Proper Nouns vs Common Nouns

Dear Readers,

The English word "proper" is taken from a Latin word which means "own" .So, proper nouns refer to the "own" names of persons and places . These names are specific to the individual person or place . and not shared by a class of entities . For example, John is the name of an individual person and , therefore, it is a proper noun . It is the "own" name of a person . Similarly, Cochin is the "own" name of a city Therefore, john and Cochin are proper nouns .

Please remember that proper nouns are capitalized and they are not usually preceded by the definite article the

Common Nouns , on the contrary, are names of a class of persons or places . For example the name "city" is shared by several entities . Hence, "city" is a common noun . Similarly, " .boy" is a common noun .

There will be a corresponding common noun for every proper noun.

Example :


proper noun( common noun )

John ( boy)

Jane ( girl)

London ( city)

India ( country )


The distinction between proper nouns and common nouns is a useful one for learners of English , but don't stretch it too far !

I will carry on the discussion on classification on nouns in my next post

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Thank you for visiting !