proper noun essay

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Proper Nouns

Proper nouns refer to particular persons, places, and things by name . They are capitalized. 

Articles and Proper Nouns

Generally, we use zero article with singular proper nouns, and “ the ” with plural ones. For example, France vs. the United States; Mount Everest vs. the Himalayas; Cuba vs. the Bahamas, etc. However, there are many exceptions.  Here are some sub-rules that may be helpful:

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, what is a proper noun 6 easy examples.

General Education

If you’re wondering about proper nouns, and how to identify them, look no further. You are, in fact, a proper noun yourself! Proper nouns identify specific people, places, and things . Using proper nouns correctly clarifies your writing, and ensures that readers know exactly what you’re talking about. We all use proper nouns already, so making sure you have the ability to identify them and include them in your writing will make your writing and reading comprehension skills stronger.

What Is a Noun?

A noun is a person, place, thing, animal, or idea . Basically, anything that needs to be identified can be done so with a noun. Nouns are one of the main parts of speech, and can be enhanced by adjectives. Some examples of common nouns are things like table, dog, city, love, movie, ocean, book. A proper noun is a noun that references a specific person, place, thing, animal or idea . Everything around you is a noun, and so learning to identify common and proper nouns is important for your writing. Let’s explore the difference!

What Is a Proper Noun? How Is It Different?

What is a proper noun? Here's a simple proper noun definition: Proper nouns are nouns that identify a specific, usually one-of-a-kind noun . Proper nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they fall in a sentence. This helps you tell the difference between them. Every noun can be classified as common or proper. Additionally, most proper nouns do not have the word “the” in front of them in a sentence, the way common nouns do. “The” is a pointing word, and with a proper noun, the word has already been made specific, and there is no need to point.

For example I can say, “Please walk the dog.” or “Please walk Buddy.” Note that “Please walk Buddy” doesn’t have a “the” in the sentence since I’ve already identified the specific dog that needs walking. One exception is when you’re referring to a kingdom or a republic. So you would say the United Kingdom, even though the United Kingdom is a proper noun and the name of a specific country.

Let’s look at our common noun examples of nouns above. A common noun is city. A proper noun is New York City. You could say this dog is a good boy, or Buddy is a good boy. Book is a common noun, while The Great Gatsby is a proper noun. The difference is that nouns like city, book, and dog could be referring to multiple different things, places, or animals . Saying “book” is perfectly fine in a sentence, but you will want to specify further if you plan on talking about that book in depth. In that case, saying “book” will be confusing. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable to say ‘“I packed a book for vacation.”

Not all common nouns have proper noun counterparts, such as abstract nouns like love. Using proper nouns isn’t always necessary, but can help readers and listeners identify something more closely, or know that they should pay attention to a certain noun over others. Again, the difference between common and proper nouns depends on the specificity of the noun . There are lots of options for nouns and it’s up to you to decide when to use proper or common nouns. Proper nouns are used for specific things, so simply capitalizing a common noun won’t make it a proper noun.

Proper Noun Examples

Below is a list of some proper noun examples, as well as note whether they represent a person, place, or thing.

Now let's use some of them in a sentence so you can see how they differ from common nouns.

In the example above, the common and proper nouns are different but the sentence is the same . In this case, you can see that the sentence doesn’t change in meaning when you change the noun. In the following sentences, some are the same regardless of whether or not a proper or common noun is used, and the meaning is the same. In others, the sentences are slightly different to show how a proper noun can change the meaning of the sentence . Take time to consider this when looking at the rest of the examples, and note which ones are common and which are proper nouns.

Proper Noun Quiz

Identify all of the proper noun examples in this paragraph:

The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous works of American literature. In this career-defining novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a wealthy man named Jay Gatsby throws elaborate parties to attempt to get the attention, and win back the affection of his past love, Daisy. Daisy is one of the social elites of East Egg, a fictional town in Long Island, New York, and hails from an old family. Gatsby, on the other hand, is newly wealthy and not from a reputable family. Though this book is filled with flashy cars and wild parties, through narrator Nick Carraway’s perspective. we see the pain of loss and the death of the American dream.

Quiz Answers

All proper nouns are in red. 

The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous works of American literature. In this career-defining novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald , a wealthy man named Jay Gatsby throws elaborate parties to attempt to get the attention, and win back the affection of his past love, Daisy . Daisy is one of the social elites of East Egg , a fictional town in Long Island, New York , and hails from an old family. Gatsby , on the other hand, is newly wealthy and not from a reputable family. Though this book is filled with flashy cars and wild parties, through narrator Nick Carraway ’s perspective we see the pain of loss and the death of the American dream.

Proper nouns are incredibly important in the English language, which makes identifying and using them correctly all the more important. If you’re unsure about whether something is a proper noun or not, ask yourself if that person, place, or thing is one of a kind. Remember, proper noun examples are always capitalized, which should make picking them out in sentences even easier. There’s always room to improve on grammar knowledge, so pay attention to how you’re using those nouns and don’t be afraid to play with sentences to get the hang of things.

What's Next?

Looking for information about writing? Check out our guides on literary elements , sonnets , and similes vs metaphors .

Wondering about the role grammar plays on the SATs? Read up on The 12 SAT Grammar Rules You Must Know and The Complete Prep Guide for SAT Writing .

Carrie holds a Bachelors in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and is currently pursuing an MFA. She worked in book publishing for several years, and believes that books can open up new worlds. She loves reading, the outdoors, and learning about new things.

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Proper Nouns

What are proper nouns.

Table of Contents

Examples of Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Find the proper noun test, formal definition of "proper noun" and "common noun", examples of proper nouns in sentences, video lesson, why proper nouns are important.

Can You Identify Proper Nouns ?

Formal definition.

• Those idiots have been annoying Jason .
• I would like to visit an old castle . Can we visit Warwick Castle ?
• All water tastes the same. There's a reason why Evian is "naive" backwards.
• Walt Disney got the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from a tame mouse at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City .

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos .

(Issue 1) Don't capitalize a word just because it's an important word in your sentence.

(Issue 2) Use capital letters for just the principal words in a title.

• Tower of London
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Catcher in the Rye
• The Last of the Mohicans
• Leonardo da Vinci / Ludwig van Beethoven

(Issue 3) Do not write the seasons (e.g., "summer") and the points of the compass (e.g., "north") with uppercase letters.

(Issue 4) Write the Sun and the Moon with capital letters.

(issue 5) write terms like director and finance department with capital letters if they refer to specific people or departments..

