This document discusses the difference between common and proper nouns. It provides examples of each type of noun and explains that common nouns name general items while proper nouns name specific people, places or things. Common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence, while proper nouns are always capitalized. The document includes charts listing common and proper nouns and sample sentences using both types of nouns to demonstrate the difference. It then provides exercises for the reader to identify nouns as either common or proper in additional examples.

1. The Proper Noun
Recognize a proper noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Every noun can further be classified as common or
proper. A proper noun has two distinctive features: 1) it will name a specific [usually a one-
of-a-kind] item, and 2) it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a
sentence.
Check out the chart below:
Common Noun Proper Noun
writer
teacher
beagle
cookie
city
restaurant
document
school
Herman Melville
Mrs.Hacket
Snoopy
Oreo
Orlando
Tito's Taco Palace
Declaration of Independence
University of Southern California
Read the following sentences. Notice the difference between the common and proper nouns.
Tina offered Antonio one of her mother's homemade oatmeal cookies but only an Oreo would
satisfy his sweet tooth.
Cookies = common noun; Oreo = proper noun.
Charlie had wanted an easy teacher for his composition class, but he got Mrs.Hacket, whose
short temper and unreasonable demands made the semester a torture.
Teacher = common noun; Mrs.Hacket = proper noun.
Gloria wanted to try a new restaurant, so Richard took her to Tito's Taco Palace, where no
one dips into the hot sauce until the drinks have arrived at the table.
Restaurant = common noun; Tito's Taco Palace = proper noun.

2. The Common Noun
Recognize a common noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Every noun can further be classified as common or
proper. A common noun names general items.
Go into the kitchen. What do you see? Refrigerator, magnet, stove, window, coffee maker,
wallpaper, spatula, sink, plate—all of these things are common nouns.
Leave the house. Where can you go? Mall, restaurant, school, post office, backyard, beach,
pet store, supermarket, gas station—all of these places are common nouns.
Go to the mall. Who do you see? Teenager, grandmother, salesclerk, police officer, toddler,
manager, window dresser, janitor, shoplifter—all of these people are common nouns.
The important thing to remember is that common nouns are general names. Thus, they are
not capitalized unless they begin a sentence or are part of a title. Proper nouns, those that
name specific things, do require capitalization.
Notice the difference in the chart below:
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
coffee shop
waiter
jeans
sandwich
chair
arena
country
fire fighter
Starbucks
Simon
Levi's
Big Mac
Roll-O-Rocker
Amway Arena
Australia
Captain Richard Orsini
Here are some sample sentences:
Although there are five other chairs in the living room, everyone in Jim's family fights to sit
in the puffy new Roll-O-Rocker.
Chairs = common noun; Roll-O-Rocker = proper noun.
Harriet threw the stale cucumber sandwich in the trash can and fantasized about a Big Mac
dripping with special sauce.
Sandwich = common noun; Big Mac = proper noun.
Because we like an attentive waiter, we always ask for Simon when we eat at Mama Rizzoli's
Pizzeria.

3. Waiter = common noun; Simon = proper noun.

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Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
Read the sentence.
One boy, Harry Potter, and one girl, Anna Smith, come from a
nearby town, Manila.
Boy, Harry Potter, girl Anna and Manila are nouns. The words
boy, girl and towns are called common nouns.
Nouns are words that stand for a person, place, thing, or idea.
They can be singular (one) or plural (more than one).
Common nouns do not need to begin with a capital letter.
A proper noun is a name given to a specific person, place, or
thing. Proper nouns begin with capital letters.
Examples:

5. EXERCISE 1:
Tell if the noun is either common or proper.
1. pig
2. KosukeKitajima
3. Tokyo Tower
4. chair
5. City
6. Osaka
7. Howl's Moving Castle
8. television
9. book
10. Los Angeles
11. teacher
12. cat
13. Doraemon
14. street
15. table
Exercise 2: Give the Proper nouns
example:
1. street
Proper noun: Market street

6. 1. school
2. boy
3. train station
4. man
5. building
6. country
7. state
8. book
9. magazine
10. newspaper
11. river
12. ocean
13. company
14. sea
15. national park
Exercise 3: Find the common and proper nouns
Each sentence below contains two or more nouns. They
are either all common nouns or all proper nouns. Look for
the nouns and then indicate whether they are common or
proper.
Example:
1. Does Jimmy really want to move to California? Proper
1. An impolite fish asked my brother for a worm.
2. Amy will travel to Norway and Sweden.
3. Which is larger, Sony or Nintendo?
4. Cats are very cute.
5. I want to go to Tokyo Disneyland.
6. Cassy, Samantha, and David are playing outside.
7. Maria lives in Germany.
8. A dogwalked down the long street.
9. Arashi will sings in a tv show.
10. Jin is in Hokkaido.