CBSE Class 3 English Common and Proper Nouns Notes Set 02

Revision: what is a noun?

A noun is a naming word. It names a person, an animal, a place or a thing. Nouns are of different kinds, and in this lesson we learn two important kinds: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common nouns

A common noun is the general name of any person, place, animal or thing. It does not point to one special person or place; it can be used for all the members of a group.

Examples: boy, teacher, city, river, dog, pastry, book, school.

Look at these sentences. "He is a clown" uses the common noun clown for a person. "They live in a city" uses the common noun city for a place. "It is his dog" uses dog for an animal. "This is a pastry" uses pastry for a thing.

A common noun does not start with a capital letter, unless it is the first word of a sentence or it is part of a title.

Proper nouns

A proper noun is the special name of a particular person, animal, place or thing. Every proper noun begins with a capital letter, wherever it comes in the sentence.

Proper nouns include the names of people, places, pets, days, months, festivals, organisations, rivers, mountains and monuments.

Examples: Neha, Delhi, India, Sunday, March, Diwali, the Ganga, the Himalayas, the Red Fort.

In the sentence "My uncle lives in New Zealand", New Zealand is a proper noun because it names one particular country. In "The Red Fort is situated in New Delhi" both Red Fort and New Delhi are proper nouns. In "My school is on Mahatma Gandhi Road" the name of the road is a proper noun.

Common noun and proper noun together

1. boy (common) : Rahul (proper)

2. city (common) : Mumbai (proper)

3. river (common) : Yamuna (proper)

4. day (common) : Friday (proper)

5. festival (common) : Holi (proper)

6. monument (common) : Taj Mahal (proper)

Key points

1. A common noun is a general name; a proper noun is a particular name.

2. A proper noun always begins with a capital letter.

3. Names of days, months and festivals are proper nouns.

4. A common noun gets a capital letter only at the start of a sentence or in a title.

Worked examples

Example 1. Pick the common noun and the proper noun in "Sita visited a temple."

Sita is the name of one particular girl, so it is a proper noun. Temple is a general name for a place of worship, so it is a common noun.

Example 2. Pick the nouns in "The Taj Mahal is in Agra."

Both Taj Mahal and Agra are special names of one monument and one city, so they are proper nouns.

Example 3. Rewrite correctly: my cousin lives in japan.

Japan is a proper noun and the sentence begins with a capital letter. Correct: My cousin lives in Japan. Here cousin remains a common noun with a small letter.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Writing the name of a person, a day or a month with a small letter. Always write Monday, April and Priya with a capital letter.

2. Using a capital letter for a common noun in the middle of a sentence, such as "My Mother is a Doctor". The correct sentence is "My mother is a doctor".

3. Thinking that a word is only one kind of noun. Teacher is common, but Mrs Sharma, if she is your teacher, is a proper noun.

Remember

If you can say which one particular person, place or thing is meant, the noun is proper. If it could be used for many such persons, places or things, the noun is common.

Quick Check Questions