proper noun

(noun)

A word denoting a particular person, place, organization, ship, animal, event, idea, or other individual entity.

Related Terms

  • capitalization

Examples of proper noun in the following topics:

  • Capital Letters

    • Capital letters identify proper names, people and their languages, geographical names, and certain government agencies.
    • Names or nicknames, people, languages, geographical names, religions, days of the week, months, holidays, and some organizations are considered proper nouns.
    • Proper nouns should always be capitalized.
  • Chicago/Turabian: Headings

    • If a heading is said to be in sentence case, that means you should format it as though it were a normal sentence, with only the first letter of the first word (and of any proper nouns) capitalized (e.g., A study of color-blindness in dogs).
  • APA: Headings

    • If a heading is said to be in sentence case, that means you should format it as though it were a normal sentence, with only the first letter of the first word (and of any proper nouns) capitalized (e.g., A study of color-blindness in dogs).
  • Semicolons

    • Semicolons are followed by a lowercase letter, unless that letter is the first letter of a proper noun like "I" or "Paris."
  • Adjectives

    • Adjectives describe, quantify, or identify pronouns and nouns.
    • add detail about the qualities of the noun or pronoun being described.
    • specify the amount of whatever noun or pronoun you are modifying.
    • In some situations, two adjectives may be used to describe a noun.
    • Sometimes these two adjectives remain separate, as two distinctive words describing the noun.
  • Apostrophes

    • The same holds true for plural nouns, if their plural ends in "s."
    • In sentences where two individuals own one thing jointly, add the possessive apostrophe to the last noun.
    • If, however, two individuals possess two separate things, add the apostrophe to both nouns.
    • In cases of compound nouns composed of more than one word, place the apostrophe after the last noun.
    • If an original apostrophe, or apostrophe with s, is already included at the end of a noun, it is left by itself to perform double duty.
  • Nouns as Subjects and Objects

    • Nouns can take on two different roles in a sentence: they can be subjects or objects.
    • Note that the subject includes not just the noun, but also the article (e.g., the, a, an) that goes along with it.
    • A simple way to identify whether a noun is a subject or an object in an active-voice sentence is to note where it is in the sentence.
    • If the noun precedes the verb, it is the subject.
    • In the passive voice, a noun coming after the word "by" is an object, while a noun coming before a form of the verb "to be" (e.g., "was") is the subject.
  • Introduction to Adjectives and Adverbs

    • Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
    • Adjectives describe, quantify, or identify pronouns and nouns.
    • Remember, a noun is a person, place, or thing.
    • offer descriptive details about the noun or pronoun.
    • refer to quantity of the noun or pronoun being described by the adjective.
  • Making Subject and Verbs Agree

    • Some nouns are mass or non-count nouns, meaning that they are neither singular nor plural.
    • Mass nouns always take singular verbs, even if the noun represents an object that may be plural.
    • If a sentence has a compound subject, you should use a plural verb even if all the components of the subject are singular nouns.
    • When two nouns differing in number are joined by the word "or," the verb should take the form of the noun closest to it.
    • "Characteristics," thus, is the noun that should agree with the sentence's verb.
  • Subject-Verb Agreement

    • When two nouns differing in number are joined by the word "or," the verb should take the form of the noun closest to it.
    • Mass nouns, like "water" or "mud" are neither singular nor plural.
    • Mass nouns represent a generic, unknown amount of whatever they are.
    • [The subject baggage is a mass noun, so the verb was is singular.]
    • Amounts take singular verbs because they are treated as units, which are singular nouns.
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