# Understand types, properties and inheritance

Why a Dentist can use properties inherited from both a place and an organization.

By CheckMySchema. Reviewed 2026-09-22.
Canonical page: https://checkmyschema.com/learn/types-properties-inheritance

## Follow the type hierarchy

Specific types inherit from broader types. Multiple inheritance means an entity may participate in more than one branch. This lets a specialized business carry both organizational information and a physical location.

## Read expected types correctly

Property definitions describe the types commonly associated with a property and the expected values. Schema.org is deliberately flexible: these expectations are not the same as a rigid database constraint. CheckMySchema therefore reports many compatibility problems as warnings.

## Use the vocabulary explorer

Look up a term to inspect its parent types, usual domains, expected ranges and replacement terms. Follow the canonical definition when deciding whether an unusual use is intentional.

## Official sources

- [Schema.org data model](https://schema.org/docs/datamodel.html)
- [Complete type hierarchy](https://schema.org/docs/full.html)