And that means that instead of using a little letter A like that, you would instead use aīig letter A like that. You could talk about a mountain, and that would be a common noun, because there are many mountains, but if you wanted to talkĪbout a specific mountain, say Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, that's a proper noun. Of, let's see, a river, any old river, that's a common noun, but if you're talkingĪbout a specific river, and it's a named river here, that would be the Nile, say. The difference between aĬommon and a proper noun is merely the differenceīetween a general thing, so this side is more general, and a specific thing. I could talk about a frog generally, but if I were speaking of a specific frog, I would say Kermit. I'll give you a couple ofĮxamples right off the bat. Something with a name and a more generic version of that thing. So the difference between a common and a proper noun is simply the difference between Idea of the difference between a common and a proper noun. When you see that a noun is capitalized, it is a great big clue telling you that the noun names something specific, like a person, sports team, car model, city, mountain, country, or even video game!Īnd when you are writing, capitalizing proper nouns will help you keep meaning clear, and will also help your readers understand exactly what you mean. Turkey = country that connects Europe and Asia turkey = bird meat from the bird, often eaten on Thanksgiving Three Sisters = volcanic peaks in Oregon Independence = city in Missouri & starting point of the Oregon Trail ![]() independence = ability to do things on one's own Grandmother = what I call my grandmother ![]() grandmother = any woman who has grandchildren If you read about "apple" you know it's a fruit.īut if you read about "Apple" then you realize it's probably the computer company (or possibly someone named Apple). Knowing the difference can be helpful when you are reading, too. The most obvious difference between common nouns and proper nouns is that proper nouns are always capitalized. Gauss and the gauss unit of magnetic flux density Ångström and the ångström unit of atomic distancesĭalton and the dalton unit of atomic mass Volt and the volt unit of electric potential Kelvin and the kelvin unit of temperatureįahrenheit and the fahrenheit unit of temperatureĬelsius and the celsius unit of temperature Tesla and the tesla unit of magnetic flux density Mississippi River and that river over thereĪnd don't forget all the units where proper nouns became common nouns:īecquerel and the becquerel unit of radioactivity Since English is full of equivocal terms, some common nouns also function as proper nouns.
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