Skip to content

Types of Nouns (Common, Proper, Abstract, and Concrete)

Last Updated
Picture of Elan Yash

Elan Yash

Elan is head of design and tech. He's also a contributor at Grammarflex.

Types of Nouns

Nouns are fundamental building blocks of language that name people, places, things, and concepts. Understanding the different types of nouns helps us use them correctly in writing and speech.

👍🏼Usage Note

✓
My favorite city is Paris.
✗
My favorite City is paris.

Common nouns vs proper nouns

Common nouns name general categories, while proper nouns identify specific individuals, places, or things. The key distinction is that proper nouns always require capitalization.

Common nouns, by contrast, only capitalize at the start of sentences.
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
The king ruled wisely Henry VIII was considered an accomplished king
She is a girl in school Sally Jones is a specific person
The man is talented Evan Peters is an actor
That city is beautiful Paris is in Europe
Which country did you visit? I want to visit France next year
Examples of common vs. proper nouns.

Collective and abstract nouns

Collective nouns refer to groups or collections taken as a whole. Think of an army, fleet, mob, or crowd. Each represents multiple individuals acting as one unit.
Collective Nouns Usage Examples
crowd The police managed the unruly crowd at the parade
army The Canadian army was defeated in battle
jury The jury found the accused guilty of the crime
Examples of collective nouns in sentences.

Abstract nouns represent qualities, states, or actions that can’t be experienced through the five senses. These include concepts like honesty, childhood, and laughter.
Type Examples
Qualities/Traits goodness, kindness, braveness, whiteness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty, wisdom, bravery
Actions laughter, theft, movement, judgement, hatred
States childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery, sleep, sickness, death, poverty
Examples of abstract nouns by type.
💡Study Tip

For Nouns: Associate “Proper” with “Capital P” to remember Proper Nouns are capitalized; Common Nouns are not.

Countable and non-countable nouns

Most nouns can be counted numerically. A book, pen, chair, and dog are objects we can count.

Non-countable nouns like sand, milk, rice, and water exist in quantities that can’t be counted individually.
Countable Nouns Non-countable Nouns
one book, two books sand (no plural form)
one pen, three pens milk (no plural form)
one chair, five chairs rice (no plural form)
one dog, many dogs grass (no plural form)
one woman, two women water (no plural form)
Examples of countable vs. non-countable nouns.

Learn more about grammar

FAQs

What is a common noun?
+

A common noun names a general category of people, places, or things (like city, girl, country). They aren’t capitalized unless starting a sentence.

What is a proper noun?
+

A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing (like Paris, Henry VIII, Sally). They always use capital letters no matter where they appear in a sentence.

Should common nouns be capitalized?
+

Common nouns are generally not capitalized. They only use capitals if they start a sentence or are part of a proper noun title.

When do proper nouns use capitals?
+

Proper nouns always use capital letters, regardless of their position in a sentence. Names like ‘Paris’ and ‘Henry VIII’ are always capitalized.

Are collective nouns common nouns?
+

Yes, collective nouns are a type of common noun. They mention a group or collection taken as a whole entity, such as ‘army’, ‘crowd’, or ‘jury’.

Yash, D. "Types of Nouns (Common, Proper, Abstract, and Concrete)." Grammarflex, Jun 15, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/types-of-nouns-common-vs-proper-abstract-vs-concrete/.

Sources

Sources

  1. English Grammar and Composition by P.C. Wren and Martin.

Worksheet

Question 1 of 10

What are ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ called in English grammar?



What type of articles are ‘a’ and ‘an’?



When deciding whether to use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before a word, what should you look for?



When do you typically use the definite article ‘the’?



Indefinite articles (‘a’ and ‘an’) refer to:



I saw ___ elephant at the zoo yesterday.



She grabbed ___ book from the shelf.



There is ___ excellent restaurant down the street.



Have you seen ___ phone I was using yesterday?



We determine whether to use the articles “a” or “an” based on ___.





The latest from the Grammarflex blog

From grammar and writing to style and clarity, our experts tackle the biggest questions in English and content creation.