common nouns

Language

2022

We explain what common nouns are and we give you examples of those used to name things, people, animals and places.

Common nouns can designate concrete objects or abstract notions.

What are common nouns?

There are many types of words, with different purposes and uses. Among them are the nouns, which, as its name indicates, are words endowed with substance, that is, nouns are used to give names to specific things of the reality, whether concrete or abstract, large or small, or whatever their nature.

Likewise, there are types of nouns, differentiated from each other according to the type of object they denote: nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns designate a single particular object, acting as a proper noun, and differentiating it from others that may share many of its fundamental characteristics.

Common nouns are those that designate a whole category of things, that is, they name a set of things that share certain minimal characteristics or belong to the same species.

This is easier to explain with an example: if we talk about the Sun (note the capital letter), we are using a proper noun, since such is the name we have given the Humans to the star that shines on us and gives heat.

However, if we talk about the sun of a planet far away, we will be referring to a whole category of stars similar to ours, which fulfill the same functions and therefore can be considered as suns as well. In the latter case, we will use a common noun.

Examples of common nouns of people

Those who are used to name persons in general:

  • Father, mother, uncle, grandfather, nephew, grandson, son, godson, cousin.
  • Firefighter, policeman, lawyer, veterinarian, soldier, priest, teacher, politician, engineer.
  • Man, woman, child, elderly, adolescent, husbands, boyfriends.
  • Driver, psychiatrist, announcer, worker, doctor.
  • Dwarf, giant, wizard, witch, knight, king, alchemist.

Examples of common nouns of things

Those that are used to name things in general, concrete or abstract:

  • Computer, TV, calculator, notepad, pencil, pen.
  • Automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, plane, ship, train.
  • Table, chair, sofa, bed, library, cabinet.
  • Stone, stick, earth, cloud, sun, Moon.
  • Planet, satelite, Kite, asteroid, star.
  • Tree, grass, trunk, flower, trunk, fruit, root.
  • Brick, mineral, metal, wood, bone, glass, fire, Water, wind.
  • Number, idea, value, conclusion, inference, error.
  • Liberty, dignity, honor, bravery, truth, lie.
  • Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, number, sign.

Examples of common animal nouns

Those used to name categories of animals, real or not:

  • Cat, dog, mouse, rooster, hen, cow, bull, horse, mare, pig.
  • Lion, tiger, antelope, zebra, buffalo, giraffe, platypus.
  • Monkey, chimpanzee, orangutan, gorilla.
  • Bird, hummingbird, vulture, condor, parrot, toucan, macaw.
  • Insects, cockroaches, mantis, mosquito, ant, fly, butterfly, moth, beetle.
  • Scorpion, spider, centipede, crab, lobster.
  • Earthworm, worm, caterpillar, snail, slug.
  • Dragon, unicorn, mermaid, hippogriff, vampire, dinosaur, monster.

Examples of common place nouns

All places can be named with a noun.

Those used to refer to places:

  • School, church, park, stadium, factory, hospital, shop, temple, university.
  • Street, avenue, highway, town, field, neighborhood, urbanization.
  • Square, country, continent, hemisphere, world, galaxy, universe.
  • Coast, Mountain, jungle, Forest, desert.
  • Bedroom, basement, attic, living room, porch, kitchen, patio.
  • Site, place, space, surroundings, center.

Sentences with common nouns

Some examples of common nouns in a prayer are as follows:

  • The boy waited for his father at school.
  • Parishioners flocked to the temple in their neighborhood.
  • In the city there were a significant number of lawyers.
  • There are thousands of worlds and suns like ours.
  • Yesterday I called the gardener to trim the trees.
  • Women tend to be smarter than men.
  • In the zoo there were birds, snakes and monkeys.
  • Yesterday I met an uncle who lives in another continent.
  • I have heard that in other countries they eat toads.
  • Last week we adopted a cat.
  • The workers demolished a building in which there were ghosts.
  • No Forest it will survive global warming.
  • My nieces are already going to college.
  • There are many books in the library about Liberty.
  • The knight mounted his unicorn and went to fight with the dragon.
  • A good architect will make you a good home.
  • Scientists plan to send one probe to another galaxy.
  • A dancer and a spectator met that night.
  • Films by that director are banned in his country.

Other types of noun

Nouns can also be classified into:

  • Concrete and abstract. Depending on whether they denote an object that exists in the real plane, or if on the contrary it exists in the plane of ideas and imagination, respectively. For example: "stone" is concrete, while "relationship" is abstract.
  • Countable and uncountable. Depending on whether their number can be recorded (that is, accounted for) or if they have an entity that cannot be numbered. For example: "persons"Is countable (one person, two, three), while" garbage "is not.
  • Individual and collective. While all are general, some nouns denote an individual entity, while others denote a set of them. For example: "bee" is an individual of a species, while "hive" is an organized set of them.
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