Among the 8 parts of speech, the simplest one and the easiest to remember is probably the noun. There are many kinds of nouns, but in this article, one of the most common ones will be discussed—the proper noun.
Definition of Proper Nouns
Basically, proper nouns refer to words which are used to name a specific person, place, animal, thing, or event. Aside from that, this type of noun always starts with a capital letter and is usually (but not always) in singular form.
Explanation of Proper Nouns
Based on the definition above, it can be said that proper nouns have two unique features: a) it names a specific or a “one-of-a-kind” person, place, animal, event, or thing, and b) it always begins with a capital letter, regardless of its location in the sentence.
The proper noun can be considered as the opposite of the common noun, which is used to give generic names to people, animals, things, places, or events. Lastly, you should remember that there is always a common noun equivalent for every proper noun, but not all common nouns have proper noun counterparts.
Examples of Proper Nouns
Darth Vader
Great Pyramid of Giza
The underlined words in the sample sentences below are some examples of proper nouns.
Examples of Proper Nouns in Literature
Below are some examples of proper nouns (underlined words) used in famous literary pieces:
Function of Proper Nouns
While the common noun provides a generic name for a person, an animal, a thing, a place, or an event, a proper noun gets more specific. Simply put, its main function is to state the actual name of a specific person, an animal, a thing, a place, or an event, so that the audience will easily know which one are you talking about.
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