English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010

Lesson 6: Proper and common nouns
Unit 1: Identifying nouns
Part I: Kinds of words

Do the following sentences look a little strange?

1. Mrs. smith took the 10th grade class of lincoln high school to france for a trip.

2. The class visited paris and was thrilled to see the eiffel tower.

Normally, we capitalize the first letter of nouns that are actual names, no matter where they are in a sentence. Let’s look at the same sentences with the names capitalized:

3. Mrs. Smith took the 10th grade class of Lincoln High School to France for a trip.

4. The class visited Paris and was thrilled to see the Eiffel Tower.

Nouns that are actual names are called proper nouns; nouns that are not names are called common nouns. Notice that not only people have names: places ( Rome), companies (IBM), and books (GoneWith theWind), among others, can have names, too.

Quick tip 6.1

Nouns that are actual names, for example Mary, are called proper nouns. Nouns that are not names are called common nouns, e.g. girl.

Quick tip 6.2

One way to identify a proper noun is to ask yourself: is this a noun I would capitalize, no matter where it is in a sentence? If so, it’s a proper noun.

Test yourself 6.1

For each noun below, determine if it is a proper noun or common noun. For this exercise, the proper nouns are not capitalized.

Sample: england proper

Getting started (answers on p. 22)

1. seattle ...

2. crater lake national park ...

3. tissues ...

4. sofa ...

5. pepsi cola ...

More practice (answers on the website)

6. mediterranean sea ...

7. disneyland ...

8. company ...

9. british broadcasting company ...

10. television ...

To enhance your understanding

In Lesson 1 we said that words that can have the in front of them and sound like a complete unit are nouns. That still works. The reverse, however, is not true: not all proper nouns can have the in front of them. Compare the following proper nouns. Those on the left use the; those on the right do not.

5. a. The United States  Great Britain

  The Netherlands  France

b. The Holy See   Holy Cross University

c. The Jolly Green Giant Big Foot

d. The Bronx    Manhattan

Most proper nouns don’t use the - just think of the names of people you know. Those few cases where a proper noun does use the are exceptions; we memorize those.