Types of nouns

###What are common nouns?

Common nouns are [[☃ definition 1]] names for people, places, things, or ideas. For example, the word dog, could be applied to any dog in the world. The word city describes any city, not just one specific city.

Common nouns are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

###What are proper nouns?

Proper nouns are the specific names of particular people, places, things, or ideas. For example, Spot is a specific dog's name, and Chicago is the name of one particular city.

Proper nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence.

###Examples of common and proper nouns

Common noun | Proper noun

• | -
  boy | Michael
  girl | Ashanti
  ocean | Pacific Ocean
  website | Khan Academy
  month | December
  book | The Giver
  time | Middle Ages

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Forgetting to capitalize proper nouns

❌ Incorrect: My friend sierra lives on maple street.

✅ Correct: My friend Sierra lives on Maple Street.

Every proper noun needs a capital letter, even if it's in the middle of a sentence.

Mistake #2: Treating all titles as proper nouns

Common noun: My dad made the interesting choice to make banana pudding for dinner.

Words like mom, uncle, and president can be tricky! They're only proper nouns when you use them as names (without words like my or the in front). Dad is used as a title here to describe his place in the family and who made dinner.

Proper noun: Did you make banana pudding for dinner, Dad? Interesting choice.

Since you are talking directly to your dad, you're using Dad as his name.

Common noun: The president gave a speech about the many benefits of eating bananas.

Don’t capitalize job titles when they’re used by themselves.

Proper noun: I got to go see President Luna give a speech, although it was a little weird that she focused on the many benefits of eating bananas!

Capitalize job titles when they come directly before a person’s name.

Mistake #3: Capitalizing school subjects as if they were proper nouns

❌ Incorrect: I love Math and Science.

✅ Correct: I love math and science.

School subjects are usually common nouns and aren't capitalized, except for languages and specific course names.

✅ Also correct: This year, I am taking Spanish, English, and Animal Biology.

Languages and specific class names are always capitalized!

###Remember!

When deciding whether to capitalize a noun, ask yourself: "Am I talking about something general or something specific?" If it's general, it's a common noun and there's no need to capitalize unless it's at the beginning of a sentence. If it's a specific name, it's a proper noun, so capitalize it!

###What are concrete nouns?

A concrete noun is any person, place, thing, or animal that you can experience with your five senses.

For example, you can see a table, hear a song, and touch a bear (although we absolutely do not recommend that). These are all concrete nouns because they name things you can physically experience.

###What are abstract nouns?

An abstract noun is any idea, feeling, or quality that you cannot experience with your five senses.

For example, you cannot touch, taste, see, hear, or smell freedom or courage. These are abstract nouns because they name ideas and feelings.

###Examples of concrete and abstract nouns

Concrete noun | Abstract noun

• | -
  book | knowledge
  trophy | success
  heart | love
  smile | happiness
  tears | sadness
  medal | bravery
  gift | kindness

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Thinking all nouns you can't see are abstract

❌ Incorrect: Music is an abstract noun because you can't see it.

✅ Correct: Music is a concrete noun because you can hear it.

Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's abstract. If you can experience something with any of your five senses, it's a concrete noun.

Mistake #2: Confusing abstract nouns with adjectives

Adjective: Aisha is a brave girl.

Abstract noun: Aisha showed great bravery.

Abstract nouns are things, not descriptions. In the adjective example, brave describes Aisha, but in the abstract noun example, bravery is the thing she showed.

###Remember!

When you're trying to figure out if a noun is concrete or abstract, ask yourself: "Can I experience this with my five senses?" If you can, it's a concrete noun. If you can’t, it's an abstract noun.

###What are collective nouns?

A collective noun is a word that names a group of people, animals, or things. For example, team is a collective noun.

Collective nouns take singular verbs. A team has many players, but when we talk about the team, we treat all those players as one group, so we use a singular verb. We say "The team is winning" or "The team of sixth graders is winning the geography bee," not "The team are winning."

###Common collective nouns

People | Animals | Things

• | - | -
  family | flock (of birds) | bunch (of bananas or flowers)
  team | herd (of cattle or elephants) | stack (of books or papers)
  class | pack (of wolves or dogs) | collection (of coins or stamps)
  choir | school (of fish) | bouquet (of flowers)
  audience | swarm (of insects) | fleet (of ships or cars)
  committee | pride (of lions) | set (of dishes or tools)
  crew | pod (of whales or dolphins) | deck (of cards)
  band | colony (of ants or bats) | pair (of shoes or gloves)

###Examples in sentences

Here are some example sentences that use collective nouns correctly:

• The jury has reached a decision regarding the punishment the cheese thief will receive.

• Thanks to many hours of practice, the orchestra plays beautifully.

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Using plural verbs with collective nouns

❌ Incorrect: The herd of elephants are looking for a new watering hole after the incident with the cheeky monkey.

✅ Correct: The herd of elephants is looking for a new watering hole after the incident with the cheeky monkey.

Most of the time, collective nouns take singular verbs because we're talking about the group as one unit. Note that in the example above, herd is the subject that is performing the action. "Of elephants" just provides more information about the herd.

Mistake #2: Making collective nouns plural

❌ Incorrect: The prides of lions chased the mischievous monkey off the savannah.

✅ Correct: The pride of lions chased the mischievous monkey off the savannah.

✅ Also correct: Both prides of lions chased the mischievous monkey off the savannah.

Collective nouns are already describing multiple things, so you don't usually need to make them plural, unless you are talking about more than one group.

Mistake #3: Not recognizing some tricky collective nouns

Some collective nouns don't sound like they're describing groups, but they are!

• furniture = a group of chairs, tables, and other items

• jewelry = a group of rings, necklaces, and other pieces

• luggage = a group of suitcases and bags

• equipment = a group of tools or gear

We say "The furniture was broken by that ever-present troublesome monkey," not "The furnitures were broken by that ever-present troublesome monkey."

###Remember!

A collective noun takes a group of things and treats them as one unit. Always use a singular verb with a collective noun, unless you are talking about more than one group.