Two word proper nouns

What are Proper Nouns?

A word or a group of words that names a person or a thing or any living or non-living thing is known as noun but when a word particularly names a person or a thing, it refers to a proper noun. For example, Paris, Samiah, Car, Ocean, Britney, etc. In English grammar world proper nouns are often contrasted with common nouns that is because a proper noun is a proper name given to any person or a thing and which is capitalized making it more unique and rare. Whereas there are words in the grammar which are common and they are not really specific and they also aren’t necessary being capitalized unless they only begin a sentence, known as common nouns or generic nouns.

For example, man, country, cat, necklace, perfume, etc. The most important differences to be kept in mind and always to be remembered between a proper and a common noun is that the proper nouns are capitalized while common nouns are not capitalized. Secondly, proper nouns are the specific names of people, things, places and ideas whereas common nouns aren’t specific in their nature. If the proper noun is made up of two words, then both the words would be capitalized and both of them would be considered as one proper noun for example: Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum, Parveen Shakir, Atif Aslam, Karl Marx, etc. Another important thing to be noted is that the proper noun has always a common noun equivalent but every common noun does not have a proper noun equivalent. For example, wind. Wind is a common noun because there is not specific kind of wind so it is common. Let’s add a few examples and see the relationship between the two types of nouns in order to get better understanding of proper noun.

Common nouns/Proper nouns

man/Christian Grey, Bob Marley, Robin Williams.

women/Anna Steel, Shahida Naeem, Ammarah Rao.

country/United States, Turkey, France.

state/California, etc.

soldier/Major Amir Hussain, Lieutenant Rashid Anwar, Brigadier Muhammad khan.

coffee/Latte, Mocha, Cappuccino.

restaurant/Bar-b-que Tonight/Mc Donald/Café Lazeez.

cat/Persian, German, Simon.

When you plan to study all about proper nouns in-depth and detail, you must first go through common nouns because they contrast with the proper nouns and clear all the doubts so it is always worth learning and gaining information about both these nouns at the same time.

Examples of Proper Nouns in Sentences

1. These idiots have been teasing Chiara. Chiara is a proper noun here, because it is the name of a specific girl and however the word idiots refers to a common noun.
2. I want to visit to some beautiful place. Can we visit Turkey? In this sentence Turkey is a proper noun because it is a name of a specific place and place can be a proper noun.
3. River Jhelum has fresh water. In this sentence River Jhelum refers to a proper noun and water is a common noun.
4. Every girl was looking pretty in the party but Sarah was looking the prettiest. In this sentence Sarah is the proper noun and girl is a common noun.
5. There may be more than one common as well proper nouns in one sentence. For example: We went to our favorite restaurant, Kc Grill, we always order food from our favorite waitress, Miley William. In this sentence there are two common nouns and two proper nouns. The common nouns are restaurant and waitress and the proper nouns are Kc Grill and Miley William.

Author: Bilal Ibrar

A marketing graduate with a passion for writing on topics related to social media, technology and business in general. Hobbies include gaming, animation and motorsports

Nouns fall under two classes: (A) proper
nouns; (B) common
nouns.¹

¹ The name
proper is
from Lat. proprius ‘one’s
own’. Hence a proper name means
one’s own individual name, as distinct from a common
name, that can be given to a class of
individuals. The name common is
from Lat. communis and
means that which is shared by several things or individuals
possessing some common characteristic.

A. Proper nouns are
individual names given to separate persons or things. As regards
their meaning proper nouns may be personal names (Mary,
Peter, Shakespeare), geographical names
(Moscow, London, the Caucasus), the
names of the months and of the days of the week (February,
Monday), names of ships, hotels, clubs
etc.

A large number of nouns now proper were originally
common nouns (Brown, Smith, Mason).

Proper nouns may change their meaning and become
common nouns:

George went over to the table and took a
sandwich and a glass of

champagne.
(Aldington)

В. Common nouns are
names that can be applied to any individual of a class of persons or
things (e. g. man, dog, book),
collections of similar individuals or
things regarded as a single
unit (e. g. peasantry, family),
materials (e. g. snow,
iron, cotton) or abstract notions (e.
g. kindness, development).

Thus there are different groups of common nouns:
class nouns,
collective nouns,
nouns of material and
abstract nouns.

Nouns may also be classified from another point of
view: nouns denoting things (the word thing
is used in a broad sense) that can be
counted are called countable
nouns; nouns denoting things that cannot be counted are called
uncountable nouns.

1. Class nouns denote
persons or things belonging to a class. They are countables and have
two numbers: sinuglar and plural. They are generally used with an
article.¹

¹ On the use
of articles with class nouns see Chapter II, § 2, 3.

