What is the difference between proper nouns and common nouns?

As mentioned before, a noun is a word that represents a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. There are many different kinds of nouns, and two of those types are proper nouns and common nouns.

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, organization, etc. In English, proper nouns almost always start with a capital letter. In a few cases, they are preceded by the word ‘the’.

Categories	Examples
People	Paula, Mr. Jones, Santa Claus
Places	San Francisco, Australia, Mount Fuji, Ellis Island
Organizations	Google, Yale University, the Red Cross
Works of art/movies/songs/books	Titanic, Hey Jude, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Days/Months	Monday, Tuesday, June
Festivals	Valentine’s Day, Obon, Songkran, Diwali

If you are thinking of one, particular thing in the world, you are probably thinking of a proper noun.

Common Nouns

A common noun refers to a person, place, or thing in a general sense. If it is not a proper noun, it is a common noun. Words like cat, chair, month, painting, and movie are examples of common nouns.

If the word you are thinking of describes the thing, not the name of the thing, you are probably thinking of a common noun.

Learn about other kinds of nouns

There are several categories of nouns, and nouns can fall under more than one category. Some of the categories include concrete and abstract nouns, uncountable and countable nouns, compound nouns, and collective nouns.

Noun
(bicycle, Mary, idea)

Proper Noun
(Paris, Mary, Toyota)

Common Noun
(city, woman, car)

Countable Noun
(table, pencil, house)

Uncountable Noun
(water, sand, knowledge)

Abstract Noun
(freedom, kindness)

Concrete Noun
(book, tree)

Collective Noun
(family, team, class)

Compound Noun
(football player, hot dog, handbag)

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