Common and Proper Nouns: What's the difference?

What’s a noun?

Nouns are words that refer to a person, place, or thing, as well as to a quality, idea, or action. They can be made up of multiple words.

Proper Nouns vs. Common Nouns

Proper nouns are nouns that actually name one of the things a noun refers to. Because they name, they’re always capitalized:

Noah Webster

Aunt Betty

Harry the Dog

Chicago

Africa

Jupiter

Lake Erie

National Public Radio

Proper nouns that name a place or thing are often preceded by the, which does not get capitalized:

the Atlantic Ocean

the U.S. Constitution

Common nouns are all the other nouns:

dictionaries

family members

dogs

city

bodies of water

radio

comfort

justice

Distinguishing Between Proper and Common Nouns

Sometimes a common noun refers to a particular person, place, or thing, but does not actually name it.

Common Nouns

the president of the college

the people who helped us the other day

the highest peak on that continent

my favorite dictionary publisher

Proper Nouns

President Jones

Jack and Jill

Denali

Merriam-Webster

Can a noun be both?

Some nouns can function as both common and proper nouns. For example:

seeds planted in the warm brown earth on one of Earth’s farms

the former mayor will introduce Mayor Smith

the lakes of the region including Lake Erie

What's up with seasons?

The days of the week and the months of the year are considered proper nouns and are therefore capitalized:

Sunday

July

The seasons are considered common nouns and are therefore not capitalized unless they are in a title, as in the name of an event:

summer travels

the school’s annual Spring Fling