Common Noun – Concept and Its Uses

Common nouns  

The names of places, people, things and animals in general are called Common nouns. 

Common nouns are everywhere. They are general, not specific. A name given to anything of the same kind is a common noun. 

For example: books, girl, school, dogs 

The beginning letter of the common noun is capitalized, or they are used as part of titles. 

For example: 

I have a dog. 

Dogs are faithful animals. 

They can be used anywhere in the sentence. They indicate a class of objects or an idea. 

They are used to depict: 

• People 

Example: mother, child, teacher, nurse 

• Places 

Example: zoo, country, city 

• Animals 

Example: dog, cat, lion 

• Things 

Example: shoes, table, book 

• Fruits and vegetables 

Example: carrot, cabbage, apple, grapes 

• Ideas 

Example: love, anger, friendship, time 

Common nouns can be: 

• Singular (car) or plural (cars) 
• Countable (bottle) or uncountable (water) 
• Concrete (table) or abstract (friendship)