Grammar basics
Common nouns
A common noun is a general name for a person, place or thing, like man, city or computer. It is not the name of one special person or place.
What is a common noun?
Every common noun has a "special name" partner. The special name is a proper noun.
| Common noun (general) | Proper noun (special name) |
|---|---|
| man | John |
| city | Bangkok |
| country | Thailand |
| day | Monday |
| programming language | Python |
Common nouns start with a small letter: city, not City. Only use a capital letter when the word is the first word of a sentence.
Don't forget a, an or the
Thai has no words like a, an and the. In English, one common noun usually needs one of them in front. Say I am a developer, not I am developer.
Man
An adult male person. The plural is men.
The man at the coffee shop knows my name.
City
A big town where many people live and work.
Bangkok is a busy city.
Teacher
A person whose job is to help people learn.
My English teacher is very patient.
Phone
A device you use to call people and send messages.
I check my phone too often.
Office
A room or building where people work at desks.
I go to the office on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Keyboard
The set of keys you press to type on a computer.
I bought a new keyboard for coding.