The award-winning Babe Ruth (proper noun) is the greatest baseball player (common noun) in history.Her husband (common noun) is called Frank (proper noun).My favorite newspaper (common noun) is the Washington Post (proper noun).More examples of the difference between common and proper nouns: Dog’s name (Fido, in this case) = proper noun.When we look at the two main types of noun – proper and common – we can differentiate between the two by saying that a common noun is a general way of classifying something, and a proper noun is a specific way of classifying something, So, for example, the word dog is a common noun but if your dog was called Fido, the word Fido is a proper noun: What is the difference between common and proper nouns? Street, closet, bathroom, school, mall, gas station, living room all of these places are things, and thus they are common nouns. Wherever you go, you’ll find at least one common noun. What do you see? A lamp, chair, couch, TV, window, painting, pillow, candle – all of these items are named using common nouns.Ĭommon nouns are everywhere, and you use them all the time, even if you don’t realize it. Common nouns are words used to name general items rather than specific ones. All nouns can be further classified as a proper or common noun. Start writing with Ginger What is a Common NounĪ noun is a word that names a person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

What is common noun