• Proper nouns get capital letters. Don't give a common noun a capital letter just because it's an important word in your sentence.
• When writing titles, use capital letters just for the first word and the principal words (i.e., not words like "the," "an," "and," "or," "in," and "with").
• The seasons and the points of the compass are not written with capital letters.
• If you write the Moon/Sun but a moon/sun, you'll probably have used capital letters correctly.
• With terms like Director and Finance Department, use capital letters when they refer to specific people or offices.

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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Common and Proper Nouns: Definition, Examples, & Exercises

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Do you get confused about the difference between a common noun and a proper noun? Would practice help you become a master? 

Read on to learn about the difference between common and proper nouns, how they are used, and when to use them. 

When you feel like you’ve got it, test yourself with a quiz and practice with our high-quality, standards-aligned questions here . 

What We Review

The Basics of Common and Proper Nouns

What is a common noun?

A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. 

For example, as you work on your homework, think about the things you are using. You might be using a computer, a textbook, or a pencil. All of these are generic items that we encounter on a regular basis and are common nouns . 

What is a proper noun?

A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . This is true whether they begin a sentence or not. 

Let’s consider the same example from above, but instead, now we will be more specific about the resources necessary to complete your homework. 

As you work, you may be using a Pearson Algebra 1 textbook, a Google Chromebook, and a Ticonderoga pencil. You are better able to visualize this scenario if proper nouns are provided since they are more specific and unique. 

What is the relationship between common and proper nouns? 

Common and proper nouns are closely related. The most straightforward way of understanding the relationship between common and proper nouns is to think about proper nouns as specific examples of common nouns. 

For example, the word building is a common noun. Examples of buildings include The White House, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Memorial Hall at Harvard University. 

These examples are all proper nouns since they are specific, unique examples of the common noun building . Generally, we can more vividly picture or understand a text when the author uses examples of proper nouns since there is less room for interpretation. 

How do you use common and proper nouns? 

Common and proper nouns can be used in relation to each other or separately. Typically, authors use common nouns when they are describing something broad or ambiguous. 

Proper nouns are used to describe a person, place, thing, or idea that is specific and concrete. Common and proper nouns are often used together in sentences. 

Take the following sentence as an example: The doctor worked long hours at Memorial Hospital to help contain the spread of the common cold. 

In this sentence, we see examples of common nouns, such as doctor, hours, and common cold. Additionally, the sentence has an example of a proper noun– Memorial Hospital. 

If the sentence were not to name the hospital specifically, then it would have remained a common noun (hospital). 

Return to the top

3 Tips for Understanding Common vs. Proper Nouns

Here are some important tips to help you determine the difference between common and proper nouns:

Tip #1: If it’s a noun and it’s capitalized, then it’s probably a proper noun . 

• For example, book is a generic common noun. 
• The Scarlet Letter is a specific book and, as a result, is a proper noun. 
• For example, Lampshades come in many different colors, varieties, and shapes . Even though lampshades is capitalized in this sentence, it is not a specific brand or size of lampshade. 
• Lampshade is capitalized because it begins the sentence, not because it is a proper noun. 

Tip #2: Make sure it’s a noun. 

• Do not rely solely on the capitalization of words to determine whether or not the word (or words) in question is a common or proper noun. 
• For example, consider the following sentence: It can be difficult for young people to read complicated, Shakespearian language. At first glance, you may quickly classify Shakespearian as a proper noun. Upon further inspection, however, Shakespearian merely describes the common noun language . 
• Therefore, in this instance, Shakespearian is NOT a proper noun even though it is capitalized. Instead, it is a proper adjective. 

Tip #3: When writing, ask yourself, “what message am I trying to communicate?”

• If you are using common and proper nouns in your own writing, it is important to consider what it is that you want the reader to take away from your writing. 
• If you are trying to paint a clear, vivid picture for the reader, then it is important to use more proper nouns. 
• However, if you are attempting to create a more general, vague scene, then using more common nouns is appropriate. 

Remember, if you are trying to figure out whether a word is a common or proper noun, ask yourself if the word in question is a noun and whether or not it’s capitalized. 

If you are writing, ask yourself what message you are trying to communicate before using common or proper nouns. 

Applying the Basics: Common and Proper Noun Review & Practice

Now that you understand what common and proper nouns are, let’s review how and when to use them, and how to tell them apart! Remember, every proper noun has a common noun counterpart, but not every common noun has a related proper noun. 

The Ultimate List of Common and Proper Nouns

Refer to the graphic below for an extensive list of example common and proper nouns:

This list, obviously, does not include all common and proper nouns and is meant to be used as a guide while identifying other nouns. 

Common Noun Exercises & Review

Now that you know the difference between common and proper nouns, test your ability to accurately identify common nouns. 

Select the common noun(s) in the sentences below. Remember, these are generic items that we encounter on a regular basis. They are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

1. You’ve probably used Google Earth to look at the roof of your own house.

• In this sentence, roof and house are both common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

2. In New York City, for example, subways chug along 500 miles of underground track. 

• In this sentence , example, subways, miles, and track are common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

3. Some people argue that the government should control what goes on underground, and private companies should not be able to profit from the land beneath your house.

• In this sentence , people, government, underground, companies, land , and house are all common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

4. How would you feel about a public road going under your porch?

• In this sentence, road and porch are common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

5. The way we answer these questions will help determine how our society grows and changes in the future.  

• In this sentence, way, questions, society , and future are all common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

Pro tip : When evaluating whether a noun is common, ask yourself, “Is it general, and is it in lower case?”

Proper Noun Exercises & Review

Complete the quick exercise below to assess your mastery of proper nouns. 

Select the proper noun(s) in the sentences below. Remember, a proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . This is true whether they begin a sentence or not. 

1. In 1890, long before your great-grandparents were born, the U.S. Congress established Yosemite National Park.

In this sentence, U.S Congress and Yosemite National Park are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

2. Before becoming a national park, the Yosemite area was home to the Ahwahneechee and Miwok people for many generations.

In this sentence, Yosemite, Ahwahneechee, and Miwok are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

3. Disney’s “Pocahontas” has a similar happy tone, but the actual life of Pocahontas was more interesting than what we saw on screen.

In this sentence, Disney’s and Pocahontas are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

4. Pocahontas was born around 1595 in modern-day Virginia.

In this sentence, Pocahontas and Virginia are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

5. Heralded as an example of the possibilities in the “New World”, Pocahontas and John Rolfe traveled to England with their son in 1616.

In this sentence, New World, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, and England are all proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

Pro tip : When evaluating whether a noun is proper, ask yourself, “Is it specific, and is it capitalized?”

For additional practice, check out Common and Proper Nouns content on Albert.

Try for Yourself: Common and Proper Nouns Quiz

Feeling confident in your understanding of common and proper nouns? 

