What is a Noun?
It is a word that names a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. Like:
Person: boy, teacher, Josh, doctor
Place: Malang, Miami, city, countryside
Thing: house, tree, horse, bicycle, ice cream
Idea: Pancasila, democracy, truth illusion, fantasy
Quality: beauty, caring, hatred, boredom
When do we use noun?
We use
nouns all the
time when we write
letters to
friends or
papers for
class. (For example, all these underlined words are nouns.) Next, we'll look the rules of capitalizing nouns so you can avoid making those
mistakes when you write.
When to Capitalize Nouns?
Names of specific people
CAPS: Tucker, Tori, Juanita, Denzel, the Stevens family, the Joneses
NO CAPS: family, boy, girl, sister, cousin
What about mom and dad? Capitalize them when you're calling your parent's name but not when you refer to "my mom" or "my dad."
CAPS: Hi, Mom! Welcome home, Dad.
NO CAPS: My father and my mother are busy. Could your mom or your dad drive us
to the movie?
Days of the week, months, and holidays, but not seasons
CAPS: Monday, December, Passover, Easter
NO CAPS: autumn, fall, spring, winter, summer
Ranks and titles, but only when used with a particular person's name
CAPS: This is Doctor Smith, this is Aunt Anne, and that man is General Bradshaw.
NO CAPS: That man is my doctor, that woman is my aunt, and that man is a general in the army.
Geographic Areas: cities, states, countries, counties, rivers, oceans, streets, parks
CAPS: North Dakota, Ohio River, Atlantic Ocean, Franklin Street, Umstead Park,
Lake Jordan, Rocky Mountains
NO CAPS: The ocean is deep. The mountains are high.
Regions of the countries. For example: United States, but not simple directions
CAPS: I was born in the Midwest, but I grew up in the North.
NO CAPS: I live on the north side of town.
Historical Periods
CAPS: the Renaissance, World War II, the Middle Ages, the Civil War
NO CAPS: It was a long war. We live in an age of computers.
Religions, nationalities, races of people, languages, countries and adjectives related to those countries
CAPS: Christians, Jews, Asians, Africans, Japanese, Arabic, France, French fries,
Germany, German measles
The various names for God and the names of sacred books
CAPS: God, Jehovah, Allah, the Bible, the Koran
NO CAPS: There were many gods and goddesses in ancient myths.
Specific school courses, but not general subjects
CAPS: I'm taking Algebra 101 and History of China.
NO CAPS: I'm taking algebra and history.
Names of specific schools, businesses, buildings, organizations.
CAPS: Apple Computer, Phillips Middle School, the University of Ohio
NO CAPS: I want a new computer. That building is a middle school. I plan to attend a university.
Brand names
CAPS: Chevrolet Camaro, Nintendo, Cheerios, Nestle's Crunch
Names of planets, but not sun and moon and sometimes not earth
CAPS: Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Earth (capitalized when you're referring to it as one
of the planets)
NO CAPS: The moon is full tonight.
More than five billion people live on the earth.
Letters that stand alone
CAPS: U-turn, T-shirt, X-ray, an A+ in social studies class
Names of specific teams and clubs and their members
CAPS: the Atlanta Braves, the Republican Party, Republicans
NO CAPS: I play on a baseball team.
Titles of movies, books, chapters, and articles
CAPS: Jurassic Park, ''Tar Heels Beat Duke 102-96," Gulliver's Travels
NO CAPS: Little words (articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions) are usually not
capitalized unless they are the beginning word:
For example: The Life and Times of King Joshua the Great they are part of the verb:
"Thief Holds Up Bank" (Up is not a preposition; it is part of the verb to hold up.)
Now, you can underline all nouns that you can find.
(source: Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliott, Ph.D. Published in New York by Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1997)
