Proper Nouns A Proper Noun NAMES a person

Proper Nouns

A Proper Noun NAMES a person, place, or thing.

What’s the difference between a Common Noun and a Proper Noun?

I’m glad you asked! The key word is NAMES, a Proper Noun NAMES the Common Noun. If I say The girl went to the store I can mean any girl. But if I say Kayley went to the store then we know exactly which girl went to the store. The Common Noun—girl, can mean anyone The Proper Noun—Kayley, names the girl

Which of these are Common Nouns? Store Marker Crayon Ugne Jacket

Way to go!!!

OOPS! TRY AGAIN!

boy and girl are common nouns

The names of the boys and girls are Proper Nouns and should be capitalized Kayley Princesa Michaela Nicole Ellie Makenzie Ugne Audree Madison Jessica Marina Serena Kunhee Kiernan John Skyler Kerolos Tyler Ian David Phillip Kona

teacher and principal are Common Nouns

The names of the teachers and principals are Proper Nouns and should be capitalized Mrs. Lesh Miss. Mc. Nutt Mrs. Parent Mrs. Sharp Mrs. Stewart Mrs. Zollman Mrs. Turner Mrs. Fagen

day and month are Common Nouns

The NAMES of the days and months are Proper Nouns and should be capitalized Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday January February March April May June July August September October November December

Common Noun What about holidays? Are they Proper Nouns? YES! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day—they are all Proper Nouns.

city and state are Common Nouns

The NAMES of the cities and states are Proper Nouns and should be capitalized Indianapolis Carmel Westfield Chicago San Diego Detroit Orlando Boston Indiana New York Florida Ohio Illinois California Texas

What are some other examples of Common Nouns? Can you make them each a Proper Noun?

Common Noun Singer Proper Noun Justin Bieber The NAME of a singer

Common Noun Movie Proper Noun Finding Nemo The NAME of a movie

Common Noun Author Proper Noun Eric Carle The NAME of an author

Common Noun Book Proper Noun Harry Potter The NAME of a book

Common Noun Song Proper Noun Never Say Never The NAME of a song

Let’s Practice!

The girl is very smart.

girl is a Common Noun. If we wanted to know which girl was smart we would put a girls NAME in place of girl.

_____ is very smart.

Nicole is very smart. Who is very smart? Nicole is a Proper Noun and names the girl. We capitalize her name.

The boy went to see the doctor.

The boy went to see the doctor. boy is a Common Noun. If we put Phillip’s name in for boy, we have named the boy.

Phillip went to see the doctor. Who went to see the doctor? We now know that Phillip is the boy who went to see the doctor. Phillip NAMES the boy. We capitalize his name.

What about people’s titles?

Now what is a title?

Dr. Mrs. Miss. Mr. Ms. Aunt Uncle Those are all titles. They help us identify a person and are also Proper Nouns.

Let’s Practice!

When I get a shot dr. harris always give me a sucker.

When I get a shot dr. harris always give me a sucker. What’s wrong with this sentence?

When I get a shot dr. harris always give me a sucker. Dr. Harris is a title and should be capitalized because he names a doctor.

When I get a shot Dr. Harris always give me a sucker.

My aunt amy gives the best presents. What’s wrong with this sentence?

My aunt amy gives the best presents. Who is Amy? She is your Aunt—Aunt is her title and you capitalize all titles!

My Aunt Amy gives the best presents. Who is Amy? She is your Aunt—Aunt is her title and you capitalize all titles!

Abbreviations

What is an abbreviation!? !

Titles and other things, like months, days, and streets are sometimes abbreviated. However, they are still Proper Nouns and should be capitalized!

Proper Noun January February March April May June July August September October November December Abbreviation Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

We abbreviate almost all of the months. However, if they have short names like March, April, May, June, and July we do not abbreviate them.

Proper Noun Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Abbreviation Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.

Notice the period Jan. Feb. Sun. Mon. Tues. We use those to tell us that it is an abbreviation and that we are ending our word. Just like we do with a sentence.

Can you think of any other abbreviations? Mr. = Mister Dr. = Doctor St. = Street Jr. = Junior

Where do you live? Street = St. Avenue = Ave. Place = Pl. Circle = Cir. Boulevard = Blvd. Drive = Dr.

Now it gets tricky. Not all abbreviations are Proper Nouns! Inch = in. Centimeter = cm. Foot = ft. Second = sec. Hour = hr. Pound = lb. What? ? ? Ounce = oz.