O common noun it is a type of noun that gives names to beings of the same species (people, animals, plants, fruits, objects, places, phenomena) in a generic way.
These terms are always written in lowercase, for example: person, people, child, city, country.
Examples of common nouns
1. People
- Man
- Women
- Kid
- Friend
- Co-worker
2. Animals
- Puppy
- Cat
- Horse
- ant
- shark
3. plants
- Chamomile
- Jasmine
- Fennel
- Orchid
- Palm tree
4. fruit
- Banana
- Apple
- Orange
- Pineapple
- Guava
5. Objects
- Table
- Chair
- Bicycle
- Computer
- MIC
6. places
- Neighborhood
- City
- County
- state
- Beach
7. Phenomena
- Storm
- thunderstorm
- Drilling
- Seaquake
- Earthquake
Common and proper noun
Common nouns are words that designate beings of the same species in a generic way, while proper nouns are terms used to particularize them.
In addition, the proper nouns, unlike the common ones, are written with a capital letter, for example: Brasil, Catarina, São Paulo.
To better understand the difference between these two types of nouns, check out some examples below:
Example 1
- THE women did not enter the bank because he forgot his card. (common noun)
- Catherine did not enter the bank because he forgot his card. (proper noun)
In the examples above, there are two words that represent "woman", but what distinguishes them is precisely the particularization of one of them (naming).
In the first example, we have a common noun, so the word "woman" designates beings of the same species, that is, it is not specified.
In the second example, we know that the woman is Catarina, so it is a proper noun, written with a capital letter.
Example 2
- THE City dawned gray. (common noun)
- Sao Paulo dawned gray. (proper noun)
"São Paulo" is the specification of the city, therefore, it is a proper noun and its generic term, "city", is a common noun.
Example 3
- In that parents politics is very corrupt. (common noun)
- At the Brazil politics is very corrupt. (proper noun)
Note that when specifying, that is, naming the common noun "country", it becomes a proper noun, spelled with a capital letter: "Brazil".
Read too:
- nouns
- Noun Exercises
- Uppercase and Lowercase Letters: When to Use?
Classification of Nouns
In addition to common and proper, nouns can be:
- Simple: formed by just one word, for example: notebook and computer.
- Compound: formed by more than one word, for example: raw material and puzzle.
- Concrete: words that designate people, objects, animals or places, for example: rug and broom.
- Abstract: words related to feelings, states, qualities and actions, for example: joy and sadness.
- Primitive: words that do not derive from other words, for example: coffee and paper.
- Derivative: words that derive from other words, for example: coffee shop and stationery.
- Collective: words that refer to a set of beings, for example: brood and herd.
Learn more about classification of nouns.