Different Parts of Speech (Proper and Common Nouns)

A noun is a person, place or thing. Nouns can be proper or common.

Proper nouns specifically name a person, place or thing. For example: Peter (person), England (place), and Big Ben (thing). Proper nouns are capitalized. 

Common nouns do not specifically name a person, place or thing, but in general. For example: uncle (person), country (place), and clock (thing). Usually common nouns are not capitalized, but there are exceptions. One of those exceptions would be if a common noun is used at the beginning, for example: Bags are used to carry things in.

Here are some examples using proper nouns (London, Big Ben, and Peter):

• My favourite place is London.

• They took a photograph of Big Ben.

• He plays football with Peter every week.

Here are some examples using common nouns (city, clock, and uncle):

• My favourite place is in the city.

• They took a photograph of a clock.

• He plays football with his uncle every week.