Characteristics of Common Nouns:
* General: They refer to a category or group of things rather than a specific one.
* Not Capitalized: They are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.
* Examples:
* Person: teacher, student, doctor, friend
* Place: city, park, country, restaurant
* Thing: book, table, chair, computer, flower
Examples:
* "The cat" is a common noun because it refers to any cat, not a specific named cat.
* "The Eiffel Tower" is a proper noun because it refers to a specific location.
* "A dog" is a common noun because it refers to any dog.
* "The sun" is a common noun because it refers to the star in our solar system.
In contrast:
* Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, or things. They are always capitalized. Examples: John, Paris, Amazon River.
Understanding common nouns is essential for correctly using and identifying nouns in language.