Common & Proper Nouns
Learn the difference between general names and specific names, and discover when English uses capital letters.
General or specific?
The type of name you choose changes the information you give.
A noun can name a person, place, thing or idea in a general way, or it can identify one particular person, place, organisation, event or other unique name.
The difference is often easy to see. A city could be any city, but London identifies one particular city. A teacher could be any teacher, but Mr Brown identifies one particular person.
This distinction also controls capital letters. Common nouns normally begin with lowercase letters. Proper nouns begin with capital letters because they are names.
Before you begin
Both common and proper nouns are still nouns.
These labels tell us whether a noun is general or specific. They do not change the basic job of the noun in a sentence.
If you would like to review what nouns are and how they work, begin with the Nouns lesson.
The central idea
Common nouns are general. Proper nouns are specific.
Compare each general category with the specific name beside it.
01
Common Nouns
Common nouns give general names to people, places, things and ideas.
teacher
city
company
language
They normally begin with a lowercase letter unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
02
Proper Nouns
Proper nouns identify specific people, places, organisations and other unique names.
Mr Brown
London
English
They begin with capital letters wherever they appear in a sentence.
The relationship is category → name.
country → Canada
river → the Nile
month → August
university → Oxford University
The common noun tells you what kind of person, place or thing it is. The proper noun tells you its particular name.
Common nouns
General names do not identify one unique person or thing.
A common noun refers to a class, group or type rather than naming one particular member of that group.
People
student
doctor
neighbour
manager
The doctor spoke to the patient.
The sentence identifies their roles, but it does not give either person’s name.
Places
country
street
school
restaurant
We stopped at a restaurant near the station.
The listener knows what kinds of places they are, but not their specific names.
Things
phone
table
book
car
Her phone is beside the computer.
Ideas, feelings and qualities
freedom
happiness
knowledge
patience
Patience takes practice.
A noun does not need to describe something physical. General ideas and qualities can also be common nouns.
Proper nouns
Specific names identify particular people, places and things.
Proper nouns are names. They tell the listener or reader exactly which person, place, organisation, day, language or other named thing you mean.
Names of people
Aisha Khan
Daniel
Professor Lee
Dr Silva
Daniel has an appointment with Dr Silva.
Titles such as Mr, Ms, Dr and Professor are capitalised when they form part of a person’s name.
Names of places
Albania
Tirana
Lake Victoria
Oxford Street
They travelled from Tirana to Rome.
Names of organisations, institutions and businesses
the United Nations
Oxford University
the British Council
Official organisation names are proper nouns, even when they contain words that can also be common nouns.
Names of days, months and special events
Monday
December
New Year’s Day
the Olympic Games
Days and months are proper nouns in English. Seasons are normally common nouns: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Languages, nationalities and religions
English
Arabic
Canadian
Buddhism
She is Canadian, and she speaks English and French.
These words begin with capital letters whether they are used as nouns or adjectives.
Titles of books, films, songs and other works
Pride and Prejudice
The Lion King
Imagine
Titles follow capitalisation conventions. Important words are usually capitalised, while short function words may remain lowercase.
Capital letters
A proper noun keeps its capital letter wherever it appears.
Sentence position does not change whether a noun is common or proper.
At the beginning of a sentence
Teachers need patience.
Teachers is a common noun. It has a capital letter only because it begins the sentence.
Maria teaches English.
Maria is a proper noun. It also begins the sentence, but it would keep its capital letter anywhere.
In the middle of a sentence
Our teacher is called Maria.
Teacher is general, so it is lowercase. Maria is a name, so it is capitalised.
Every important word in a multi-word name may be capitalised.
New York City
South Africa
Oxford University
World Health Organization
Small connecting words may remain lowercase in some names and titles: the University of Oxford, The Lord of the Rings.
Look at the meaning
The same word can be common in one sentence and proper in another.
Capitalisation can show whether a word is being used as a general description or as part of an official name.
01
school / Greenfield School
The children walk to school.
They attend Greenfield School.
02
university / Cambridge University
She hopes to study at a university.
Her brother studies at Cambridge University.
03
president / President Garcia
The president gave a speech.
President Garcia gave a speech.
04
river / River Thames
A river runs through the city.
The River Thames runs through London.
Titles and family words
Capitalisation depends on how the word is being used.
Capitalize a title when it forms part of a name.
Dr Ahmed
Professor Jones
Queen Elizabeth II
I spoke to Professor Jones.
Use lowercase when the title is a general role.
the doctor
our professor
the queen
I spoke to the professor after class.
