Proper nouns

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Proper nouns in English

See also:

English grammar guide (all about English grammar)

Exercises (online exercises with answers)

English nouns (more about English nouns)

Grammar rules with examples

Types of proper nouns

  • Types of proper nouns and their capitalization:
    The titles and names of people (President Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln)
    Geographical names (Mount Everest, the Himalayas)
    The names of institutions (The Supreme Court, Harvard University, the Universtity of Edinburgh)
    Other names: buildings, books, films, monuments...

Examples of proper nouns

  • Examples of proper nouns by category:
    People and pets (Dad, Brian, Mrs. Johnson, Fluffy, Spot...)
    Places (Barcelona, Germany, the Rocky Mountains, Disneyland...)
    Days, months, holidays (Sunday, December, Labour Day, Halloweeen...)
    Brands (Coca - Cola, Luis Vuitton, Mercedes - Benz, American Express...)
    Titles of people (President Macron, Captain Cook, Sir Paul McCartney, Cardinal Wolsey...)
    Titles of works (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Mona Lisa, the Times...)

Tricky proper nouns

  • How to capitalize tricky proper nouns:
    You can ask Mom. - You can ask your uncle. I'd like to meet the pope. - I'd like to meet Pope Francis.

Proper nouns with or without 'the' 1

Proper nouns with or without 'the' 2

  • Proper nouns with the definite article (the) by category:
    Plural names of people and places (the Collins = the Collin family, the Netherlands, the Alps)
    Country names that include common names (the United, Kingdom, the Czech Republic)
    Names of most water bodies (the Adriatic, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mississippi River)
    Names made with 'of' (the London School of Economics, the Statue of Liberty)
    Other names: most restaurants, banks, cinemas, institutions...
  • Proper nouns without the definite article (zero):
    Names of people (William, Angelina Jolie)
    Titles of people (President Macron, Detective Poiret, Doctor Watson)
    Names of companies (Renault, Panasonic, British Airways)
    Places named after a person (Mario's Pizzeria, McDonald's, St Peter's Cathedral)
    Most Geographical names (Lake Eyre, Mount Kilimanjaro, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park)
    Other names: (Vaclav Havel Airport, Edinburgh Castle)

Videos

What are proper nouns?

  • A two-minute video with cartoons by a native speaker for elementary - pre-intermediate learners of English.

Capitalizing proper nouns

  • A five-minute video by a native speaker explaining the difference between proper and common nouns and their capitalizing. For intermediate learners of English.

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