“Well, sir,” said Mrs. Parker, “I wasn’t
in the shop above
a great deal.”

(Mansfield)

He goes to the part of the town where the shops
are. (Lessing)

2. Collective nouns
denote a number or collection of
similar individuals or things regarded as a single unit.

Collective nouns fall under the following groups:

(a) nouns used only in the singular and denoting a
number of things collected together and regarded as a single object:
foliage, machinery.

It was
not restful, that green foliage.
(London)

Machinery new to
the industry in Australia was
introduced for preparing

land. (Agricultural
Gazette)

(b) nouns which are singular in form though plural
in meaning: police, poultry, cattle,
people, gentry. They are usually called
nouns of multitude. When the subject of the sentence is a noun of
multitude the verb used as predicate is in the plural:

I had no idea the police
were so
devilishly prudent. (Shaw)

Unless cattle are
in good condition in calving, milk
production will never

reach a high level. (Agricultural
Gazette)

The weather was warm and the people
were sitting
at their doors. (Dickens)

(c) nouns that may be both singular and plural:
family, crowd, fleet, nation. We
can think of a number of crowds, fleets or different nations as well
as of a single crowd, fleet, etc.

A small crowd is
lined up to see the guests arrive. (Shaw)

Accordingly they were soon afoot, and walking in
the direction of the scene of

action, towards which crowds
of people were already pouring from a
variety

of quarters. (Dickens)

3. Nouns of material
denote material: iron,
gold, paper, tea, water. They are
uncountables and are generally used without any article.¹

¹ On the use
of articles with nouns of material see Chapter II, § 5, 6, 7.

There was a scent of honey
from the lime-trees in flower.
(Galsworthy)

There was coffee
still in the urn. (Wells)

Nouns of material are used in the plural to denote
different sorts of a given material.

…that his senior counted upon him in this
enterprise, and had consigned a quantity of select wines
to him… (Thackeray)

Nouns of material may turn into class nouns (thus
becoming countables) when they come to express an individual object
of definite shape.

C o m p a r e:

To the left were clean panes of glass.
(Ch. Bronte)

“He came in here,” said the waiter looking at
the light through the tumbler,

“ordered a glass of
this ale.” (Dickens)

But the person in the glass
made a face at her, and Miss Moss went
out.

(Mansfield)

4. Abstract nouns
denote some quality, state, action or
idea: kindness, sadness, fight. They
are usually uncountables, though some of them may be countables (e.
g. idea, hour).²

² On the use
of articles with abstract nouns see Chapter II, § 8, 9, 10, 11.

Therefore when the youngsters saw that mother
looked neither frightened nor

offended, they gathered new courage.
(Dodge)

Accustomed to John Reed’s abuse — I never had
an idea of
replying to it.

(Ch. Bronte)

It’s these people with fixed ideas.
(Galsworthy)

Abstract nouns may change their meaning and become
class nouns. This change is marked by the use of the article and of
the plural number:

beauty	a beauty	beauties
sight	a sight	sights

He was responsive to beauty
and here was cause to respond. (London)

She was a beauty.
(Dickens)

…but she isn’t one of those horrid regular
beauties.
(Aldington)

Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]

• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #

What is a Proper Noun?

Proper nouns have two distinct features: They name specific one-of-a-kind items, and they begin with capital letters, no matter where they occur within a sentence. Here, we’ll take a closer look at proper nouns, provide proper noun examples, and help you learn how to use a proper noun the right way.

Remember that all nouns are words naming people, animals, places, things, and ideas. Every noun can be further classified as either common or proper. The distinction is very easy to make once you see some examples and come up with a few of your own.

Proper Noun Examples

In the following sentences, proper noun examples are compared with common nouns. Notice that the proper nouns are specific and unique, while the common nouns are much more general in nature.

1. Common noun: I want to be a writer.
   

   Proper noun: Agatha Christie wrote many books.

2. Common noun: I’d like to adopt a cat.
   

   Proper noun: Cleopatra is the cutest kitten ever.

3. Common noun: Would you like a cookie?
   

   Proper noun: I’m craving Oreos.

4. Common noun: Let’s go to the city.
   

   Proper noun: Let’s go to San Francisco.

5. Common noun: My teacher starts work before sunup.
   

   Proper noun: Mr. Bell seems to understand what students need.

6. Common noun: I think that’s a planet, not a star.
   

   Proper noun: I can see Jupiter tonight.

7. Common noun: He’s always hanging out with his girlfriend.
   

   Proper noun: He never goes anywhere without Sarah.

8. Common noun: There are a lot of important documents in the archives.
   

   Proper noun: There are many important documents at The Library of Congress.

How to Use Proper Nouns

It’s easy to use proper nouns, once you know what they are. Simply place them in your sentences as you would common nouns, ensuring that you capitalize them. Here are some examples to help you get started.

• Brett had hoped for an easy teacher for his algebra class, but he got Ms. Boggs, whose unreasonable demands and short temper made the semester unbearable.

  → Teacher is a common noun. Ms. Boggs is a proper noun.

• Gloria had a craving, and not just any cookie would do. She went to the store and bought a box of Oreos.

  → Cookie is a common noun. Oreos is a proper noun.

• We wanted to try a new restaurant, so we went to Taste of Thai.

  → Restaurant is a common noun. Taste of Thai is a proper noun.

Proper Noun Examples

Identify the proper noun in each sentence:

1. The boy threw the ball to his dog, Wilson.
2. I’d like you to meet my friend Jeremy.
3. We’ll be vacationing in Aspen this year.
4. My second grade teacher was Mrs. Gilbert, an old battle-axe.
5. We went to Smith’s Furniture and bought a new couch to replace our old one.
6. Do you think the Dolphins will win the game?
7. I’m flying first-class on Emirate Airlines.
8. Thomas Jefferson was a president and philosopher.
9. My best friend moved to Israel to study.
10. When the Titanic sank, the captain went down with the ship.

Answers: 1 – Wilson, 2 – Jeremy, 3 – Aspen, 4 – Mrs. Gilbert, 5 – Smith’s Furniture, 6 – Dolphins, 7 – Emirate Airlines, 8 – Thomas Jefferson, 9 – Israel, 10 – Titanic

Proper noun definition: A proper noun is any person, place or thing. A proper noun refers to anything or concept that is particular or specific.

What are proper nouns? A proper noun is any noun that names anything specific. Therefore, a proper noun is any particular name of a person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

Examples of Proper Nouns:

• Cathy (specific name of person)
• London (specific name of place)
• Spot (specific name of thing)

These examples are proper nouns because they name a specific person, place, and thing, respectively, giving names to those entities.

Proper Nouns List

Here is a list of a few proper nouns you might use in everyday conversation.

• Herman Miller
• Google
• Facebook
• Snoopy
• Oreo
• The White House
• University of Michigan
• Sarah
• Taco Bell
• McDonald’s
• Burger King

Of course there are many more proper nouns, but these are a few examples of specifics companies, restaurants, foods, names, schools, etc.

Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

There are a few key differences between proper and common nouns. A proper noun gives a specific name to an entity whereas a common noun does not give a specific name. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

Proper Noun Examples / Common Noun Examples:

• Cathy/girl
• London/city
• Spot/dog

How Do Proper Nouns Function in a Sentence?

Because they are nouns, proper nouns can function as in various ways a noun would in a sentence.

Proper noun as subject:

• Spot won an award.
  • In this example, Spot is the subject and specific name of a dog doing the action of the sentence.

Proper noun as direct object:

• The dog won “Best In Show.”
  • In this example, the dog is the subject and the thing he is doing is the direct object. Here, the direct object is the specific name of the award.

Proper noun as indirect object:

• The presenter gave an award to Spot.
  • In this example, the presenter is the subject and the award is the direct object. The recipient of that award is the specific dog, Spot, the indirect object.

How Do Common Nouns Become Proper Nouns?

Common nouns become proper nouns when they are given a specific name.

• girl
  • What is the girl’s name? The girl’s name is Cathy.
    • Cathy is the proper noun.
  • city
    • What is the city’s name? The city’s name is London.
      • London is the proper noun.
    • dog
      • What is the dog’s name? The dog’s name is Spot.
        • Spot is the proper noun.

Exercises With Proper Nouns

Identify the proper noun in the following sentences.

1. Stephen read the book to his daughter.
2. The children decorated their table for Easter.
3. The Roseville Parade starts on our street.
4. In history class we learned about World War I.
5. My favorite novel is The Grapes of Wrath.
6. Six students traveled to Paris during their spring break.

Summary: What are Proper Nouns?

Define proper noun: A proper noun is,

• any SPECIFIC person, place, or idea
• the name of a common noun
• always capitalized

See answers below.

Answers: Proper Noun Example Exercises

1. Stephen
2. Easter
3. Roseville Parade
4. World War I
5. The Grapes of Wrath
6. Paris

Contents

• 1 What is a Proper Noun?
• 2 Proper Nouns List
• 3 Proper Nouns and Common Nouns
• 4 How Do Proper Nouns Function in a Sentence?
• 5 How Do Common Nouns Become Proper Nouns?
• 6 Exercises With Proper Nouns
• 7 Summary: What are Proper Nouns?
• 8 Answers: Proper Noun Example Exercises