Nouns are generally the words used to name a class of object, person, or animal. It can be a living or a non-living thing. Now, these nouns are divided into two different types of nouns. One is a proper noun, and the other is a common noun.
At some point, you might confuse a proper noun or its usage. It is very common. Most people tend to confuse proper nouns and common nouns.
Proper nouns are nouns used for specific items, and common nouns are nouns used for generic items. It is simple, but if you do not know their differences properly, it might get complicated.
Let’s discuss proper nouns today with a detailed explanation and some basic proper noun examples.
Proper nouns and their usage
Proper nouns are nouns that refer to specific items. In simple words, these are words used to name things that are specific or definite. It can be a person, place, or thing.
For example, if you call someone by their name, that name will be a proper noun.
How are you, Seema?
Here, Seema is a proper noun.
We can say that the specific name of a particular place, person, or thing can be termed as a proper noun.
Difference between proper noun and common noun
Now, when we say a common noun, we mean a noun that refers to something generic. It is a general term. And when we say a proper noun, we refer to the specific name belonging to that person or thing.
For example;
“ My teacher passed away.”
Here, a teacher is a general term. It is a common noun.
If we add a name to that teacher, for instance;
“Miss Smith passed away.”
Here, Miss Smith will be a proper noun.
So we can see, a proper noun is not just the classification or status of a person. It is the specific name or a title that the person or a thing holds.
Proper nouns are capitalized words
In the above examples, we saw that all the proper nouns are capitalized. It is important to remember that proper nouns will always be capitalized no matter how or where they are used. Proper nouns are specific words, so they cannot be used with lowercase letters.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the use of ”The” with proper nouns. Proper nouns cannot be used with the article ”The”. Unless it is a proper name that comes together with ”The”, for instance, The United States or The Great Wall of China.
Use of Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are used directly to refer to a specific thing. When you directly address a person by his/her name, you make use of proper nouns.
Let us look at some examples;
With a person;
- I saw Nancy last night.
- Are you Sam’s friend?
With an object;
- Did you see my Oreo?
With a place;
- I went to Huda City today.
So we see, proper nouns are capitalized words that we use to name a specific thing. Remembering these points will make proper nouns clearer and easier.