Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name of one person, one place, or one specific thing. A common noun is a general word for a person, place, or thing. Proper nouns usually begin with a capital letter in English.

Names of people are proper nouns. First names and family names begin with capital letters. Titles can also be part of a proper noun when they are used with a name.

Names of countries, cities, streets, rivers, and buildings are proper nouns. These names begin with capital letters. Some place names use words like the as part of the name, but many do not.

The names of days and months are proper nouns in English. They begin with capital letters. Seasons are often common nouns, so writers often use lower-case letters for them.

Some proper nouns name specific things, such as holidays, brands, books, and schools. These names usually begin with capital letters. In some cases, style can differ for brand names and titles, so the exact form may depend on the source.

Proper nouns often do not use a, an, or the. Names of people, cities, days, and months usually appear without an article. Some proper nouns take the as part of normal use, and this can vary by name and style.

Proper nouns are easy to see in signs, messages, maps, and books because they usually have capital letters. A capital letter can help you know that a word is a name, not a general word. You can now identify and use proper nouns for people, places, days, months, and other specific things in basic English.