A?Noun?is a name. This name can be that of a living being, a place, a thing or an idea.
For example:
Vinod?is a friendly?boy.
(?Vinod? and ?boy? are both names of living beings.)
I am standing on the?road?near?India Gate.
(?Road? and ?India Gate? are both names of places.)
The only?soft drink?that he drinks is?Pepsi.
(?Soft drink? and ?Pepsi? are both names of things.)
He will come in the?month?of?June.
(?Month? and ?June? are both names of ideas.)
Proper and Common Nouns
Now, the next thing to know is that a noun can be the particular name of a living being, place, thing or idea. In the above examples, ?Vinod?, ?India Gate?, ?Pepsi? and ?June? are all particular names. Such particular names are known as?Proper Nouns.
So, then what are ?boy?, ?road?, ?soft drink? and ?month?? These nouns are the general names of a living being, place, thing and idea. Such general names are known as?Common Nouns.
Hence, proper nouns are the unique names of living beings, places, things and ideas; while common nouns are the names of living beings, places, things and ideas of the same kind or class.
For example:
Naina?is a good?girl.
(?Naina? is a proper noun and ?girl? is a common noun.)
This?rhinoceros?is called?Pintoo.
(?Pintoo? is a proper noun and ?rhinoceros? is a common noun.)
January?is the first?month?of the?year.
(?January? is a proper noun; ?month? and ?year? are common nouns.)
Last?week, she was absent on?Monday.
(?Monday? is a proper noun and ?week? is a common noun.)
Chennai?is a?city?in?Tamil Nadu.
(?Chennai? and ?Tamil Nadu? are proper nouns; ?city? is a common noun.)
English?is a funny?language.
(?English? is a proper noun and ?language? is a common noun.)
Shakespeare?was a great?writer.
(?Shakespeare? is a proper noun and ?writer? is a common noun.)
Which?newspaper?do you read?
I read?The?Indian Express.
(?The Indian Express? is a proper noun and ?newspaper? is a common noun.)
Which?book?were you reading?
I was reading?The Great Expectations.
(?The Great Expectations? is a proper noun and ?book? is a common noun.)
Can I have some?water?
You can have?Limca.
(?Limca? is a proper noun and ?water? is a common noun.) It is right
