Types of nouns

###What are common nouns?

Common nouns are general names for people, places, things, or ideas. For example, the word athlete could be applied to any athlete in the world. The word mountain refers to any mountain, not just one specific mountain.

Common nouns are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

###What are proper nouns?

Proper nouns are the specific names of a particular people, places, things, or ideas. For example, Serena Williams is a specific athlete’s name, and Mount Everest is the name of one particular mountain.

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

###Examples of common and proper nouns

Common noun | Proper noun

• | -
  boy | Nicholas
  girl | Daniela
  city | Dallas
  website | Khan Academy
  month | November
  book | The Hunger Games
  time period | Renaissance

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Treating all family nouns as proper nouns

Common noun: My grandma treats her chocolate chip cookie recipe like top-secret information.

Proper noun: “Can I please see the recipe, Grandma? I promise to guard it with my life.”

Words like dad, cousin, and aunt can be tricky! These words refer to family relationships, but sometimes they’re used like names.

To decide whether to capitalize these words, pay attention to how they’re being used. Capitalize family nouns when you’re using the noun as a name or part of a name (like Grandpa Pete). Don’t capitalize family nouns when they come after a possessive word (like my, his, their) or an article (like the, a, an).

In the first example, grandma is lowercase because it follows the possessive word my and is being used as a common noun. In the second example, the speaker is talking directly to their grandma and using Grandma like a name.

Mistake #2: Treating all titles or positions as proper nouns

Common noun: The principal announced that students could bring their dogs to school next Friday.

Proper noun: I went to the assembly to hear Principal Hudson’s announcement.

Titles like principal, vice president, and president can also be tricky! These words name jobs, but sometimes they’re used to refer to one specific person in that job.

Capitalize job titles when they come directly before a person’s name. Don’t capitalize them when they’re used by themselves.

In the first example, principal is lowercase because it is used by itself and doesn’t come before a person’s name. In the second example, Principal is capitalized because it comes directly before Hudson’s name.

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

❌ Incorrect: I love History and Math.

✅ Correct: I love history and math.

✅ Also correct: This year, I am taking Spanish, Mandarin, and World History.

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

Mistake #4: Capitalizing seasons as if they were proper nouns

❌ Incorrect: I love Winter because no one questions how much hot chocolate I drink.

✅ Correct: I love winter because no one questions how much hot chocolate I drink.

✅ Also correct: I love sipping on some hot chocolate while watching the Winter Olympics.

Seasons like winter and spring are usually common nouns and aren’t capitalized, except when they’re part of a specific name. In the second correct example, winter is part of the name of a specific event, so it’s 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 whiteboard, hear an alarm, and touch a slug (although you probably shouldn’t). 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 honesty or responsibility. These are abstract nouns because they name ideas.

###Examples of concrete and abstract nouns

Concrete noun | Abstract noun |

• | - | -
  textbook | information
  medal | bravery
  gift | generosity
  smile | joy
  tears | sorrow
  award | recognition
  journal | reflection

###Common mistakes

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

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

✅ Correct: Whisper 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: Omari is a determined soccer player.

Abstract noun: Omari showed great determination during the soccer season.

Abstract nouns are things, not descriptions. In the adjective example, determined describes Omari, but in the abstract noun example, determination is the thing he 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, committee is a collective noun.

Collective nouns take singular verbs. A committee has many people, but when we talk about the committee, we treat all those people as one group, so we use a singular verb. We say "the committee is meeting," not "the committee are meeting."

[[☃ explanation 1]]

###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)

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Using plural verbs with collective nouns

❌ Incorrect: The team of students are training for the annual dodgeball tournament.

✅ Correct: The team of students is training for the annual dodgeball tournament.

✅ Also correct: Both teams are training for the annual dodgeball tournament.

Most of the time, collective nouns like team take singular verbs because we're talking about the group as one unit. However, plural collective nouns like teams take plural verbs because we’re talking about multiple groups. Note that in the first correct example, team is the subject that is performing the action. "Of students" just provides more information about the team.

Mistake #2: Not recognizing some tricky collective nouns

❌ Incorrect: The jewelry were stolen by that mischievous and crafty hamster.

✅ Correct: The jewelry was stolen by that mischievous and crafty hamster.

Some collective nouns don't sound like they're describing groups, but they are! For example, jewelry, furniture, luggage, and equipment are collective nouns.

###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.