Take this short six-question quiz to see what you’ve learned:

1. Is a common noun general or specific?

• Answer: General
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. 
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, a common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. 

2. Is a proper noun general or specific?

• Answer: Specific
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized .
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, a proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized .

3. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

Adolescent brains are constantly rewiring and retraining to prune skills that are not being used to make room for the skills being used often. 

• Answer: Common
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. Brains, skills, room, and skills are not capitalized in this example.

4. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

We enter our REM stage within the first 90 minutes of sleep and repeat this cycle several times throughout the night.

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. In this example, stage, sleep, repeat, times, and night are all general common nouns.

5. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, plastic litter is of the greatest concern as it has the most widespread and harmful impacts on animal populations.

• Answer: Proper
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . In this example, the Environmental Protection Agency refers to a specific government entity.

6. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

What does NASA’s space program cost each of the 328 million people that currently live in the USA?

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . In this example, NASA and USA refer to a specific organization and nation.

For additional practice with common and proper nouns, check out our practice on Albert.io: Common and Proper Nouns .

Teacher’s Corner

While it’s true that common and proper nouns are a foundational grammar skill, the Common Core English Language Progressive Skills Chart shows that even elementary-level skills “require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking.” 

For specific standards addressing common and proper nouns, check out the Common Core State Standards site! 

Albert’s common and proper nouns practice can be used for much more than homework! Our assessments can be used as pre-and post-tests to measure student progress. Our pre-made quizzes can be used as bell-ringers, exit tickets, and more! 

In addition to our pre-made assessments, you can also use our assignments feature to create your own quizzes and assessments.

Summary on Common and Proper Nouns

Common nouns are general, non-specific people, places, things, or ideas. 

Proper nouns are specific, concrete people, places, things, and ideas.

In writing, proper nouns generally provide the reader with a more clear, tangible image of what the author describes. 

Common and proper nouns can be used in tandem with one another or separately. Be sure to check out our grammar course for more common and proper noun practice. 

You can also access over 3,400 high-quality questions that address nearly every grammatical concept. 

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Proper Noun

A proper noun belongs to a class of words that refers to specific persons, things, places, ideas, or events. It is opposite to a common noun . All nouns are mostly divided into one of these two categories – proper nouns and common nouns.

Mostly a proper noun is not preceded by determiners or articles. However, there are some exceptions, such as “the Great Depression,” “the Bronx,” “the Fourth of July,” etc. A proper noun usually begins with a capital letter such as in the cases of “New York,” “Coca Cola,” and “David.” For example, read these lines, ” ‘Where’s Papa going with that ax?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast . “Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable .” ( Charlotte’s Web , by E.B White). Here, “Fern” and “Mrs. Arable” are proper nouns.

Common Examples of Proper Noun

• Fiona has gone to college.
• He bought Pulpy orange juice.
• Maria is annoying.
• Tomorrow we are going to visit Warwick Castle .
• We went to a new restaurant to try Thai

In these sentences, “Fiona,” “Pulpy,” “Maria,” “Warwick Castle,” and “Thai” are proper nouns. These nouns are specific or unique names of the things or persons they represent.

Examples of Proper Nouns in Literature

Example #1: the empire state building: the making of a landmark (by john tauranac).

“The Empire State Building is the twentieth-century New York building. The Chrysler Building might be glitzier, Lever House might be a purer example of modernism, and two of the city’s most banal buildings might be taller. But for the true heartbeat of a New Yorker , it’s the Empire State Building .”

This passage has excellently used proper nouns to specifically name the “Empire State Building,” the “New York Building,” the “Chrysler Building,” which are names of buildings; as well as the city of “New York,” and the specific name given to people who live in the city, “New Yorker.”

Example #2: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (by Maya Angelou)

“On a late spring Saturday , after our chores (nothing like those in Stamps) were done, Bailey and I were going out, he to play baseball and I to the library. Mr. Freeman said to me, after Bailey had gone downstairs, ‘ Ritie , go get some milk for the house.'”

In these lines, “Saturday” is a specific name of one the day of the week, while “Baily,” “Freeman,” and “Ritie” are the names of individuals.

Example #3: Women Preachers and Prophets through Two Millennia of Christianity (by Beverly Mayne Kienzle and Pamela J. Walker)

“The Salvation Army invaded the streets of East London in 1865, bombarding these working-class neighborhoods with brass bands and flamboyant preachers.”

Here, “Salvation Army” and “East London” are proper nouns. Although “army” is a general term, “Salvation Army” is a specific name for a Christian army of volunteers. Likewise, “East London” is a specific name for the part of London.

Example #4: Titanic on Trial (by Nic Compton)

“The sinking of the Titanic was not the worst maritime disaster in history. That dubious honor belongs to the German liner Wilhelm Gustloff , which was sunk by a Russian submarine in January 1945, while evacuating civilians and troops from East Prussia .”

In this example, all of the underlined terms are proper nouns. They are all specific names of things and persons belonging to particular countries.

Example #5: Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen)

“ Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley … Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters … Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty , for Heaven’s sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.” The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet said only, “Nonsense, nonsense!”

In this passage, Austen has used four proper nouns: “Mr. Bennet,” “Mr. Bingley,” “Mrs. Bennet,” and Kitty.” She also has used common nouns, including “daughters” and “girls.”

Function of Proper Noun

The use of a proper noun is common in writing and everyday speech. A proper noun is necessary to refer to a specific object , person, place, or event. From linguistic perspective , a proper noun has a unique reference within the particular context , but a common noun does not have such a reference. Besides, it highlights someone or something unique that is performing an action in the sentence . It links the whole text around a single idea, a single person, or a single event, which is the center of attention, or which the author wants his readers to pay special attention to.

Related posts:

• Collective Noun
• Common Noun

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Nouns: What’s in a Name?

With a name that means, literally, ‘to name’, it’s pretty impossible to imagine the English language—or any language—without the noun. But while we use them constantly to provide clarity and identify the things that we’re talking or writing about, this hugely essential word type still has some surprises up its sleeve. This guide should give you a deeper understanding of this seemingly simple element of language, and allow you to use them correctly in your work. You can also check out this  useful reference  to consolidate your learning. If you’re currently working on a paper and would find a quick and easy grammar check useful, upload your essay for free at EasyBib.com. You can also use our fantastic citation tool to help cite your sources using popular styles such as MLA and  APA format .

Guide Overview

• What is a noun?
• Controversy and crossover
• Where the magic happens
• Phrase or clause?
• Types of nouns list
• Can you count it?
• Good and proper
• Getting possessive
• A blessing of unicorns
• Friendly compounds
• The pronoun takeover
• Grammar help is here!