Family words can act like names.
I asked Mum for help.
Here, Mum is used in place of the person’s name, so it is capitalised.
I asked my mum for help.
Here, mum is a common noun with a possessive determiner, so it is lowercase.
A useful decision guide
Ask one question: Is this a general category or a specific name?
01
Does the word name a type or category?
Use a common noun and normally begin it with a lowercase letter.
teacher
country
month
company
02
Does the word give the official or particular name?
Use a proper noun and begin the name with a capital letter.
Ms Patel
India
January
Microsoft
03
Is it capitalised only because it begins the sentence?
Check the word again. A common noun at the beginning of a sentence is still a common noun.
Books can change lives.
04
Is the common word inside an official name?
Capitalise it when it forms part of the proper noun.
the river → the River Nile
a university → Boston University
Common mistakes
Capital letters should communicate names, not importance.
Do not capitalise every noun.
❌ My Teacher lives in a large City.
✅ My teacher lives in a large city.
English does not normally capitalise common nouns simply because they feel important.
Do not use lowercase letters for names.
❌ We visited italy in june.
✅ We visited Italy in June.
Remember languages and nationalities.
❌ She speaks spanish.
✅ She speaks Spanish.
❌ He is brazilian.
✅ He is Brazilian.
Do not automatically capitalise seasons.
❌ Classes begin in Autumn.
✅ Classes begin in autumn.
Seasons are usually common nouns. They are capitalised only when they form part of a name or title.
Do not confuse a sentence capital with a proper noun.
Students arrived early.
Students is capitalised because it begins the sentence, not because it is a proper noun.
Check your understanding
Common noun or proper noun?
Choose the correct type for the highlighted noun.
We moved to Canada last year.
✅ Exactly! Canada is the specific name of a country.
❎ Not quite. Ask whether the word gives a category or a particular name.
Country is general. Canada identifies one country.
Her brother works in a hospital.
✅ Exactly! Brother describes a family relationship but does not give the person’s name.
❎ Not quite. The sentence tells us who he is in the family, but not his name.
The meeting is on Tuesday.
✅ Exactly! Names of days are proper nouns in English.
❎ Not quite. Days of the week are treated as names.
Winter can be very cold here.
✅ Exactly! Winter is a common noun here. It is capitalised only because it begins the sentence.
❎ Not quite. Consider why the first letter is capitalised.
Choose the capitalisation
Select the correctly written sentence.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! Country names and month names both begin with capital letters.
❎ Not quite. Check both the country and the month.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! Teacher is general, while Ms Khan and Arabic are proper nouns.
❎ Not quite. Separate the general job from the person’s name and the language name.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! School is general, while Oxford Street is a place name.
❎ Not quite. Which words form the complete street name?
Try it another way
Type the proper noun that matches the common noun.
Use the information in each sentence. Capitalisation matters.
✅ Exactly! London is the specific name of the city.
❎ Not quite. Type the city’s particular name and begin it with a capital letter.
✅ Exactly! Days of the week are proper nouns.
❎ Not quite. Type the name of the day with a capital letter.
✅ Exactly! Language names begin with capital letters.
❎ Not quite. Type the language name, not the general word language.
Edit the sentence
Correct the capital letters.
Rewrite each sentence with correct capitalisation.
my Friend sara lives in madrid.
✅ Exactly! The sentence begins with My; friend is common; Sara and Madrid are names.
❎ Not quite. Check the sentence beginning, the general relationship word, the person’s name and the city name.
we study english on monday.
✅ Exactly! The sentence beginning, the language name and the day name all need capital letters.
❎ Not quite. Look for one sentence capital and two proper nouns.
professor lee works at boston university.
✅ Exactly! The title and surname form a person’s name, and Boston University is an official institution name.
❎ Not quite. Identify the complete person name and the complete university name.
Quick review
General category or specific name?
Common nouns name general people, places, things and ideas.
Proper nouns give the particular names of people, places, organisations and other named things.
Common nouns normally begin with lowercase letters.
Proper nouns begin with capital letters wherever they appear in a sentence.
A common noun at the beginning of a sentence is capitalised, but it does not become a proper noun.
Days, months, languages, nationalities and official names are proper nouns in English.
Seasons are normally common nouns.
Titles and family words are capitalised when they are used as part of, or in place of, a person’s name.
Remember
Capital letters identify names—not importance.
Ask whether the noun gives a general category or a specific name. That one question will usually tell you whether the noun is common or proper and whether it needs a capital letter.