Proper Nouns
Basics on the topic Proper Nouns
Proper Nouns – Definition
Proper nouns are nouns that name specific people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months. Some examples of proper nouns are: James, Florida, Easter, Monday, and January.
Proper Nouns – Capitalization
When we talk about proper nouns, it is always important to talk about capitalization. When we capitalize a word, it means that we use a big (capital) letter at the beginning of the word.
You probably already know some rules on capitalizing proper nouns: for example, you should always capitalize names like Samantha and Daniel. But what about other proper nouns? We should capitalize the other proper nouns too!
When to capitalize proper nouns? We always capitalize proper nouns to help the reader understand that we are talking about specific people, places, days, or months.
Proper Nouns – Categories
There are many examples of proper nouns in English. The most common proper nouns are names and surnames. We use them to name specific people. Here are some examples: Emma Smith, Oliver Johnson, Noah Williams, Sophia Lee, Caleb Hall.
Another kind of proper nouns are geographical names. They are names of specific places, like continents, countries, cities, states, streets, oceans, seas, lakes, parks, forests, etc. Here are examples of some geographical names: North America, Mexico, Los Angeles, Utah, Telegraph Avenue, the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, Lake Willoughby, Yosemite National Park, Tongass National Forest.
The names of holidays are also proper nouns. We capitalize the names of holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Independence Day, or Easter.
Proper nouns also include the names of products. It can be the name of your favorite cereal, soda, or chocolate. By using proper nouns you let people know that you are not talking about all the cereal in the world, but about a specific cereal brand.
Finally, days of the weeks and months is another type of proper nouns. We capitalize all seven days of the week, and all the twelve months. Use this table to remember the categories of proper nouns:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Names and surnames | Marion White, Kevin Dawson |
| Geographical names | Africa, Canada, Missouri, Dallas |
| Holidays | Christmas, Saint Patrick’s Day |
| Products | CrunchyFlakes Cereal, Pearlfresh Toothpaste |
| Days of the week and months | Wednesday, November |
Proper Nouns – Summary
Let’s review what we learned about proper nouns today.
Proper nouns are nouns that name specific people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months. We capitalize proper nouns to help the reader understand that we are talking about specific people, places, products, days, or months.
You can use this list to remember the categories of proper nouns:
Now you know how to capitalize proper nouns! If you would like more capitalization of proper nouns practice, check out our capitalizing proper nouns worksheets, capitalizing proper nouns exercises, and watch the video about proper nouns.
Did you enjoy our article about the rules for capitalizing proper nouns? Check out our materials on abstract nouns.
Frequently Asked Questions about Proper Nouns
Transcript Proper Nouns
Koko and Pip are in search of a special gift for Grandma. To help find it, they need to use their helicopter's fancy mapping system! "Remember Pip, we must type in the names correctly, capital letters and all!" Let's travel with Koko and Pip, and learn all about proper nouns. You may remember that you always capitalize the names of people, and the pronoun, I. But what other nouns need to be capitalized? Proper nouns! A proper noun is the name of specific people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months. We always capitalize proper nouns because it helps the reader to know that we are talking about the name of something! Examples of proper nouns include names of people, such as Sophy, names of places, like America or Chicago, and geographical names, such as Lake Michigan, or Yellowstone National Park. Proper nouns we also capitalize include holidays, such as Christmas or Halloween, days and months, such as Monday and January, and the names of products, like your favorite ice cream or cereal. Phew, that sure is a lot of proper nouns to remember to capitalize! But, you can help yourself by asking, 'is this the name of a specific person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or a month?' Now you know more about what proper nouns to capitalize, let's help Koko and Pip! "The first place we should look is New York City, I hear they have lots of gifts there!" New York City is the name of a specific place. So this must be capitalized, as it is a proper noun. Koko types New York City into the map, with a capital 'n', capital 'y', and a capital 'c'. like this! "Well, we didn't find anything here." "Why don't we go to the Eiffel Tower and see what's there instead?" Did you hear the proper noun that Koko said? Koko said 'Eiffel Tower', which is the name of a famous landmark in France. She will type this with a capital 'e' and a capital 't'. "There is no gift special enough here!" "How about our friend Bertha at The Banana Store?" We just heard two proper nouns this time. Did you know what they are? They are the name of their friend, 'Bertha', and the name of a store, 'The Banana Store'. What needs to be capitalized in these proper nouns? This means there should be a capital 'b', capital 't', capital 'b', and a capital 's', like this. "Ah, we've found the perfect gift, so let's head home!" While Koko and Pip make their way home, let's remember! A proper noun is the name of specific people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months, and we always capitalize them! To identify and capitalize proper nouns, ask yourself, 'is this the name of a specific person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or a month?' If yes, it is a proper noun so capitalize the first letter in each word. "Here you go Grandma, we hope you love your new gift!" "No Grandma! We know you love bananas, but that's a phone!"