What is a Noun?

At first glance, the noun definition is fairly straightforward—they’re naming words used to refer to a person, place, thing or idea. They’re arguably the most important element of any sentence, as they’ll usually be its subject. They can also be the direct object of a sentence. Or the indirect object. Or the object of the  preposition . And they can do much more besides that. So you get the idea that we’d find it very difficult to communicate without these superstars of the grammar world!

Controversy and Crossover

As they’re so important, the question ‘what is a noun?’ has been debated and discussed at length by linguists and grammar experts, often sparking some disagreement about the definition. Some feel that to define them as “naming words” is far too simplistic, as they’re also used to reference abstract and intangible concepts, feelings and activities such as  birth, sport, joy, cookery  and  technology . There’s also huge crossover with other elements of language. For example: Rain

• Verb — to rain
• Name of weather type — rain
• Adjective — red
• Name of color — red
• As an  adverb  — angrily
• As an adjective — angry
• Name of a feeling — anger

Because this single word type encompasses so many different things, some linguists feel that the definition should be narrowed. However, for now, we’re happy to stick with the generalization that it’s a naming word. For more on the various definitions of different parts of the English language, check out this  useful link .

Where the Magic Happens

Although it can lead to confusion, the fact the noun is multi-functional is part of its charm. Let’s take a look at some of the jobs that these hard-working words can perform in a sentence. Subject:  the subject of the sentence, i.e., someone or something performing the action of the  verb .

• Example:  Harry  is angry.

Direct object:  the direct object of the sentence, i.e., someone or something who receives the action of the verb.

• Example: Ashley baked  Noah  a cake.

Object of the preposition:  the object of the prepositional phrase.

• Example: Ashley baked a cake on  Sunday .

Subject complement:  follows a linking verb.

• Example: Ashley is a  teacher .

Object complement:  follows a direct object to rename or modify it.

• Example: She named her dog  Benji .

Appositive:  immediately follows another to add more information.

• Example: Her dog,  Benji , is black.

Modifier:  acts as an  adjective  to modify another noun.

• Example: A  black  dog.

Phrase or Clause?

In addition to your run of the mill single naming words, you can also use a noun clause or phrase to name or identify a person, object, thing, place or idea. A phrase has a naming word as its head word but may also include other kinds of words. For example:

• Head word  — car/cars
• Determiner  — My car
• Determiner and adjective  — My red car
• Quantifier  — Some cars
• Quantifier and adjective  — Some red cars
• In a sentence  —  My red car  is very old. ( My red car  is the phrase that identifies which car we are talking about.)

Caution! Don’t confuse a phrase with a compound, i.e., two or more words together to create a stand-alone common or proper noun with a meaning of its own (more on compounds later!). A clause is a dependent clause (doesn’t make sense alone) that performs the naming function in a sentence. It usually contains a subject and a verb, but may not necessarily contain a naming word. For example:

This weekend we can do  whatever you want .

Types of Nouns List

There are multiple types of naming words to get a grip on, and plenty of crossovers between categories too—just to keep things interesting! For example:

• You can have a mass, abstract, common name.
• Or a singular, concrete, proper, compound, or possessive name (phew!).

Don’t worry! This should become clearer as we work through the different categories in turn. If you’d like to do some more in-depth reading on the subject, you can  find more info  online.

Singular or Plural

You can have singular or plural nouns, with regulars keeping things nice and simple with the addition of  s  or  es .

• Car — cars
• Book – books
• Zoo — zoos
• Box — boxes
• Dish — dishes
• Hero — heroes

However, there are lots of rule-breaking irregulars thrown into the mix to complicate matters.

• Man — men
• Person — people
• Sheep — sheep
• Elf — elves
• Fish — fish
• City — cities

Concrete vs Abstract

As noted earlier, these debate-sparking naming words can be difficult things to define. So it can help to think of them as either concrete or abstract. Concrete nouns are the simpler of the two. They’re tangible things that can be detected by the senses. For example:

• You can touch, see and smell a  flower .
• You can hold a  pencil .
• You can see your friend  Emily .

Abstract nouns are far trickier to pin down—both literally and metaphorically speaking!

• You can’t hold  anger  or  space  or  childhood .

However, some people might argue that you can identify some abstracts with your senses. For example:

• You can see an expression of  anger .
• You can sense  fresh air .

So it might be more helpful to think of them as something that you can’t physically hold, i.e., concepts, ideas, experiences, qualities and feelings.

Can You Count It?

Naming words can either be  count  or  noncount . Count type doesn’t tend to give you much trouble—they’re, as the name suggests, something that can be counted. Noncount type (also known as mass nouns), however, are a whole different ball game! These rebellious words are definitely the evil twin of the two, as they defy several of the usual rules of grammar and, if you’re not careful, can cause chaos and confusion. Count:  something that can be counted, e.g.,  books, people, cars. Simple! Noncount (Mass):  something that can’t be counted (often because it’s an abstract concept), e.g.,  air, red, peace.  Or an aggregation of people or things that are lumped together as a whole, like  luggage, information,  or  salt. Not quite so simple! Caution! Be careful not to confuse noncounts with collectives, words which are used to name a collection of people or things (e.g.,  group, herd, bundle ). An easy way to test whether a word is noncount or collective is:

• Noncounts don’t follow indefinite articles ( a  and  an ).
• Noncounts don’t  usually  have a plural form.

For example, you don’t have  a luggage  or  luggages .

An Awkward Bunch

Despite the fact that they often represent an aggregation of people or things, noncounts can be a rather anti-social and awkward word type! They like to stand alone, without an indefinite article:

Music  can help you relax.

Not ‘ a music  can help you relax.’

I sprinkled  salt  on my food.

Not ‘I sprinkled  a salt  on my food.’ However, they can sit nicely with a  determiner  or quantifier instead.

• Determiner  —  The music  was loud.
• Quantifier  — I sprinkled  some salt  on my food.

In fact, some quantifiers only work with noncounts. For example:

• A little  salt
• Not much  information
• A bit of  music

However, we would never say:

• A little  books
• Not much  cars
• A bit of  flowers

The Singular or Plural Conundrum

Another quirk of the noncount is that, even when it represents an aggregation or group of things, it can still count as singular for grammatical purposes. For example:

The  luggage  is  heavy.  It  filled the trunk of the car. This  information  is  useful.  It  has helped me with my paper.

Even if a noncount appears to take a plural form with an  s  on the end, don’t be fooled! It may still be classed as grammatically singular. For example:

Politics  is a  difficult  subject  to study. I find  it  hard to grasp. The  news  is  on at 10 pm.  It’s  on for an hour.

