Common nouns vs. proper nouns
Consider how we write the sentence, “Queen Elizabeth II was a celebrated queen”.
The capital of Italy is Rome.
We saw a beautiful old city.
We visited the Tower of pisa last year.
They bought a new Computer.
Why should ‘Queen Elizabeth II‘ use capitals, and not the word ‘queen‘ itself?
Queen Elizabeth II is the name of a specific person, and so (to that extent) specifies what or who specifically is being mentioned.
The word “queen” itself, however, could mean any queen (fictional or historical). This makes “queen” a common noun: it names a category or kind of thing (that specific things of that kind belong to; such as Queen Elizabeth II).
Proper nouns & common nouns explained
Proper nouns name specific people places or thing, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Mt. Vesuvius or a MacBook Pro.
Common nouns name groups or kinds of things, such as an actor, country and food.
Because proper nouns specify what they refer to, (and only refer to that thing, person, place), we capitalize the first letter no matter where they appear in a sentence.
Conversely, commons nouns do not use capital letters unless they begin a sentence or are part of a proper noun (as in the name of a title of a work or novel, e.g., The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck). Otherwise, they use lowercases.
| common nouns | proper nouns |
| A musician | Jon Batiste |
| A continent or country | India |
| A company | |
| A newspaper | The New Yorker |
| A religion | Buddhism |
Common vs. proper nouns, visualize common nouns as general categories (like “dog”) written in lowercase, and proper nouns as specific names (like “Lassie”) always capitalized.
Examples of proper nouns
The proper nouns are in italics:
- I’ve never been to France.
- Barbara’s cat is named Scout.
- My favourite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
- Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth.
- Existentialism is a branch of philosophy that questions the meaning of existence.
Examples of common nouns in writing
The common nouns are in italics:
- My favourite activity in the summer is to hike mountains.
- Many dog breeds are not suitable for living indoors.
- I wish I could remember the name of that painter.
- They’re all waiting for us at the restaurant.
- These buildings are magnificent pieces of architecture.
Read more about nouns
| Types of nouns | What’s the plural of …? |
| plural-only nouns | …moose? |
| mass nouns | …octopus? |
| collective nouns | …cactus? |
| abstract nouns vs. concrete nouns | …analysis? |
| possessive nouns | …curriculum? |
| regular and irregular nouns | …crisis? |
Work Sheet
According to the post, what type of noun names specific people, places, or things?
Based on the post, when should a proper noun be capitalized?
According to the post’s usage note, when should a common noun NOT be capitalized?
Which word is used as an example of a common noun in the post?
Which word is used as an example of a proper noun in the post?
The capital of Italy is .
We saw a beautiful old .
My favourite book is by Jane Austen.
They bought a new .
The blog post explains nouns vs. proper nouns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a common noun?
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What is a proper noun?
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When should nouns be capitalized?
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Why capitalize Queen Elizabeth II but not queen?
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What capitalization mistakes are shown?
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Yash, D. "What are Common Nouns vs. Proper Nouns?." Grammarflex, Jun 5, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/what-are-common-nouns-vs-proper-nouns/.
Sources
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English Grammar and Composition, P.C. Wren.
