Common Noun Sentences With Examples ( A complete guide)

I wrote this guide for you, and you are reading this article. These are two simple sentences, but each sentence has two main or unique words!

In the first sentence, we have 'guide,' and in the second, 'article.' Do you know what we call these main things within an article?

We call them 'common nouns.' Just imagine if we had to remember names for every single chair, dog, or book in the world. It would be so hard to do, and that's where common nouns come in.

I am writing this guide so that you can learn more about common nouns, their use cases, different types, and what sets them apart.

Let’s jump straight into it!

What is a common noun?

Common nouns are the opposite of proper nouns, they are general terms that refer to an entire category of things. For example, rather than saying, I’m going to England, you can say that I’m traveling to another country.

Here “England” is a proper noun and “another country” is a common noun.

Did you notice from the example that we don’t capitalize common noun? They are not usually capitalized unless they appear at the start of the sentence, or used in a title. Which is one of the basic rules.

Common nouns are everywhere, and you use them all the time, even if you don’t realize it. They are the base of a language, which forms the foundation for countless sentences and phrases.

Use of common nouns

We use common nouns in our daily conversations. They make it easier for us to talk about things in a simple and general way, keeping our conversations clear and easy to understand.

Here’s how common nouns work in sentences:

“The park is near my house.” In this sentence, “park” and “house” are common nouns because they refer to general places, not a specific one.

Another example could be, “I love to eat Asian cuisine”. That is more concise and accurate than mentioning many dishes.

These are used to divide and classify objects or concepts, which improves their readability. For example, in our daily lives, we use the term “baby” to represent a newborn child. Or use “boy” to represent a minor male.

Common nouns play a key role in structuring sentences. If you want to improve your writing and write well-structured sentences, try our paragraph rewriter for fast, high-quality results

Types of common nouns

Have you ever been to a grocery store? If so, you may have noticed that it is filled with a wide variety of products. These products come in different forms and shapes. For example, bananas and eggs can be counted by dozens and are called “countable nouns.

On the other hand, some things, like oil, milk, or rice, cannot be counted directly and are called uncountable nouns.

Common nouns can be categorized into various types, including concrete, abstract, countable, and uncountable nouns. Here’s a closer look at these types:

1. Countable nouns

Can you count the cars parked in a lot? If you can, they are countable nouns.

Countable nouns are the words or terms used to represent individual items, people, or things that can be counted. These countable nouns have both singular and plural words in them.

In the sentence "I bought three apples from the market," you can say that "three" specifies the quantity of the countable noun "apples."

Other examples:

She borrowed two books from her friend.
I have four pencils on my desk.
We need to buy two bikes for traveling.
They have four dogs at home.

2. Uncountable nouns

If I asked you to count the stars in the sky or the air in a room, what would you say? You can’t count them because they are uncountable nouns.

Uncountable nouns are words or terms that cannot be counted as individual items. They often refer to substances, qualities, or concepts considered as a mass or a whole. Unlike countable nouns, uncountable nouns do not have plurals.

You could say, "You added sugar to your coffee." But can you tell me how much sugar you used? No, because it's difficult to specify the amount since sugar is an uncountable noun.

Other examples:

He has a vast amount of knowledge about science.
The room was filled with laughter after the joke.
Heavy traffic delays your arrival.

3. Collective nouns

Have you ever heard of collective nouns like "pack," "crew," or "herd"? Collective nouns describe a group of individuals or things as a single entity. They are used to refer to groups of people, animals, or objects collectively.

For example, in the sentence, "My office team celebrated their victory with a big party," "team" is a collective noun because it refers to a group of individuals working together as one unit.

When using collective nouns in sentences, it's important to use the correct form of the verb to match the noun. For example, you can't say, "The team are winning." Instead, you should say, "The team is winning."

Other example:

Pack is called a group of wolves.
Crew is a group of people working on a film.
Herd is a group of elephants.

4. Concrete nouns

“A girl placed the vase on the wooden table.”

What is the concrete noun in this sentence?

Concrete nouns are words used for the things you can actually see, touch, taste, smell, or hear. These include both living things, like a dog, and non-living things, like a book. They’re tangible objects that you can experience with your senses.

In that sentence, the words “vase” and “table” are concrete nouns because they are physical objects that you can see and touch.

Other examples:

Pencil: "She used a colorful pencil to draw a picture."
Bicycle: "He rode his bicycle to the park."
Mug: "She enjoyed her tea from a ceramic mug."

In the last example, both "tea" and "mug" are concrete nouns because the mug can be touched and the tea can be tasted.

5. Abstract nouns

Imagine the feeling of happiness you get when you receive good news. That feeling is an example of an abstract noun.

An abstract noun represents ideas, concepts, thoughts, points of view, or qualities. Unlike concrete nouns, which can be seen or touched, abstract nouns cannot be physically experienced with your senses.

Other examples:

He struggled to control his anger during the argument.
Their friendship has lasted for many years.
She felt pride after winning the competition.

In these examples, the words "anger," "friendship," and "pride" are abstract nouns.

6. Compound nouns

Do you like rainbows?

You know the word "rainbow" is actually a compound noun. It combines the words "rain" and "bow" to create a new word.

Compound nouns are made by joining two or more words together to create a single noun with specific meaning. The individual words in a compound noun don’t always have to be nouns. They just need to join to represent a specific person, place, idea, or thing.

A compound noun can be a common noun (like "toothbrush"), a proper noun (like "McDonald’s"), or an abstract noun (like "heartbreak").

other examples:

I bought a new toothbrush at the store.
Airport: This combines "air" and "port." It’s a place where planes take off and land.
She booked a haircut for next week.

Differences between common and proper nouns

The following are the differences between common and proper nouns:

Specific vs. general:

Common nouns: They point out general items or people. For example, “city” and “dog” are common nouns because they can be any city or dog.
Proper nouns: This type of noun points out specific names of people, places, or things. For example, “New York” and “Rex” are proper nouns because they name a specific city and a specific dog.

Capitalization:

Common nouns: Are not capitalized unless they start a sentence. For example, “book” in “I read a book.”
Proper nouns: These are always capitalized. For example, “Harry Potter” in “I’m reading Harry Potter.”

Examples in sentences:

Common noun: “She visited a museum.” (Here, “museum” is general and can be any museum.)
Proper noun: “She visited the Louvre.” (Here, “Louvre” is a specific museum.)

Have you noticed both types of nouns have more than a single word?

Here's a fun way to remember this: If you put "a" or "the" in front of it, it's probably a common noun. If it feels weird to do that, it's likely a proper noun. You wouldn't say "a Buddy" or "the New York City," right?

Common nouns that can become proper nouns

Common nouns can become proper nouns in certain situations, such as:

When part of a title:

Common Noun: “book”
Proper Noun: “The Great Gatsby” (Here, “The Great Gatsby” is a specific book title.)

When referencing a unique entity:

Common Noun: “company”
Proper Noun: “Apple Inc.” (Here, “Apple Inc.” is a specific company.)

Wrapping up

Common nouns are important for clear and accurate communication. Knowing how to use them helps make your writing precise and easy to understand.

Learning about common nouns is crucial for developing good language skills, as they are the foundation of sentences. Start improving your grammar by focusing on how you use common nouns.

Get better at grammar with common nouns today!

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the difference between a common and proper noun?

Common nouns are known or general names for things, people, and places. Whereas proper nouns are names for special people, places, and things.

2. Give some examples of a common noun.

Following are examples of common nouns.

Ink, hairband, ring, game.

3. Give some examples of proper nouns.

Following are examples of common nouns.

Diamond, Sun, Ernest Miller Hemingway, and Milky Way.