What is a Proper Noun?
Proper Noun with examples: A Proper Noun is usually a specific (particular) name of the person, place, thing, etc. These types of nouns are always capitalized anywhere in the sentence in the English Language.
Here, are few examples in which Proper Noun is used in many other ways.
- Proper Noun as a Person Name: Person names like John, Abraham, Suraj, Micheal, Daniel, Julia, Tommy, etc belongs to proper noun.
- Proper Noun as a Place Name: Name of the capital cities like Paris, London, New Delhi, etc and countries names like Russia, USA, India, Japan, South Africa, Australia, etc are the examples of Proper Noun.
- Proper Noun as a River Name: River names like the Nile, Amazon, Ganga, Narmada, etc are the examples of Proper Name.
- Proper Noun as a Mountain Name: Mountains like Mount Fuji, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest, etc belongs to proper Noun.
- Proper Noun as a Brand Name: For example consider Pencil brand names like Camlin, Apsara, Nataraj, Doms, etc which are usually the Proper Nouns.
All the nouns are bascically categorised into two types. Those are,
- Common Noun
- Proper Noun
Now let us understand more about the Proper Noun with examples below.
Also Read: Noun Definition and Examples
More Proper Noun Examples (with explanation)
In these examples, we are representing Specific (Proper Noun) name in ‘blue‘ colour and its common category in ‘red‘ colour.
- Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful architectures in the world.
Here, 'Taj Mahal' is the name of an architecture which is constructed in India. The word 'architecture' is not a proper noun.- Amazon is the largest river in the world.
Here, Amazon is the name of a river. However, there are many rivers in the World. So it belongs to the category of 'Rivers'. Remember that 'river'is not a proper noun.- Russia is the largest country in the world.
Here, 'Russia' is one of the country name. So it belongs to a group of 'countries'. The word 'country' is not a proper noun.- Raju is the brilliant student in our class.
Here, 'Raju'is the specific name of the student in a class. Note: 'student' word is not a proper noun.- I would prefer to buy Iphone than any other phones which are available in the market.
Here, 'Iphone' is the name of the brand of smartphones. So, it belongs to the category of 'phones'.Usage of Proper Noun with an article – ‘the’
1) Don’t use ‘the’ article with:
- Names of the people.
| Person Names | Usage in the Sentence |
| Raju | Don’t use ‘the Raju’ |
| John | Don’t use ‘the John’ |
| Micheal | Don’t use ‘the Micheal’ |
| Julia | Don’t use ‘the Julia’ |
Example Sentence:
- Incorrect: The John gifted a new pen to the Riya on her birthday.
- Correct: John gifted a new pen to Riya on her birthday.
- Company shop, hotel, bank names which are named after the person names.
| Categories | Example |
| Shops | Mark and Spencer Stores |
| banks | Indian Bank |
| churches | St. Mary’s Chruch |
Example Sentence:
- Incorrect: The Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
- Correct: Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
- Places, lakes, roads, parks, squares, streets names
| Places/lakes/roads/parks/street names | Usage in the Sentence |
| Lake Victoria | Not ‘The Lake Victoria’ |
| Mount Everest | Not ‘The Mount Everest’ |
| Sahara Desert | Not ‘The Sahara Desert’ |
| Central Park | Not ‘The Central Park’ |
Example Sentence:
- Incorrect: We booked a hotel beside the Lake Victoria.
- Correct: We booked a hotel beside Lake Victoria.
2) Use ‘the’ article with:
- States, Republic, Kingdom (parts of the Country).
| Category | Usage in the Sentences |
| States | The United States of America, The United Arab Emirates |
| Kingdom | The United Kingdom |
| Republic | The Democratic Republic of Congo |
- Rivers, canals, seas and oceans
| Water Bodies | Usage in the Sentences |
| River | The Nile, The Amazon |
| Sea | The Arabian Sea, The Mediterranean Sea |
| Ocean | The Pacific Ocean, The Indian Ocean |
- Plural names of the people, places, things, etc.
| Plural Categories | Usage in the Sentences |
| Islands | The Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Countries | The Philipines |
| Mountains | The Himalayas |
- Names which are having preposition ‘óf’ (in middle)
| Examples |
| The Great Wall of China |
| The Statue of Liberty |
| The Tropic of Cancer |
| The Book of Hopes |
| The Institution of Economics |
Proper Noun with examples (Summary)
- Proper Noun is a specific name of any person, thing, animal, etc. But it is not the name of the common group.
- For example, Rose is the name of the flower. Here, ‘Rose’ is the Proper Noun because the rose is a specific name which belongs to the category ‘flowers’.
- Here, Sunflower, Lilly, Hibiscus, etc are specific (individual) species names of the flower. So, all these flowers belong to the Proper Noun.
- Proper Noun is always Capitalized (the first letter) if it is used anywhere in the sentences.
If you want to learn more about this topic (from other sites), you can check it out here.
I hope that you understood the topic Proper Noun with examples. If you have any doubts regarding this topic, then comment down below and we will respond to your questions as soon as possible. Thank You.
3 Responses