Capitalization rules for nouns


English language has a different set of rules for every single aspect, be it grammar, punctuation or pronunciation. Using them appropriately will give you a base to improve your English. Grammar is the base which provides a strong support to the language. Therefore, it is imperative to learn about the rules of capitalization. We all know the basic rule to capitalize the first letter in a sentence. But, there are more rules which may confuse you. Continuous practice is all it takes to be fluent in English. Capitalization rules are almost same but sometimes a little different for nouns.

common noun

The capitalization rules for nouns:

As you might be knowing, noun is nothing but name of a person, place, thing, and action. It is further divided into proper noun and common noun.

What is a common noun?

Common nouns are words that name people, places, and things. They don’t refer to actual names of the people, places or things.


He is not from this country.
She delivered a baby girl.

From the above examples, girl and country are common nouns. As per the first example, he can be from any country.

Now when it comes to capitalizing common nouns, we don’t capitalize them unless they are in the beginning of a sentence or a part of title.


1) I love playing this game.
2) Mother cooked my favorite dish.
3) He received a gift from his sister.

The highlighted words in the above sentences show common nouns. However, in the second example, although mother is a common noun it is capitalized, because the word “mother” is at the beginning of a sentence.

What is a proper noun?

Proper nouns are names of a specific place, person or thing. Proper nouns are capitalized when they are in a sentence.


1) I love playing this game Danny.
2) Mother cooked my favorite dish, Pav Bhaji.
3) He received a gift from his sister who lives in London.

From the above examples, you can see the highlighted words which refer to a specific person, thing and place and hence, they are capitalized.

Take a test and judge yourself on how well have you learnt the rules:

1. Parimala is going to europe this summer.
2. Her Father bought her an IPhone 5.
3. Radhika is getting hitched this june.
4. I am joining english class this vacation.
5. Rani enjoys winter season.


1.Europe 2.father 3.June 4.English 5.Winter

The above examples will clear your basic rules for capitalization. However, you can improve your English better by joining a spoken English course. Learn with practice.

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-By Shailja Varma

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