On the flip side, some noncounts are grammatically plural. For example:

My  clothes  are  wet. The  scissors  are  sharp. His  manners  were  fantastic.

However, these go against the grain of plurals by not mixing well with numbers—we never say five clothes or six scissors!

Enumerating a Noncount

These awkward noncounts on the whole don’t mix well with numbers, although there are sneaky tactics that you can sometimes employ to enumerate them. These include:

• Grammatically plural  — if concrete, add  a pair of , e.g., a pair of  scissors .
• Grammatically singular  — if concrete, add  a piece of , e.g., a piece of  cutlery .
• Singular and plural  — both concrete and abstract noncounts can be enumerated by adding an indefinite adjective (quantifier), e.g.,  any, some, less, much .

For example:

• Pass me  some  cutlery .
• I don’t have  any  scissors .
• It contains  more  information .

Fewer vs Less

A quick note on fewer versus less as these are indefinite adjectives (quantifiers) that often trip people up!

• Fewer  — used for count type, e.g., I have  fewer   books  than Sarah.
• Less  — used for non-count type, e.g., I have  less   money  than Sarah.

Good and Proper

A proper noun is used to name very specific people, places, things and ideas. As their ‘proper’ title suggests, they’re formal names and, as such, deserve capitalization. Examples include:

• People  —  Sarah, Jack, Mrs. Smith, Prince George, Father Brown, Beethoven
• Specific places  —  America, Europe, Paris, George Street, Roman Empire, Times Square
• Natural and man-made landmarks  —  River Nile, Central Park, Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Mount Etna
• Religions and related words  —  Christianity, The Bible, God, Allah, Buddhism
• Races and nationalities  —  African American, Russian, White, Eskimo, Japanese
• Languages  —  French, Spanish, Chinese, English
• Periods in history  —  Stone Age, Middle Ages
• Events  —  Olympic Games, Coachella, Wimbledon, Rio Carnaval, Oktoberfest
• Days, months and holidays  —  Sunday, Friday, June, October, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day  (note that the seasons are, somewhat contentiously, classed as common)
• Organizations, charities and businesses  —  New York Police Department (NYPD), Harvard University, Microsoft, Red Cross, Walmart, Forbes
• Product brand names  —  Tresemme, Adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola
• Well-known documents and acts  —  Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, Slavery Abolition Act 1833
• Names of specific things and works  —  Hope Diamond, Mona Lisa, Symphony No. 5, Star Wars, War and Peace
• Titles of publications and courses  —  The Washington Post, Introduction to Computer Science
• They can be singular  —  Sally, Australia, Picasso, iPad
• Or plural  —  the Smiths, the Rockies, the Americas, two iPads

From Proper to Common

Sometimes, they bend the rules to put themselves into a ‘common’ context. For example:

I made a mistake of  Titanic  proportions.

This is taken to mean a big mistake and isn’t literally referencing the Titanic ship.

I’m an  Einstein  when it comes to science.

Here Einstein is taken to mean a person who is smart, rather than referencing the man himself specifically. Similarly, over time, some have developed common ‘spin-off’ words. For example:

• Famous porcelain from   China  — a china cup (note, not a China cup)
• Coca-Cola  — coke (to describe a generic cola drink, not necessarily the Coca-Cola brand)

The Humble Common Noun

Common nouns  give a name to a general type of person, thing, object, place, concept or feeling. They’re not ‘formal’ names and, as such, they don’t demand capitalization. Examples include:

• People  —  man, woman, girl, boy, vicar, teacher, children
• Places  —  city, beach, library, street, garden
• Things  —  tiger, leg, sleep, beard
• Objects  —  watch, cake, shoe, ball
• Concepts  —  peace, justice, talent, religion
• Feelings  —  anger, joy, love, envy

In many cases, both a common and proper noun can be applied to the same thing. For example:

• A  Baby Ruth  (proper) is a  chocolate bar  (common).
• Rihanna  (proper) is a popular  singer  (common) in the US.
• Mrs. Smith  (proper) is a  teacher  (common).
• Benji  (proper) is a  dog  (common).
• The  Nile  (proper) is a  river  (common).

Of course, you can define proper noun words as having a far narrower application as they can only apply to one very specific thing. Common noun examples have a much wider application—hence their label as ‘common’! For example:

There are thousands of  singers  (common) in the world, but there’s only one  Taylor Swift (proper).

When a Commoner Becomes Proper

Occasionally, a commoner can move up the ranks to become proper—gaining that all-important capitalization along the way. This usually happens when a word becomes synonymous over time with a very specific type of thing. For example, a  parka jacket  depicts a type of long, all-weather coat. But you could argue that the term  Parka  is so synonymous with a very specific type of jacket that it should be classed as proper. This is definitely one for the grammar experts to slog out between themselves!

Getting Possessive

Possessive nouns are usually followed by another naming word, indicating that the second thing ‘belongs’ to the first. There are different ways to indicate this possession, depending on the word in question. These can become confusing, so let’s look at them in turn. Singular possessives  are usually indicated with ‘s. For example:

• the  girl’s  coat
• Emma’s  car
• the  city’s  main landmark

As are  plural possessives  that don’t end in  s . For example:

• the  men’s  bathroom
• children’s  toys

In the case of a  plural possessive  that ends in  s , you simply need to add an  apostrophe (‘). For example:

• the  girls’  coats
• the  Smiths’  house
• the  tigers’  pen
• the  computers’  manufacturer

When we come to  singular possessives  that end in  s , the waters get a little bit muddier. The most popular method used to form a singular possessive is to add  ‘s , as detailed above. For example:

• James’s  book
• the  bus’s  engine

However, just adding the  apostrophe  is also commonly accepted. For example:

• James’  book
• the  bus’  engine

The Importance of the Apostrophe

You’ll notice that subtle differences in your sentence structure can completely alter its meaning, so it’s important to get your grammar on point. For example:

• the girl’s coat  — belonging to one particular girl
• the girls’ coat  — a coat designed to be worn by a girl
• the girl’s coats  — more than one coat belonging to one particular girl)
• the girls’ coats  — a group of coats belonging to a group of girls

If you find yourself struggling to figure out where the apostrophe needs to go, why not run a free grammar check on your essay with EasyBib Plus? You can also use EasyBib.com to help cite the sources that you use when conducting  research  and writing your papers . The handy online tool can create citations in the popular APA and  MLA format , plus  more styles  including Chicago/Turabian. Simply find out which style of citation you need to use (ask your professor or lecturer) and let EasyBib Plus help you create them the easy way.

A Blessing of Unicorns

A collective noun is a name given to a collection or group of things. Although they represent more than one, they are usually classed as grammatically singular (in American English). For example:

• The  pride  of lions made  its  way to water.
• The  cast  of actors collected  its  award.
• The  class  of students  was  dismissed early.

They can often stand-alone, if the context makes it clear what collection or group of things is being referred to. For example:

• We followed the  herd  on safari.
• I got the  cast  to sign my autograph book.
• The  class  went on its field trip.

But be careful with this, as they can be used to represent very different things. For example:

• flock  of tourists  or  flock  of birds  **  cluster  of spiders* or  cluster  of stars

So saying “I stared open-mouthed at the  cluster  before me” could have two very different meanings—you might be staring in wonder or staring in horror! Some collective nouns have developed a more general or colloquial meaning. For example, you get a  bunch  of flowers or a  bunch  of bananas. However,  bunch  is also used more generally to denote ‘several’ or ‘lots’. For example:

• I saw a  bunch  of people that I knew.
• Thanks a  bunch .

Kooky Collectives

Collectives are one of the quirkiest word types in the English language and include some unusual naming words. For instance, it’s difficult to imagine where the examples below came from. For example:

• A  shiver  of sharks
• A  quiver  of cobras
• A  blush  of boys
• A  disguising  of tailors
• A  drunkship  of cobblers
• A  worship  of writers
• A  nest  of rumors

Friendly Compounds

Compound nouns consist of two or more words that have come together to form a new word with its own meaning. These are words that have decided they don’t want to stand-alone—they can work better together with another word! Both proper and common words can be compounded, and within these compounds are three sub-types. Proper

• Closed  —  PlayStation, YouTube
• Hyphenated  —  Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A
• Open Spaced  —  New York, Ritz Carlton Hotel
• Closed  —  football, textbook
• Hyphenated  —  mother-in-law, well-being
• Open Spaced  —  bus stop, swimming pool

Wal-Mart Or Walmart?

Fun fact! Some popular brands have dropped their hyphens in recent years. For example, Wal-Mart switched to Walmart in 2009. This could possibly be because hyphenated domain names can cause issues for a brand’s online presence. Brands now have a whole host of digital considerations that simply weren’t on the table when they first decided on a name.

The Pronoun Takeover

While both concrete and abstract noun words are undeniably super useful and essential parts of the English language, they can be a bit much at times. Especially when you’re referring to the same thing several times in a sentence or section. For example:

Sally  loves  Fanta .  Sally  drinks  Fanta  every day.

This is where pronouns come in handy. These often small but ever so mighty words have the power to replace names and make your sentences flow much better. For example:

Sally  loves  Fanta .  She  drinks  it  every day.

This works for both proper and common types.

• The  Empire State Building  (proper) is very tall.  It  stands at 443m.
• Sally  (proper) loves  chocolate  (common).  She  eats  some  every day.
• My  dog  (common) has a red  ball  (common).  He  likes to chase  it .

The antecedent nouns give a reference point for the pronouns.

Is I a Noun or a Pronoun?

Commonly used ‘people’ pronouns include  he, she, me, his  and  hers . However, there’s some debate as to the word  I . While  I  is commonly accepted as a first person  pronoun , it may not follow the usual antecedent rule. For example, if you were Sally, you wouldn’t write:

Sally  loves Fanta.  I  drink it every day.

Instead you’d simply write:

I  love Fanta.  I  drink it every day.

I  is also classed as a naming word in the following contexts:

• I  — the name of a letter of the alphabet.
• I  — the subject or object of self-consciousness, i.e. the ego.

This guide should hopefully have answered lots of naming word questions for you, such as ‘what is a possessive noun?’, but if you’re still struggling you can  learn more here . The list of nouns can be difficult to remember, for the simple fact that there are so many different categories and variations of these naming words. People, objects, places, ideas and feelings are things that don’t seem to have much in common—yet they all have names, which lumps them grammatically into the same (very large!) category.

Grammar Help is Here!

If you’d like to check your grammar, EasyBib Plus can help. Simply upload your paper and let EasyBib Plus do the hard work! You can also use the EasyBib Plus  plagiarism checker  to ensure that you’ve cited your sources. We have other grammar pages besides this one, too. Check out two tricky parts of speech:  conjunction  and  interjection . Use the handy online toolkit at EasyBib Plus to check for unintentional plagiarism and grammatical errors, and feel more confident that you won’t drop unnecessary marks on avoidable mistakes.

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Home — Essay Samples — Science — English Language — Nouns in the English Language

Nouns in The English Language

• Categories: English Language

About this sample

Words: 2272 |

12 min read

Published: Apr 11, 2019

Words: 2272 | Pages: 5 | 12 min read

• Proper and common nouns
• Personal names (both first names like Diana and Chris, as well as surnames like Popescu);
• Nationalities (the Japanese, the British)
• Languages (English, Romanian, Spanish);
• Titles (Mr. John, Miss Deborah, Mrs. Kerry, Dr. Smith, Queen Elisabeth, Lord Byron, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sergent Jackson, Professor Bright);
• Animals (Spot, Missy);
• Calendar items (January, Monday, Christmas);
• Geographical names like:
• continents (Europe, Africa)
• countries (the United States of America, Greece)
• rivers, lakes, oceans, seas (the Black Sea, the Danube, Lake Michigan)
• mountains (the Alps) and so on.
• Celestial bodies (the Moon, Venus)
• Cardinal points, when they are not used geographically (North, West);
• Institutions (the European Union, the National Theatre, the British Museum);
• Newspapers, titles of books, magazines (the Guardian, Vogue, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
• Countable and uncountable nouns
• it has a plural form (girl – girls, table - tables);
• it can be preceded by the indefinite article a/an (a cat, an argument);
• it can be preceded by How many or (a) few (How many pencils have you got?; My cousin has a few books);
• it can be preceded by numbers (one pencil box with three rulers).
• it has not a plural form (sugar, silver, blood);
• it cannot be preceded by the indefinite article a/an (Such fine weather!);
• it can be preceded by How much or (a) little (How much honey do you want?; My parents have little furniture);
• it cannot be preceded by numbers.
• liquids (water, oil, milk);
• gas (air, oxygen, steam);
• food (spaghetti, butter, soup, bread, cheese, cookery, food, meat, toast );
• abstract ideas (chaos, advice, education, fun, gossip, hospitality, information, knowledge, luck, news, nonsense, patience, progress, strength, stuff );
• subjects / fields (mathematics, art, politics, poetry, vocabulary);
• mass nouns (hair, transportation, furniture, grass, money);
• grain and powder (sugar, rice, sand);
• natural phenomena (rain, snow, darkness, lightning, sunshine, thunder);
• sports (football, chess, poker);
• activities (reading, swimming, working, dancing, laughter, leisure, shopping, smoking, spelling, work);
• feelings (sadness, anger, courage, happiness, jealousy);
• states of being (adulthood, power, sleep, stress, safety, stupidity, violence, wealth).
• Concrete and abstract nouns; collective nouns

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Common Nouns and Proper Nouns Explained  

Grammatical errors steal the spotlight from everything else on the page. As a result, your intention can be lost by seemingly small grammatical errors. Or worse, all of your hard work can be written off altogether when these minor mistakes are seen as a distraction.  

With words you can change the world. You can also change your meaning . The proper noun and common noun rules you learned as a kid can certainly come back to haunt you. Or you can deepen your understanding and use both proper nouns and common nouns to wield a special kind of power . By way of example, here are some ways to accidentally—or intentionally—use nouns incorrectly. 

Remember how those boring common nouns are always written in lower-case, unless they’re at the beginning of a sentence? Well, proper nouns get all the glory, and must always be capitalized to show their powerful proper noun status. If you really want to shake things up, ignore the rules of capitalization for a proper noun and reduce the person “Albert Einstein”   from a person to a common thing:

• albert einstein 

You don’t need to forget the rules for correctly wielding common noun vs proper noun use to send a message. In language, we have all kinds of power when it comes to expressing our disdain or dislike for someone without having to state it directly.  

For example, try getting all willy-nilly with quotation marks and put Einstein’s name inside some scare quotes. Similar to pairing air quotes with an eye-roll when speaking, scare quotes around common nouns and proper nouns allow you to subtly register your criticism without the pesky challenge of having to specify or defend it. This works well for both proper nouns and common nouns :

• “Albert Einstein”

Capitalizing a name is easy to remember, but the rules get trickier when the distinction between proper nouns and common nouns begins to blur. Is it History class or history class? High School or high school? Almost everything looks like a  proper noun in a title; how do you define proper noun use? Is there a way to tell the difference between a common noun vs proper noun usage? And what about sources that use sentence case in their titles?

Take a deep breath.

If your words aren’t working for you, they’re working against you. Keep reading to get them back on your side and define proper noun use once and for all.

If what’s stressing you out is related to citing, try Citation Machine Plus. Our plagiarism checker will flag text that may need a citation, while our citing tools can help you create citations in APA, MLA format , and more citation styles . In the meantime, this guide is here to help you learn how to distinguish between common nouns and proper nouns , and more.

Common Noun vs Proper Noun

A common noun refers to a general person, place, thing, or idea. They are only capitalized when they begin a sentence or when they are part of a title. Basically every thing is a type of noun. 

A proper noun explicitly names a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Let’s look at some examples.

Let’s look at another example that distinguishes the common noun vs proper noun usage in a sentence.

• The word web is a common noun and goes uncapitalized except in a title of a book or novel, such as in Charlotte’s Web , which is an example of many proper noun words that come from typically common nouns.

Proper nouns and common nouns enjoy some shared properties: 

• Both common nouns and proper nouns refer to a person, place, thing, or idea. 
• Both can be a subject or an indirect object in a sentence. 
• Both common nouns and proper nouns can also be in noun phrases that are part of prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, and adverb phrases where the proper nouns and common nouns are the objects in these sentences.
• Both common nouns and proper nouns identify and name ourselves, others, and everything around us.

Names are one of the cultural universals according to anthropologists; no society is able to get along without them. And it’s this process of naming that forks the road to create the definition of a proper noun and distinguishes it from its common cousin. Typically, names are always proper noun words , both first and last, and therefore it is easy to see the difference between common noun vs proper noun usage. The definition of a proper noun is exemplified by names, given that the original reason to create a proper noun was to provide a proper title for an individual.  

If you need a quick refresher on these types, head over to this informative site . The two subdivisions that cause a common usage error are count and noncount (or mass). That error comes from the belief that fewer and less are synonyms. They are not. A common noun tends to be used with these quantifiers or actual numerical values. Technically, as we will see below, proper noun words can actually be quantified as both count and noncount determiners.

Count nouns/words can be counted and used directly with quantifiers or numerical values. Let’s look at examples using the count nouns cat, bean, and tree .

Quantifiers:

• Several beans
• A few trees

Numerical values:

• Four beans  
• Twenty-two trees

Mass nouns/words are not usually considered countable. These are words such as blame, sugar, and knowledge . For example, you can’t have three blames . In other words, you can only describe “how much” of a mass noun using terms of quantity—like a lot of , a little of , a bunch of — or in relation to a countable noun. Here are examples:

Terms of quantity:

• All the blame
• A lot of sugar
• A little knowledge

In relations to a countable noun:

• Two cups of sugar
• Several branches of knowledge

A proper noun can be used with count or non-count determiners and numerical values directly. For example:

• There are twelve Laurens on the college campus.

Check out this example that shows both count and non-count common nouns and proper nouns in a single sentence

• Both Marys in this apartment complex have four cats and a complete lack of knowledge about cats.

There are proper noun words – or two Marys – in this sentence. Each Mary can count her cats (a common noun), indicating that cats is a count term. A decrease in cats would be stated as fewer cats . Fewer refers to numerical value, typically four or less. 

Neither Mary can count her knowledge , however, as it’s a mass term. Any further decrease in her knowledge would result in less knowledge . Less is used to measure quantity. Here’s a cautionary tale to help you remember:

Mary shoulders all the blame

for her four cats’ disdain;

disdain that’s seeping from all eight yellow eyes.

Should her less-than-stellar knowledge

go unchecked by book or college

she’ll have fewer cats, by death or otherwise.

That little doggerel is an original, and you are no doubt tempted to cite it in all of your academic work from this day forward. If you’re using quotes in your paper, head over to our plagiarism checker for help in giving proper credit. With Mary’s misdeeds behind you, it’s time to move on and look specifically at the definition of a proper noun to define proper noun use . If you’re still not sure how to count or measure various terms, our paper checker  can help.

Proper Nouns

The key to learning how to define proper noun use lies in specificity. Based on the definition of a proper noun, it must explicitly name a person, place, or thing . You’ll notice the noun form of an idea has been left off of that list, and that is because ideas and other intangible things are rarely seen as a proper noun, unless through personification.

Linguists make further distinctions between the definition of a proper noun versus the definition of a proper name. Wikipedia does as good a job as anyone in explaining the difference based again on the definition of a proper noun and its syntactic role. Click site to learn more. While interesting, you can understand common nouns and proper nouns without learning these distinctions by understanding how to define proper noun use in the first place.

