Proper Nouns
Proper nouns refer to particular persons, places, and things by name. They are capitalized.
|
Category |
Examples |
|
Geographical names |
France, the Atlantic Ocean, Chicago, the Amazon River, the Rocky Mountains |
|
Religions and nationalities |
Catholicism, Buddhists, Chinese, Islam, Muslims, North Americans, Christianity |
|
Historical or artistic periods and events |
World War II, Impressionism, the Middle Ages, the Civil War, the Renaissance |
|
Days, months, or holidays |
Labor Day, Thursday, April, New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July, Easter |
|
Brand or company names |
Pepsi-Cola, Sony, the Bank of America, America Express, Quaker Oats, Cadillac |
|
Titles of publications or published work |
New York Times (newspaper), War and Peace (novel), “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” (poem) |
|
People (including their titles) |
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Jones, Lord Byron, President Lincoln, King James, Senator Black |
|
Course titles (but not fields of study) |
He is taking Philosophy 101. He is studying philosophy. |
Articles and Proper Nouns
Generally, we use zero article with singular proper nouns, and “the” with plural ones. For example, France vs. the United States; Mount Everest vs. the Himalayas; Cuba vs. the Bahamas, etc. However, there are many exceptions. Here are some sub-rules that may be helpful:
|
Rules |
Examples |
|
Any name with a prepositional phrase containing “of” will take “the” |
the Republic of…. the University of Michigan (vs. Harvard University) the Gulf of… the Straits of… the Isle of Wight (vs. Paradise Island) the Fourth of July (vs. Thanksgiving) |
|
Oceans, seas, and rivers take “the” Lakes and streets take zero article |
I live near the Atlantic Ocean, the Hudson River. I live on Lake Ontario, Mulberry Street, Route 64, Fifth Avenue. Exceptions: the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Bronx River Parkway |
|
General regions take “the” |
the South, the Riviera, the East Side, the Arctic, the Western Hemisphere |
|
Nouns of nationality use no article when referring to a language Nouns of nationality take “the” when referring to a people group |
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands. The Dutch live in the Netherlands.
|
Last updated 11/19/2020