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
Kunhee
Princesa
Kiernan
Michaela
John
Nicole
Skyler
Ellie
Kerolos
Makenzie
Tyler
Ugne
Ian
Audree
David
Madison
Phillip
Jessica
Kona
Marina
Serena
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. Turner
Mrs. Stewart Mrs. Fagen
Mrs. Zollman
day and month are Common
Nouns
The NAMES of the days and months are
Proper Nouns and should be capitalized
January
Sunday February
Monday March
Tuesday April
Wednesday May
Thursday June
Friday July
Saturday 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 Indiana
Carmel New York
Westfield Florida
Chicago Ohio
San Diego Illinois
Detroit California
Orlando Texas
Boston
What are some other examples of Common Nouns?

Can you make them each a Proper Noun?

Common Noun Proper Noun

Singer Justin Bieber

The NAME of a singer

Common Noun Proper Noun

Movie Finding Nemo

The NAME of a movie

Common Noun Proper Noun

Author Eric Carle

The NAME of an author

Common Noun Proper Noun

Book Harry Potter

The NAME of a book

Common Noun Proper Noun

Song 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 Abbreviation
January Jan.
February Feb.
March March
April April
May May
June June
July July
August Aug.
September Sep.
October Oct.
November Nov.
December 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 Abbreviation
Sunday Sun.
Monday Mon.
Tuesday Tues.
Wednesday Wed.
Thursday Thurs.
Friday Fri.
Saturday 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.