T11 Proper Nouns

Topic 11   Proper Nouns

A Proper Noun refers to the specific name of a person, animal, thing, place / event.  The first letter of a  Proper Noun is always capitalised.  It is not used with articles and other determiners unless it is used in a special way.

A Common Noun refers to the general name of a person, animal, thing, place / event.

A specific name of a/an

1.  person                     :  Ali, Cecilia, Mary, Samy

2.  animal              :  Lubee, the dog;  Pussy, the cat, Lionee,

                                 the lion; Popo, the polar bear

3.  thing                :  Hello, Kitty;  TV3;  Proton Saga, Toyota,

                                National, Penasonic, Sony, Akira, the Sibu

                                Airport

4.  place                :  Double Happiness Restaurant, 

                                Sibu Central Market

     town                :  Sibu, Sarikei, Bintulu

     city                  :  Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Tokyo,

     countries          :  Australia, China, Germany, Japan,

                               Malaysia, Norway ,

                           (Exceptions:  the Philippines, the United

                             Nations, the United States of America)

5.  ocean               :  the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean,

                                 the Pacific Ocean,

     sea                  :  the South China Sea,

                                the Mediterranean sea,     

     river                :  the Rejang River, the Yellow River,    

6.  mountain ranges       :  the Himalayas, the Alps

     single Mountain        :  *Mount Fuji  (without ‘the’ for single

                                          mountain)

7.  book                 :  War and Peace, 

                                 the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

8.  event                :  Deepavali,   Hari Raya Puasa,  Moon cake

                                Festival, 

Common Nouns

1.  person                     :  boy | man | girl | woman | accountant |

                                doctor |electrician | nurse | teacher

2.  animal              :  bear | cat | dog | eagle | goose | horse |

                                lion | mouse 

3.  thing                :  bicycle | car | dam | fan | garlic | hat | iron

                                | jar | kettle

4.  place                :  airport | canteen | house | market | office

                                | post office  |school | village | ocean | sea

                                | river | mountain

5.  event                :  festival | sports day | anniversary                    

Ordinary and Special uses of The Proper Noun

1.     [My father] has many friends named (Tom).  [A Tom] called up a few minutes ago.

2.     [George] speaks (the Japanese language) very well.  [He]  speaks (Japanese) with (his friends) every day. 

3.     [Vivian] likes to eat (moon cake).  [She] always eats (a lot of moon cakes) during (the Moon Cake Festival).

4.     [The Japanese soldiers] killed (many Chinese) during

(World War II).

5.  [The Rejang River] is / the longest river/ in Sarawak.

6.  [Malaysia] is a country bestowed with abundant natural   

     resources.   This is a Malaysia-made car.