What is the difference between common and proper noun?

Answer 1

A common noun is a word for any person, place, or thing.

A proper noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or a title. A proper noun is always capitalized.

Some examples of proper nouns followed by some corresponding common nouns:

• Abraham Lincoln: a president, a man, a person
• The Brooklyn Bridge: a bridge, a landmark, a thing
• Coca-Cola: a soda, a beverage, a product, a thing
• Denver: a city, a place
• 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck, a story, a thing, a title
• France: a country, a place
• Grand Canyon: a place, a wonder of nature, a thing, a place
• Hawaii: a state, a place
• Ichabod Crane: a character, a fictional person
• Jonquil Motel, Bisbee, AZ: a business, a thing
• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a country, a place
• Lake Titicaca, Peru and Brazil: a lake, a border, a thing, a place
• Marilyn Monroe: a movie star, an icon, a woman, a person
• 'North By Northwest' (1959): a movie, a thing, a title
• Oreo: a cookie, a product, a thing
• Pyrenees: a mountain range, a place
• Queen Elizabeth II: a queen, a woman, a person
• Robin Hood: a character, a fictional person, a folktale, a story, a thing
• Samsung: a company, an electronic device, a product, a thing
• Trump Tower: a building, a thing
• Uluru: a landform, a landmark, a World Heritage Site, a thing
• Valium: a drug, a brand name, a product, a thing
• Wall Street Journal: a newpaper, a product, a company, a thing
• Xbox: a device, a brand name, a product, a thing
• The Y (YMCA, Young Men's Christian Association): an organization, a place, a thing
• Zip Code: a registered trademark, a number, a device, a thing

Answer 2

A common noun is a word for any person, place, or thing. A common noun is capitalized only when it is the first word in a sentence.

A proper noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or a title. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

person:

common noun: leader

proper noun: Nelson Mandela

place:

common noun: ocean

proper noun: Pacific Ocean

thing:

common noun: automobile

proper noun: Pontiac Firebird

title:

common noun: president

proper noun: President Nixon

Proper nouns are specific.

Common nouns are generic.

man (common noun); Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen (proper nouns)

school (common noun); Freemont High School, Washington Elementary School (proper nouns)

city (common noun);

Hollywood (proper noun)

Chicago (proper noun)

Examples:

common noun: proper noun

man: George Washington

woman: Marge Simpson

children: Malia and Sasha Obama

minister: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

town: Cape Cod, MA

city: London, England

state: California USA

province: Ontario, Canada

lake: Lake Michigan

apple: Mott's Apple Juice

cookie: Oreo

cat: Garfield

doughnuts: Dunkin Donuts

egg: Egg Beaters

liberty: The Statue of Liberty

novel: 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy

war : World War II

Some more examples of proper nouns followed by some corresponding common nouns:

Abraham Lincoln: a president, a man, a person

The Brooklyn Bridge: a bridge, a landmark, a thing

Coca-Cola: a soda, a beverage, a product, a thing

Denver: a city, a place

'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck, a story, a thing, a title

France: a country, a place

Grand Canyon: a place, a wonder of nature, a thing, a place

Hawaii: a state, a place

Ichabod Crane: a character, a fictional person

Jonquil Motel, Bisbee, AZ: a business, a thing

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a country, a place

Lake Titicaca, Peru and Brazil: a lake, a border, a thing, a place

Marilyn Monroe: a movie star, an icon, a woman, a person

'North By Northwest' (1959): a movie, a thing, a title

Oreo: a cookie, a product, a thing

Pyrenees: a mountain range, a place

Queen Elizabeth II: a queen, a woman, a person

Robin Hood: a character, a fictional person, a folktale, a story, a thing

Samsung: a company, an electronic device, a product, a thing

Trump Tower: a building, a thing

Uluru: a landform, a landmark, a World Heritage Site, a thing

Valium: a drug, a brand name, a product, a thing

Wall Street Journal: a newpaper, a product, a company, a thing

Xbox: a device, a brand name, a product, a thing

The Y (YMCA, Young Men's Christian Association): an organization, a place, a thing

Zip Code: a registered trademark, a number, a group of addresses

Common noun: The bank is in the next block, itshould be open now. (bank is the common noun, it is the pronoun that replaces it)

Proper noun: Juan is my cousin, he will be at the party. (Juan is the proper noun, he is the pronoun that takes its place)

Proper noun: We can stop at McDonald's or Burger King, they are on this street. (McDonald's and Burger King are the proper nouns, they is the pronoun that takes their place)

• man / Abraham Lincoln
• woman / Cleopatra
• child / Tom Sawyer
• father / Atticus Finch
• sisters / La Toya and Janet Jackson
• aunt / Aunt Bee (Beatrice Taylor)
• teacher / Stephen King
• preacher / Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• doctor / Hippocrates
• worker / Mammy (Gone With The Wind)
• employee / Lucy McGillicuddy Ricardo Carmichael
• neighbors / Fred and Ethel Mertz
• village / Sleepy Hollow
• park / Beihai Park, Beijing, China
• town / Lolol, Chile
• city / Zurich, Switzerland
• beach / Miami Beach, FL
• nature preserve / Barguzinsky District, Russia
• country / India
• province / Ontario, Canada
• historic site / Ankor Wat, Cambodia
• continent / Europe
• ocean / Pacific Ocean
• cookie / Oreo Cookies
• tree / Tree Street, Philadelphia, PA
• street / Della Street
• house / The White House
• soup / Campbell's Soup
• apple / Apple Gum Road, Wyneden NSW, Australia
• beer / The Beer Store, Mississauga, ONT Canada
• garden / Boston Garden, Boston, MA
• book / The Book of Mormon
• tire / Goodyear Tires
• orange / Minutemaid Orange Juice
• kettle / Black Kettle National Grasslands, OK
• bug / Doodle Bug Mini Bike
• bus / Peter Pan Bus Lines
• queen / The African Queen (1951) Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn
• king / King Kong (1933) Faye Wray, Robert Armstrong
• minister / Prime Minister David Cameron
• night / Night by Elie Wiesel
• bird / I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• hope / Hope by Emily Dickinson
• cowboy / Midnight Cowboy (1969) Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight
• star / A Star is Born (1954), Judy Garland, James Mason
• war / Star Wars (1977) Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford
• peace / War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• desire / A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Vivian Leigh, Marlon Brando
• tale / A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• story / Toy Story (1995) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen

Proper nouns are the unique names of people, places, or things. Common nouns are the words for general things.