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Proper nouns are specific names for people, places, or things and are indicated by a capital letter. Common nouns can become proper nouns, such as using “Mother” as a name. Company names are usually capitalized, and ideas are not proper nouns.
A noun can be a person, place, thing, entity, or idea, but a proper noun is even more specific. Gives the actual name of the person, place or thing. There are usually a few words that you will always be able to identify as a proper noun, including countries and cities, months, days of the week, names of companies or organizations, honorifics, and names of people or even pets. Unlike the common noun, the proper noun is indicated by a capital letter at the beginning of each word.
While it’s easy enough to remember that certain things like country names or a person’s name start with a capital letter, there are some times people may forget that they’re using a proper noun. This is especially true when addressing someone you call by a common name. For example, if you refer to your mother as “Mother,” when you use it in written form, the word will be capitalized. This may be a little difficult to understand, but really in this sense “Mother” becomes a name for your mother, very similar to her personal name.
Consider the following examples:
“I go to the store with my mother.”
“Would you like to come to the shop with me, mom?”
First, you’re using the term in a general way, even though it’s pretty clear you’re talking about your mother. In the second example, the term is used as title and noun, so that the noun becomes a proper noun instead of a common one.
Other types of proper nouns that can be a little difficult to remember include things like company names. In most cases, unless the company specifically uses a lowercase beginning in the title, many company names will be capitalized. You should check with a company website if you have any doubts about this.
If you say “That company is really responsible” it doesn’t mean “Google is really responsible”. Just remember that the use of the proper noun tends to mean that you have named the thing you are talking about as specifically as possible.
One type of common noun that tends to never become a proper noun is the category of ideas. So, for example, things like ‘knowledge’, ‘intelligence’, ‘love’ or ‘kindness’ are not proper nouns even though they may seem to be rather specific terms. Of course the other thing to keep in mind is that all nouns, common or proper, will have their first letter capitalized if they are the initial word of a sentence.
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