Grammar
Common and Proper Nouns
Common Nouns
Common Nouns are the names of people, animals, things and places.
Examples:
| People | Animals | Things | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| boy | dog | glass | beach |
| girls | cows | plates | farm |
| man | horse | chair | fields |
| lady | sheep | car | wharf |
| gentleman | goat | bicycle | park |
| father | bee | clothes | jungle |
| aunt | dragonfly | watch | forest |
| friend | eagle | apples | town |
| teacher | beetles | water | harbor |
| neighbors | owls | shoes | city |
| doctor | dolphins | buttons | village |
| fisherman | whales | socks | orchard |
There are many books on the shelf.
The lecturer is teaching the students.
We saw elephants, kangaroos, cheetahs, pythons and many other animals at the zoo.
Proper Nouns
Proper Nouns are the special names of people, animals, things and places. They always start with capital letters.
Examples:
| People | Animals | Things | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley | Brownie | Sea Angel (name of a ship) | High Park |
| Amy | Jumbo | Mount Kinabalu | Dickson Harbor |
| Chiyoko Shima | Lassie | Nike (brand name of footwear) | Times Square |
| Vijay Reddy | Winnie | Toyota (brand name of vehicles) | Newton Beach |
| Mr. Lee Chun-Hee | Black Beauty | Tata Nano (brand name of vehicles) | Seaview Park |
| Mr. Thomas Green | Lulu | Cinderella (title of a book) | St. Anthony's Elementary School |
| Mrs. Carey | Mimi | ADIDAS (brand name of sports equipment) | Dreamland Theme Park |
| Mdm. Elizabeth Grant | Kitty | Alba (brand name of watches) | Gold Coast Aquarium |
| Miss Julia Brown | Whitie | Mercedes Benz (brand name of vehicles) | National Zoo |
Britney has a pet dog named Patch.
Mr. Wang reads the 'Shanghai Times' daily.
'Treasure Island' was written by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
The airplane landed at Heathrow Airport at 3 p.m.
My sister studies at Kingsfield High School.
Exercises
A. Can you pick out the nouns in each sentence?
1. There is an apple on the table.
2. My brother goes to school by bus.
3. Annie bought some bananas and grapes from the market.
4. The girl screamed when she saw a toy snake in her schoolbag.
5. My uncle went to the post office to post a letter.
6. The monkey is swinging from tree to tree.
7. The principal is speaking into a microphone.
8. Butterflies, beetles, dragonflies and grasshoppers are insects.
9. He pasted a stamp on the envelope before posting it.
10. The peacock has beautiful tail feathers.
B. Pick out the proper nouns in the following sentences.
1. Marie is my sister.
2. Christians celebrate Christmas annually.
3. Adam’s birthday falls on 10 February.
4. China is the world’s most populated country.
5. My uncle is studying at Stanford University.
6. My pen pal, Choi Yong-Ping, lives in Korea.
7. ‘Sea Queen’ is docked in Kent Harbor.
8. Have you read ‘A Christmas Carol’?
9. Mr. Murray and his family are coming to visit us next Saturday.
10. Jamie is jogging in Denver Park now.
Answers
A.
1. apple, table
2. brother, school, bus
3. bananas, grapes, market
4. girl, snake, schoolbag
5. uncle, post office, letter
6. monkey, tree, tree
7. principal, microphone
8. Butterflies, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, insects
9. stamp, envelope
10. peacock, feathers
B.
1. Marie
2. Christians, Christmas
3. Adam, February
4. China
5. Stanford University
6. Choi Yong-Ping, Korea
7. 'Sea Queen', Kent Harbor
8. ‘A Christmas Carol’
9. Mr. Murray, Saturday
10. Jamie, Denver Park