Proper Nouns

In general, nouns signify people, places, things and ideas. The proper noun, however, is a type of noun that specifically names one noun.

Examples: Common Nouns vs. Proper Nouns

Common Nouns

Proper Nouns

writer

Sydney Sheldon

teacher

Mrs. Hickory

cookie

Oreo

city

London

school

Harvard University

Sample Sentences:

  1. Abigael gave Mary a freshly-baked cookie but Mary said that she really wanted an Oreo.

Common Noun – cookie

Proper Noun – Oreo

  1. Dennis expected to go to a local college, but he aced his last semester and was admitted to Harvard University.

Common Noun – college

Proper Noun – Harvard University

  1. My mother said she’s fed up with her suburban house, so she and dad packed all their things and moved to London.

Common Noun – house

Proper Noun – London

Proper Nouns in Capital Letters

ALWAYS use a capital letter to start a proper noun. This means that specific names for people, places, events, things and ideas should start with a capital letter.

Examples:

  • They are interested in going to Cambodia. (correct)

  • They are interested in going to cambodia. (incorrect)

  • We watched City of Angels at the Orion Theater. (correct)

  • We watched city of angels at the orion theatre. (incorrect)

  • April is the cruelest month. (correct)

  • april is the cruelest month. (incorrect)

Proper Nouns without ‘THE’

There is no need to use ‘The’ with proper names of people.

Examples:

  • Friday is my favorite day. (correct)

  • The Friday is my favorite day. (incorrect)

  • Billy is my best friend. (correct)

  • The Billy is my best friend. (incorrect)

  • Taco Bell is my favorite restaurant. (correct)

  • The Taco Bell is my favorite restaurant. (incorrect)

Other rules:

We don’t use ‘the’ with specific names of companies.

  • Air France is a good airline. (correct)

  • The Air France is a good airline. (incorrect)

We don’t use ‘the’ for specific names of banks, hotels, and shops which are named after their owner or founder.

  • I love to go to Marks & Spencer. (correct)

  • I love to go to the Marks & Spencer. (incorrect)

We don’t use ‘the’ with specific names of places.

  • Tokyo is an interesting city. (correct)

  • The Tokyo is an interesting city. (incorrect)

We use ‘the’ if a specific country name includes ‘Kingdom, ‘ Republic’, ‘States’

  • I would love to go to the United Kingdom one day. (correct)

  • I would love to go to United Kingdom one day. (incorrect)

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