The most apparent reason for knowing how to properly understand the definition of a proper noun was demonstrated with our friend Einstein earlier: the words we capitalize are given distinction and stand apart as something unique or different. Your own name is capitalized for the same reason: it explicitly refers to you and there is only one of you.

Perhaps you want to rebel against the norm and find an example that bucks this rule. The poet E.E. Cummings stands apart, contrastingly, for lacking capitalization in his name in some of his books ( e.e. cummings ), which is just good fun and let’s you know what to expect from his poetry. His widow once shouted at a man for suggesting he’d legally changed his name to appear that way, however, so every writer who puts his name on paper should consider their style guide and tolerance for being hollered at before doing so. The mention of his name at the start of this paragraph follows APA format , which is available in Citation Machine. Upgrading to Citation Machine Plus will also snag you access to a grammar and plagiarism checker (notice what’s capitalized and what’s not in this sentence—can you spot what is considered to define proper noun use ?).

What else needs to be capitalized to further define proper noun use ? Other proper nouns include specific names of people, countries, businesses, institutions, holidays, special events, or events in history. Capitalize compass directions only when they’re naming a specific section of a country, and capitalize seasons only when they are personified.

Got all that? Good, because there’s more !

Job titles are proper noun words depending upon their position in a sentence. The rule, with few exceptions, is to capitalize a job title before a name, but not if it comes after or instead of a name.

There’s a trick to this. Uppercase letters have a sound to them, and actually show where stress and intonation play a role in speech. There’s a reason that you can HEAR caps-locked words and phrases when they’re shouted , even on paper , at you. So it is with names: you can hear the capitalization in them even if you’re not aware of it, a nd the voicing you stress when you see a proper noun and common noun will actually be placed on the proper noun in speech . This is one of those weird implicit grammar things you learn as a child subconsciously that you continue into adulthood. Capitalization reflects this natural stress on a proper noun in writing. 

If you’re trying to decide whether to capitalize a job title, imagine your mother hollering it. The voice she reserves for shouting your FULL NAME when you’re in a good bit of trouble will help you define proper noun use when you’re in a pinch. Try it: 

Professor Plum, get down here!

                                     vs

Mr. Plum, the professor, get down here.

One of those tells Professor Plum that his moment of reckoning has arrived. The other runs out of steam fast. The option that can be yelled in utter frustration is the one that receives capitalization.

Formal epithets exist outside of this rule. Vlad the Impaler is always Vlad the Impaler. Impaler Vlad lacks the same punch.

Common and Proper Nouns List

“Don’t write about Man; write about a man.”

– E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

A final consideration is to define proper noun usage , and show this in your writing. In the quote above, for example, man serves as both a proper noun and common noun . In instances where a word can serve both proper noun and common noun functions, its meaning determines its case. Below is a not exhaustive common and proper nouns list:

Typically if given a common and proper nouns list l ike the one above, you begin to notice a pattern. 

By definition of a proper noun , proper nouns tend to include specific information. 

• Mother Teresa is a specific person 
• Advil is a specific brand
• Starbucks is a specific coffee chain

Telling the difference between a proper noun and common noun gets easier the more you understand nouns as a whole. Once you are able to define proper noun use, determining what are common nouns is easier. Hopefully the common and proper nouns list above helped ! 

When in doubt, create your own common and proper nouns list to reinforce your understanding; and refer back to this guide if you find yourself lost among all the persons, places, things, and personified ideas of the world!

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Proper Noun

When you think about it, nouns, along with verbs, form the basic structure of the English language. After all, a noun is a naming word. It’s used to identify, or name, a person, place, thing, animal, or idea. When small children are learning to talk usually the first words they learn are nouns, like “mama” or “daddy.”

A noun, and a proper noun as well, have many different functions in a sentence. They can act as a subject, an adjective, an adverb, as a direct or indirect object, an appositive, or a subject or object complement. In addition to different functions, there are different types of nouns, too. This article will concentrate on one particular type, namely the proper noun.

What is a Proper Noun?

While a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea a proper noun gets more specific. It gives us the actual name of the person, place, thing, or idea.  A person’s name is a proper noun. So are the names of states, streets, rivers, oceans, countries, companies, institutions, churches, and more.  You can see more specific examples of a proper noun below.

Proper Noun Examples

One of the easiest ways to fully grasp the meaning of proper nouns is to compare them with common nouns.  A common noun refers to the general names of things.  Look around you and name the items you see.  A desk, a chair, a lamp, a window, a door.

When you go shopping, who do you see?  A man, a child, a salesperson, an attendant, a toddler, a policeman.  These are all general, common nouns.  Now let’s compare common nouns to proper nouns.

Common Noun vs Proper Noun

Here are some example sentences to further show the difference between a common noun and a proper noun.

 Capitalizing a Proper Noun

The rules for capitalizing a proper noun are pretty simple. A proper noun always begin with a capital letter.

However there are times when a word can be used as either a common noun or proper noun and you might get confused as to when you should use the capitalized form. For example, “father” can either be common or proper.

One rule for thumb is that if you are using the word as a title and name it should be capitalized.

See the difference? In the first example the word was used more generally as a common noun. In the second example, the word was used like a name. In this instance the term “father” took the place of the actual name, such as “Bob.”

To make things a little clearer for you, here is a list of proper nouns categories.

• Holidays: Christmas, New Year’s Day, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving
• Geographical areas: San Francisco, Europe, Spain, the Nile River
• People and pets: Mrs. Caroline Jones, Rip Van Winkle, Snoopy
• Books, Newspapers, Magazines: Wuthering Heights, Atlanta Journal, Southern Living
• Companies and organizations: Google, ChildFund International, General Electric
• Religious terms: Christian, Methodist, Hindu, God, Allah
• Places, buildings: Yellowstone National Park, Empire State Building, Ritz-Carlton
• Titles : President Bush, King George, Queen Elizabeth, Judge Judy (titles are not capitalized when they’re referred to in general terms.  For example: The criminal appeared before the judge.
• Languages: English, French, Italian
• Brand names: Coach, Pepsi, Lucky
• Possessive Proper Nouns

Creating the possessive form of a proper noun follows the same rule as the possessive of a common noun.  Add ‘s if the word is singular or if the word ends in s just the apostrophe. Plural nouns that end in s get an apostrophe at the end.

• Mary’s coat
• United States’ health care program
• Georgia’s swampland
• Kansas’ prairie lands

Proper names that end in s are made possessive by adding ‘ s:  Charles’s house.  It’s also correct to just add the apostrophe, such as with  Jesus’ mother.