Proper Noun

Nouns in the English language are used to refer to a thing, for instance, it can be a table, a book, a place, or a person. Different types of nouns exist in English language. One of them is proper noun. Let’s get to know what is a proper noun and its role. A proper noun is a naming word that assigns an identity to a thing, place, or person. These nouns are generally capitalised when writing.

Identifying everything existent in the world is necessary. Therefore, proper nouns become immensely important. Moreover, the rules for mentioning these nouns are different in the English language.

Rules for Proper Noun

There are certain rules for using proper nouns. These rules are discussed in detail below.

What should be capitalised?

To be very precise only proper nouns and the first word of every sentence should be capitalised in a written document. Sometimes people tend to capitalise on everything they want the reader to pay attention to. However, it is recommended that apart from the first word of every sentence only proper nouns should be capitalised.

The aforementioned rule helps in the identification of important instances, names, or places. Moreover, the readability of the written piece is increased. The confusion that might arise due to emphasis through random capitalisations will be eliminated. To emphasise something the word can be put into single quotation marks or can be presented in a bold form.

Are seasons considered proper nouns?

Seasons are not proper nouns and should not be capitalised if mentioned on their own. They can only be capitalised when they are mentioned in a proper noun’s part. For better understanding here is an example.

Example 1: I am going to shop for Winters.

The above-mentioned sentence is incorrect.

The correct sentence: I am going to shop for winter

Example 2: I am a member of the Winter Club.

The above-mentioned sentence is correct since ‘Winter Club’ is the name of a club. Here ‘winter’ is used as a part of a club’s name (which is a proper noun).

Should nouns describing a relationship be capitalised?

Nouns describing relationships like- mom, dad, uncle, aunt can be capitalised on they are mentioned just like a name would have been. In other cases where these nouns are used, they must be written in a lower case format. Here is an example to understand the rule better.

Sentence 1: Sarita, please let Uncle decide.

Here we used the noun ‘uncle’ just like a name would have been used. We can replace the word with any name and still the sentence would make sense. Therefore, the noun is capitalised.

Sentence 2: Sarita, your uncle is waiting outside.

In this case, we wrote the noun ‘uncle’ in lower case format since it isn’t used the way a name is used. One cannot directly replace the word ‘uncle’ with any other name here.

Should brand names be capitalised?

Yes, of course, brand names should be capitalised since they are proper nouns. Often people forget to capitalise brand names when they become household names. Moreover, people often conceive it to be a household thing and forget the importance of capitalising the name. However, one should never forget to capitalise on a brand name since that is the identity of a brand.

Should job titles be capitalised?

One’s job title is an important possession, therefore we tend to capitalise on them to emphasise. However, they shouldn’t be capitalised until they are used in naming somebody.

Sentence 1: Diana, please meet the president of our club,Virat Kaushal.

Here we do not capitalise on the person’s position in the company. This is because it is a general position that can be existent in other companies too.

Sentence 2: President Kovind will be our chief guest today.

Here we capitalised the person’s job title as it is being used as a proper noun to name the particular position.

Quick Recap

Let’s have a quick recap of the concept of proper nouns.

Q1. What is a proper noun? Give examples.

Answer: A proper noun is a naming word that assigns an identity to a thing, place, or person. Examples: India (a country’s name), Aakash (a person’s name), Colgate (a brand name), and so on.

Q2. Can names of seasons be capitalised?

Answer: The names of seasons shouldn’t be capitalised until used as a proper noun.

Q3. Should nouns be used for describing relationships be capitalised?

Answer: Nouns like mom, dad, uncle, etc. can be capitalised only when they are used in place of a name.

Conclusion

Proper nouns are naming words used to assign a specific identity to a particular person, things, place, etc. Moreover, these nouns are always capitalised, unlike common nouns. The use of proper nouns gives a piece of specific information rather than a generic outlook.

It is recommended that nothing other than proper nouns should be capitalised in the middle of a sentence. The use of proper nouns increases readability since its rules control the way a text is formatted.