Common vs Proper Nouns: Name That Thing!

What You'll Learn

• A proper noun names a specific thing — like Rex, Chicago, or Mrs. Smith.
• Proper nouns are ALWAYS capitalized — they get a big first letter.
• Days of the week, months, and holidays are proper nouns too.
• Proper nouns are like giving something its own special name tag.
• The word "noun" comes from the Latin word "nomen," meaning "name."

Words to Know

Common Noun

A general name for a person, place, or thing — not capitalized

dog, city, teacher, book

Proper Noun

A specific name for a person, place, or thing — always capitalized

Rex, Chicago, Mrs. Smith, Harry Potter

Capitalized

Starting a word with a big uppercase letter

"Chicago" starts with a capital C

Noun

A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea

"dog," "city," and "Rex" are all nouns

Specific

One exact, particular thing — not just any thing

"Rex" is specific, but "dog" could be any dog

Category

A group of things that are similar

"dog" is a category — Rex is one member of it

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• A common noun names a general person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., dog, city, teacher) and is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence.

  Source: CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.L.3.1.A

• A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing (e.g., Rex, Chicago, Mrs. Smith) and is always capitalized.

  Source: CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.L.3.1.A

• Proper nouns include names of specific people, cities, countries, brands, days of the week, months, and holidays.

  Source: Grammar Workbook, "Proper Nouns"

• The word "noun" comes from the Latin word "nomen," meaning "name."

  Source: Online Etymology Dictionary

• Capitalization of proper nouns is required by CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.L.3.2.A, which covers capitalization of words in titles, holidays, and proper nouns.

  Source: Common Core State Standards Initiative

• Common nouns that name a general category can become proper nouns when they refer to one specific instance (e.g., "teacher" vs. "Mrs. Smith").

  Source: Khan Academy, "Introduction to nouns"