Proper Nouns exercise
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What is a proper noun?
HintsExamples of proper nouns are: Monday, April, and Christmas.
Look at this picture to remember what proper nouns are. Example: The pumpkin and egg represent Halloween and Easter. Halloween and Easter are proper nouns, since they are both holidays.
SolutionA proper noun is the name of specific people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months.
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Connect the proper nouns.
HintsRemember, you are matching the type of proper nouns to examples of those proper nouns.
Think about the categories on the left. Which category on the right matches it? If the category on the left is holidays, where do you see holidays listed?
SolutionAll of these are examples of proper nouns! A proper noun can be a person, day of the week, holiday, place, or product.
Names of people: Michelle, Brian, Chelsea
Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Holidays: Memorial Day, Ramandan, Kwanzaa, Halloween
Places: New York, Texas, Oregon, Salt Lake City, San Jose
Products: Sammy's Divine Donuts, Manny's Hot Pizza
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Which words are proper nouns?
HintsRemember, you are highlighting proper nouns. Proper nouns can be: holidays, days of the week, and names of people.
The first word in a sentence is always capitalized, but sometimes it is not a proper noun.
For example, in the sentence: "Saturday is my birthday!" Saturday is a proper noun. In another sentence: "My birthday is on Saturday," "My" is not a proper noun. It is capitalized to show the beginning of a new sentence.
There are 5 proper nouns for you to find and highlight!
Remember, proper nouns always start with a capital letter.
SolutionIt is really fun to celebrate Halloween. Halloween happens in October. Last year, it was on a Saturday, so we stayed up late with my friend Coco! We had so much fun.
The word Halloween is a proper noun, it is a holiday.
October is a proper noun, it is a month.
Saturday is a proper noun, it is a day of the week.
Coco is a proper noun, it is a person's name.
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Which words are proper nouns?
HintsHalloween and Easter are proper nouns, since they are the names of holidays.
There are four proper nouns to select.
Remember, a proper noun is a specific person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month.
All of these words are capitalized. If you are unsure if a word is a proper noun, ask yourself: is this a specific person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month?
SolutionWhen deciding if a word is a proper noun, we ask ourselves: Is this the name of a specific person, place, holiday, product, day or the week, or month?
The proper nouns are: Christmas, United States of America, September, and Germany.
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When do we capitalize proper nouns?
HintsLook at these proper nouns: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. What do you notice?
In the sentence: "My friend Sophy is coming over on Friday! We are going to the Super Toy Store!" Are the capital nouns in this sentence capitalized always, sometimes, or never?
SolutionWe always capitalize proper nouns, because we are talking about the name of something.
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Identify the proper nouns.
HintsAll these words are capitalized. You have to ask yourself, is the word a specific person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month?
SolutionJessica and Sam are specific names of people, they are proper nouns.
Wednesday is a day of the week, it is a proper noun.
Independence Day is a proper noun, since it's a holiday.
California is a specific state, it is a proper noun.
