Proper and Common Nouns 

Dive deep into proper and common nouns with detailed explanations. Examples include 'Shakespeare' and 'author', plus a quiz to test your knowledge.

"Proper and Common Nouns" in English Grammar

What Do We Mean by Proper and Common Nouns?

Nouns can be categorized into two groups based on whether they refer to a general entity or a specific entity: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common Nouns

Common nouns are used to refer to general persons, places, or things in a class or group, rather than specific ones. Examples of common nouns include a mug, table, sofa, TV, phone, wallet, and key. In contrast to proper nouns, which refer to specific people, places, or things, common nouns provide a generic name for a class or group of items. For instance, the noun 'cat' is a common noun, but if you give your cat a name like Marlo, the word Marlo becomes a proper noun.

Common Nouns: Properties

A vast majority of English nouns fall under the category of common nouns. Most grammatical rules related to nouns apply to common nouns, including their ability to be countable or uncountable and plural or singular, take a definite or indefinite article, and be abstract or concrete. Accordingly, common nouns can be classified into various groups, such as:

Concrete nouns: Nouns that refer to entities that can be perceived through the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste

Abstract nouns: Nouns that cannot be perceived through the senses, such as emotions and ideas

Countable nouns: Nouns that can be counted

Singular nouns: Nouns that refer to a single entity

Plural nouns: Nouns that refer to more that one person or thing

Collective nouns: Nouns that refer to a group of people, animals, or things as a single unit

Uncountable nouns: Nouns that cannot be counted and are always treated as singular

Plural-only nouns: Nouns that are always used in the plural form

Gender-specific nouns: Nouns that refer exclusively to either a male or female

Now let us look at some examples from each category:

Example

doctor, restaurant, father → concrete nouns

love, pride, patience → abstract nouns

flower, chair, book → countable nouns

rice, water, air → uncountable nouns

actress, sir, wizard → gender-specific nouns

team, society, class → collective nouns

Warning

Common nouns are generally written in lowercase letters and are not capitalized, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title.

Example

His father is a hard-working man.

As you know, father is a common noun.

Fathers are hard-working.

'Fathers' is a plural common noun, but it is written with capital letter because it is at the beginning of the sentence.

Proper Nouns

In contrast to common nouns, which refer to general people, places, or things, proper nouns are specific and typically refer to a unique person, thing, or place. We use proper nouns to name people, places, or things that are one-of-a-kind or unique in some way.

Names of people: Johnny, Lisa, Tom, Max, Rafael, George Orwell, Leo Tolstoy

The days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

The months of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July

Places: France, England, Nevada, California, Moscow, Rome, Louisville, Lockport

Geographical landmarks: Grand Canyon, The Pacific Ocean, Mount Fuji, Niagara Falls

Urban spaces: Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Broadway, Mosholu Parkway, Victory Boulevard

Names of pets: Bubbles, Lucy, Max, Bella

Holidays: Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter

Planets: Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus

Languages: English, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Persian

Brand names: Coca Cola, Ford, Porsche, Apple, Fender

Warning

The words 'street,' 'avenue,' 'parkway,' 'boulevard,' 'lane,' 'park,' and 'square' are generally common nouns, but when they are part of a proper noun (as in the examples above) they must be capitalized.

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Nouns of Address

When addressing people or things directly, we can use nouns of direct address, also known as vocatives or nominatives of address. Such nouns are not inherently proper nouns, but when they are used before a proper noun, or when they are used to directly address someone, they must be capitalized. Take a look at the examples:

Example

Have you met the pope?

Here, the noun 'pope' is not preceding a proper noun (in this case a particular pope); as a result, it is not capitalized.

I met Pope Francis when I was in Rome.

But here, the noun 'Pope' is preceding a particular pope and is used as a title. Therefore, it is capitalized.

I'm really sorry, Mom.

'Mom' is used as a noun of address. As a result, it is capitalized.

Was your mom angry?

Here, although the word 'mom' is referring to a particular mom, it is not capitalized since is not addressing a person (directly).

Prince Charles is the heir to the British throne.

The word 'prince' is a common noun that is used as a title before a proper noun. Therefore, it is capitalized.

Cardinal Directions

Cardinal directions, such as north, south, east, and west, are generally not proper nouns, but when they are used as part of the name of a specific region, they are capitalized.

Example

Have you been to the west of Canada?

Here, the word 'west' is not immediately preceding the proper noun 'Canada,' so it is not capitalized.

Have you been to the West Virginia?

Here, 'West' is immediately preceding the word 'Virginia,' and is part of the name of the region. So, it must be capitalized.

Capitalization Rule

Proper nouns can consist of one or more words, and in the case of multi-word proper nouns, all words should be capitalized.

Example

New York City

World War II

Proper Nouns with and without 'The'

Normally, the definite article "the" is not used with proper nouns, unless it is part of the proper noun itself and refers to a particular place or organization*, such as companies, hotels, museums, etc. Additionally, 'the' is used with the names of countries that have "States," "Kingdom," or "Republic" in them, as well as with the names of canals, rivers, seas, and oceans. Keep in mind that in such cases, "the" is not capitalized. Let us see some examples:

Example

Jennifer is my wife. (Not "the Jenifer is my wife.")

'Jennifer' is a proper noun, so 'the' can't precede it.

He is originally from the People's Republic of China

Many species of marine life inhabit the Pacific Ocean.

Several humanitarian projects worldwide are supported by the United Nations

Proper Adjectives

'Proper adjectives' are formed from certain proper nouns (names of people and places, including continents, countries, cities, etc.) and, like proper nouns, they must be capitalized.

Example

Do you prefer Italian food or Chinese food?

The words 'Italian' and 'Chinese' are both proper adjectives and respectively made from the proper nouns 'Italy' and 'China.'

I married an African woman.

Here 'African' is a proper adjective and comes from the proper noun 'Africa.'

Review

There are two types of nouns in English based on whether they refer to a generic or a specific entity.
The table below summarizes the characteristics of these two groups of nouns:

Common Nouns

Proper Nouns

not capitalized

capitalized

not unique

unique

generic

specific

Quiz:


1.

Which sentence uses the capitalization rules for common and proper nouns correctly?

A

I spoke to Doctor Lee yesterday.

B

We saw a giraffe at the Zoo.

C

My Dad is a great musician.

D

I visited the Eiffel Tower in paris.

2.

Match each proper noun to their correct common noun category.

Shakespeare
Italy
Venus
March
Chinese
Mount Everest
month
language
country
person
planet
landmark
3.

Choose common or proper for each underlined word.

Johnny enjoys reading books.

Cats are playful animals.

Flowers bloom in the spring.

Japan is known for its rich culture.

Books provide knowledge and entertainment.

Proper Noun
Common Noun
4.

Rewrite each sentence with the proper capitalization.

I have a meeting with president johnson in washington on thursday. →

.

I can't wait to see north carolina during the christmas holidays. →

.

She was born in the east of london. →

.

We have decided to immigrate to the united states of america next july. →

.

5.

Which of the following correctly uses a proper adjective?

A

He visited a museum in Italy.

B

They bought an expensive italian car.

C

She enjoys reading books about history of ancient Rome.

D

The restaurant serves Italian and Chinese dishes.

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