Common and Proper Nouns Explained: Exercises and Examples

In English, nouns are essential parts of speech, but not all nouns are the same. There are two main types of nouns that every English learner should understand: common nouns and proper nouns. Understanding the difference between these two categories will not only improve your writing and speaking skills but also help you use nouns more effectively in context. In this article, we’ll explore what common and proper nouns are, provide examples, and offer a helpful exercise to test your understanding.

What Are Common Nouns?

Common nouns are general names for things, places, people, or ideas. They are not specific and can refer to any member of a class or category. Common nouns are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in titles.

Examples of Common Nouns:

• Person: teacher, doctor, friend
• Place: park, city, beach
• Thing: book, car, chair
• Idea: love, happiness, education

For instance:

• “The dog ran through the park.”
• “I need a pen to write.”

What Are Proper Nouns?

On the other hand, proper nouns are specific names of people, places, organizations, or things. These nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence, because they refer to a particular person, place, or thing.

Examples of Proper Nouns:

• Person: Sarah, Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan
• Place: Paris, New York, Mount Everest
• Thing: The Eiffel Tower, iPhone, Titanic
• Organization: Google, United Nations, Harvard University

For instance:

• “I visited Paris last summer.”
• “My friend Sarah is a great cook.”

Key Differences Between Them

The main difference between common and proper nouns is that proper nouns refer to specific, unique entities, while common nouns refer to general items or categories. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter, and they refer to individual items, places, or people. Common nouns, however, can be used for anything within a category or class, and they are not capitalized.

For example:

• “I read a book by J.K. Rowling.”
  In this sentence, book is a common noun, while J.K. Rowling is a proper noun.

Exercise: Identify Common and Proper Nouns

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to practice identifying common and proper nouns. Below are a few sentences. Your task is to identify the common and proper nouns in each sentence.

1. Sentence: “I love visiting London during the holidays.”
   • Common Noun(s): holidays
   • Proper Noun(s): London
2. Sentence: “John is reading a book in the library.”
   • Common Noun(s): book, library
   • Proper Noun(s): John
3. Sentence: “We saw a movie at the Cinemax theater.”
   • Common Noun(s): movie, theater
   • Proper Noun(s): Cinemax
4. Sentence: “The dog played in the yard.”
   • Common Noun(s): dog, yard
   • Proper Noun(s): None
5. Sentence: “I have a meeting with Microsoft tomorrow.”
   • Common Noun(s): meeting
   • Proper Noun(s): Microsoft

Printable Worksheet