Grammar: Word classes: Nouns

Proper nouns

What are proper nouns?

'Proper nouns' are typically names of people, pets, places and institutions. Here is a summary of the most common:

	names of people and family member address terms  (Bozo, Dotty, Miss Lee, Mr Gong, Granny Gong, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle)
	names of family pets and animals in fiction  (Tess, Barney, Fido, Boris the Bat, Sally the Squirrel)
	terms of address  (Doctor, Nurse, Officer, Inspector)
	names of public roles and bodies  (the King, the Queen, the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairman, Congress, Senate, Parliament)
	geographical names  (Australia, Paris, Western District, Aberdeen, Tsim Sha Tsui)
	names of streets  (Nathan Road, Ladder Street, Strawberry Lane, Jardine Crescent, Times Square)
	institutions and organisations  (Hong Kong Bank, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals)
	days of the week  (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
	months  (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December)
	festivals  (Chinese New Year, Easter, Christmas)
	planets of the solar system and other heavenly bodies  (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Halley's Comet)
	religions and religious concepts  (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Heaven, Hell, God, the Devil)
	titles of books and movies  (The Bible, Granny Gong and the GrumpyGhost, Titanic)
	names of newspapers and magazines  (The Hong Kong Standard, Apple Daily)
	names of paintings, songs, and other works of art  (The Mona Lisa, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, It's a Big, Big World)
	commercial products  (Sellotape, Gameboy, Kleenex, Rolls Royce, Polaroid)
	laws, principles of physics and mathematics  (The Fire Precautions Act, Theorem of Pythagorus)
	languages and nationalities  (Chinese, English, French, Japanese)

Note that proper nouns typically begin with a capital letter; the titles of movies and books usually use a capital for the first letter of each word, or sometimes only of each content word, with function words beginning with a lower case letter (The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland).