Proper nouns
Grammar rules with examples.
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 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.
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
1. 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.
2. Proper nouns without the definite article (zero):
Names of people: William, Angelina Jolie.
Titles of people: President Kennedy, Detective Poirot, 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
A two-minute video with cartoons by a native speaker for elementary - pre-intermediate learners of English.
A five-minute video by a native speaker explaining the difference between proper and common nouns and their capitalizing. For intermediate learners of English.
Exercises on proper nouns:
- online exercises with answers
See also:
English nouns Countable and uncountable nouns, singular and plural nouns, group nouns, compound nouns and proper nouns.