Capitalization - Proper Nouns

Would you believe that something as small as a capitalization mistake can really jump out at a reader? In fact, too many capitalization errors can start to overshadow your ideas. So for today's blog topic, let's focus on proper nouns.

A noun is a person, place or thing. These are usually general terms. Here are some examples of nouns: child, restaurant, and car.

A proper noun, however, is different. It's the specific name of a person, place or thing. A proper noun must always be capitalized, no matter where it occurs in the sentence. Let's look at some examples.

Instead of just saying "child," I could give the child's name, Robert.
Instead of saying that I went to a "store," I could tell you that I went to Publix.
Instead of saying that I drove my car, I could state that it was a Honda Accord.

Below is a great chart (from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/propernoun.htm) that shows the difference between a noun and a proper noun.



I'd like you to think of a term (or two) that is a regular, common noun. Then, give an example of a proper noun that is more specific. Don't forget to always capitalize your proper noun!

I'll start.
Noun: cake mix
Proper noun: Duncan Hines

Now you try!