What is a common noun?
A common noun refers to a general, non-specific person, place, thing, or idea. Since common nouns do not name anything specific, these words are not capitalized.
There are five types of common nouns in the English language: countable, uncountable, collective, concrete, and abstract.
| Type of Common Noun | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Countable Noun | Refers to nouns that can be easily counted | dogs, chairs, people |
| Uncountable Noun | Nouns that cannot be divided into separate elements | rain, oil, sugar |
| Collective Noun | References a group of individuals | family, team, government |
| Concrete Noun | Nouns that can be recognized using one of the five senses | basketball, television, apple |
| Abstract Noun | Denotes an idea, quality, or state of being | love, charity, freedom |
Common vs. proper nouns
While a proper noun functions similarly to a common noun, the main difference depends on the person, place, or thing referenced. Proper nouns name specific things, individual people, or places, whereas common nouns are generic or broad. Due to the specificity of the noun, proper ones start with a capital letter, whereas common ones are lowercase.
| Type of Noun | Common | Proper |
|---|---|---|
| Person | man | Jim |
| Place | state | New York |
| Thing | jeans | Levi's |
Common noun examples
The following include some of the most-used examples of common nouns:
| People | Places | Things | Ideas |
|---|---|---|---|
| child | city | book | anger |
| family | country | car | calm |
| father | home | day | courage |
| friend | house | government | curiosity |
| kid | library | hand | friendship |
| man | office | life | happiness |
| mother | room | money | loyalty |
| people | school | night | thought |
| student | state | question | trust |
| woman | world | water | wisdom |
Common noun sentences
The following example sentences contain common nouns:
People
The teacher wanted to stop lecturing for the day.
Samantha’s mother and father were proud of her success.
Carl loved spending time with his family during the holidays.
Places
Henry enjoyed being able to relax at home.
During the winter, Stephanie always considers moving to a warmer state.
Once the last bell rang, Christy ran straight to the library.
Things
After working all weekend, Tim was excited to see his paycheck.
The social studies teacher told the class that voting was their civic duty.
After Sara passed her driving test, she immediately wanted a new car.
Ideas
Will wanted to know the difference between intelligence and wisdom.
The couple built a trusting relationship after spending over five years together.
Tiffany was amazed by the courage of the soldiers during battle.
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