1. What is a Proper Noun?
A proper noun is the name of a specific person, place, or thing. It's always capitalized.
2. Key Characteristics:
* Specific: They identify a unique individual, location, or object.
* Capitalized: Always begins with a capital letter, no matter where they appear in a sentence.
3. Examples:
* People: John, Sarah, Ms. Smith, President Biden
* Places: London, Mount Everest, the Amazon River, Central Park
* Things: The Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, the Titanic
4. How to Identify:
* Ask yourself: Does this word name a specific person, place, or thing?
* Look for capitalization: If a word is capitalized, it's likely a proper noun.
* Consider context: Sometimes, a word might seem like a common noun, but it becomes a proper noun in a specific context. For example, "school" is a common noun, but "Westside High School" is a proper noun.
5. Common Mistakes:
* Days of the week and months of the year: These are proper nouns (Monday, December).
* Holidays: These are also proper nouns (Thanksgiving, Christmas).
Example Sentences:
* John went to London and visited the Tower of London.
* Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington.
* The Golden Gate Bridge is a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco.
Remember: Proper nouns are important because they help us identify specific people, places, and things. They add clarity and specificity to our writing.