What are proper nouns and how are they different from common nouns?

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What are proper nouns and how are they different from common nouns?

Proper nouns are a specific type of noun that are used to refer to a particular person, place, thing, or idea. They are unique and specific, and they always begin with a capital letter.

Proper nouns differ from common nouns in a few key ways. Firstly, proper nouns are used to name specific entities, while common nouns are used to refer to general categories or classes of things. For example, "John" is a proper noun because it refers to a specific person, whereas "man" is a common noun because it refers to any male individual.

Secondly, proper nouns are typically not preceded by an article (such as "a" or "an") because they are already specific and unique. On the other hand, common nouns often require an article to indicate their general nature. For instance, we say "I saw a dog" (common noun) but "I saw Spot" (proper noun).

Furthermore, proper nouns are not usually pluralized, while common nouns can be pluralized to indicate more than one. For example, we say "I visited Paris" (proper noun) but "I visited many cities" (common noun).

Lastly, proper nouns can sometimes be used as adjectives to modify other nouns, while common nouns do not typically function in this way. For instance, we can say "I bought a Nike shoe" (proper noun used as an adjective) but not "I bought a man shoe" (common noun used as an adjective).

In summary, proper nouns are specific and unique names for people, places, things, or ideas, while common nouns are general categories or classes of things. Proper nouns are capitalized, not preceded by articles, not usually pluralized, and can sometimes be used as adjectives.