canadian, American, and British English.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

How Can I Conduct a Plagiarism Check between Two Documents Online?

With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Text Compare Tool?

Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.

What Files Can You Inspect with This Text Compare Tool?

We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.

Will My Data Be Shared?

There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.

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