Proper Nouns Grammar Lesson

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

Nouns are words that name a person, place, or thing. A common noun names any person, place, or thing in general — words like boy, city, or book. A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing — words like Brad, Chicago, or Goodnight Moon.

The most important rule about proper nouns is that they are always capitalized. No matter where a proper noun appears in a sentence, it begins with a capital letter. Common nouns are only capitalized when they appear at the start of a sentence.

Here are some examples of common nouns paired with proper nouns: boy → Michael; city → Denver; river → Mississippi River; dog → Labrador Retriever; holiday → Thanksgiving. Notice how each proper noun refers to a specific, particular version of the general common noun.

Proper Nouns in Writing

Proper nouns appear in many forms in writing. People’s full names are proper nouns, including titles like Dr., President, or Ms. when used with a name. Geographic names — countries, states, cities, rivers, mountains, and oceans — are all proper nouns. Days of the week, months of the year, and holidays are also proper nouns.

When a noun phrase includes both a common noun and a proper noun, only the proper noun part is capitalized. For example, the Mississippi River capitalizes Mississippi River (the proper name) but not the. Similarly, you write Aunt Sally when using the name, but my aunt when not using the name as a title.

Learning to recognize and correctly capitalize proper nouns is an important early grammar skill. It helps students write more accurately and understand why certain words in their reading are always capitalized.

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