Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Proper

Proper nouns name specific people, places, things, or ideas.

Examples:

Since these nouns are naming specific things, they always begin with a capital letter.

Sometimes, they contain two or more important words.

Examples:

If this is the case, both important words are capitalized, and the whole thing is still considered to be one proper noun even though it's made up of more than one word. How about that?

Common

Common nouns are the opposite of proper nouns. They are your run of the mill, generic nouns. They name people, places, things or ideas that are not specific.

Examples:

Since these nouns are not naming anything specific, they do not need to start with a capital letter.

Their Relationship

What Can They Do?

Proper and common nouns can perform any of the noun jobs (subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, predicate nominative). Here are some examples of all of these noun jobs:

Subject: The students dutifully studied grammar.

Direct Object: They engaged their minds and learned quickly.

Test Yourself

Ready to check your knowledge of proper and common nouns? Great.

Directions: Identify all of the nouns in the following quotes about pursuing your dreams. Write "c" next to each common noun and "p" next to each proper noun.

1. "Our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." -Walt Disney

2. "You must go after your wish. As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning." - Barbara Sher

3. "Each man should frame life so that, at some future hour, fact and his dreaming meet." - Victor Hugo

4. "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." - Ayn Rand

5. "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." - Conrad Hilton

Sentence Diagramming

Interested in sentence diagramming? It's fun! Click here to learn basic sentence diagramming.

Now you know all about common and proper nouns!
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