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. McNutt
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.