Proper Noun: Definition, Examples, and Uses

Proper Noun comes to our mind when we need to use the names of a particular person, place, animal, thing, or event in English.

Proper Noun is an important Grammatical element that everyone needs to know. This post will provide the idea about Proper Noun with its Definition, Examples, and uses in English Sentences.

Proper Noun Definition

A proper noun is the name of one particular person, place, animals , things or event or group of persons as distinct from every other. - J.C. Nesfield

A Proper Noun is the name of some particular person or place. Proper means one's own. Hence a proper Name is a person's own name. - Wren & Martin

A proper Noun is a name of a person, place, institution, etc, written with a capital letter at the start, eg Jane, Mr. Smith, Paris, Europe, etc. - OALD, A.S. Hornby

What is Proper Noun?

According to the above definitions, it is undoubtedly said that a proper noun refers to the special names of some persons, animals, places, or things and it always begins with a capital letter. As,

Person: My brother’s name is Naren.
Animals: My pet’s name is Tommy.
Things: The Steel Express goes to Howrah.
Place: London is a beautiful city.

Examples of Proper Noun

Proper Noun includes names of buildings, roads, and streets, villages, towns, cities, states, countries, continents, hills, mountains, oceans, rivers, and they also include names of holidays, days of the week, months of the year. The following examples of proper noun refer to the use of it in the sentences.

Buildings: The Victoria Memorial is a beautiful building.
Roads and Streets: He lives on Mount Road.
villages, towns, cities, states, countries,
continents: He lives in Dadar in Mumbai in Maharashtra. Anita wants to go to Switzerland in Europe.
Hills, Mountains: the Nilgiri Hills, the Alps, the Mount Everest
Oceans, Rivers: the River Bhagirathi, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean
Names of Holidays: Holi
Days of the Week: The fair starts on Wednesday.
Months of the Year: It is very hot in May

Person: Steve is my best friend.
Animals: Toto is our pet monkey.
Things: The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
Place: Jaipur is called the pink city of India.

Read more:

Know about Nouns and Types

Quiz on nouns

Rules for Use of Proper Noun.

(a) It are always written with a Capital Letter at the beginning.

• Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal.
• The River Nile flows through Egypt.

(b) A word or phrase is sometimes added to a it to prevent ambiguity of reference.

 “Alexander the Great” shows that Alexander is meant for many different persons who might be called by this name.

(c) ‘The’ is used before Proper Noun

• The names of rivers: the Ganga
• The name of gulf: the Persian Gulf
• The names of the seas: the Black Sea
• The names of the mountain ranges: the Himalayas. (But not before a single mountain or a single island: Everest, Java.)
• The names of groups of islands: the Andamans
• The names of ships: the Viceroy
• The names of newspapers: the Statesman
• The names of descriptive geographical or significant names: the Punjab, the Deccan
• The names of a country that is a union of smaller entities: the U. K., the West Indies, the U.S.S.R.
• The names of a country that is plural in form: the United States, the Netherlands
• The names of holy books: the Geeta
• The names of noted public places and important events: the Secretariat”, the High Court, the Senate House, the French Revolution,

(d) Omission of “The” before Proper Noun

“The” is normally not used before Proper Nouns, except when they are particularised:

• Ashok (but, the king Ashok)
• Homer (but, the Homer of India),
• Gold (but, the gold of Australia),
• Honesty (but, the honesty of the boy).

“A” or “An” are not used before Proper Nouns

Read more about:

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Examples Exercises Answers

Proper Noun becomes Common Noun

(a) A Proper Noun becomes a Common Noun when it denotes a class of persons or things and is used in a descriptive sense.

• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is the Scott( a great essayist like Scott) of Bengal.
• Valmiki is the Homer( a great poet like Homer) of India.
• He is the Einstein (a great physicist like Einstein) of the age.

(b) A proper Noun becomes a Common Noun when it applies to several persons of the same name or when it denotes some rank or office or some class of persons or things.

Some words like Czar, Sultan are used as common nouns because they indicate persons holding a certain rank or office.

So, we can say “ the Czar of Russia ”, or “the Sultan of Turkey. ”
I know the Agrawals in Kolkata. ( Several people of the same name)
There are two Roys here. ( Several people of the same name)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are proper nouns used?
Ans: It is used to name a particular person, animal, place, or thing.

What is noun definition and uses?
Ans: It refers to the special names of some persons, animals, places, or things

It is used to name particular buildings, roads, and streets, villages, towns, cities, states, countries, continents, hills, mountains, oceans, rivers, and they also include names of holidays, days of the week, months of the year.

What are 10 examples of proper noun?
Ans: Person: Steve is my best friend.
Animals: Toto is our pet monkey.
Things: The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.
Place: Jaipur is called the pink city of India.

Buildings: The Victoria Memorial is a beautiful building.
Roads and Street: He lives on Mount Road.
villages, towns, cities, states, countries, continents: Mumbai, Maharashtra, Switzerland, Europe.
Hills, Mountains: the Nilgiri Hills, the Alps, the Mount Everest
Oceans, Rivers: the River Bhagirathi, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean
names of holidays: Holi
days of the week: The fair starts on Wednesday.
months of the year: It is very hot in May

What is proper noun for definition and example for 5?
Ans: It is the name of a person, place, or thing in particular.

What is proper noun definition and examples for Class 4?
Ans: A proper name is the special name of a person, place, or thing.

What is proper noun definition for kids?
Ans:

What is proper noun for Definition?
Ans: It is the name of some particular person or place. Proper means one’s own. Hence a proper Name is a person’s own name.

What is a simple Definition of proper noun for Class 3?
Ans: A proper name is the special name of a person, place, or thing.

What is proper noun for Class 1?
Ans: Special names of persons, places, or things are called proper nouns.

Read more about Nouns: