Johnny Bananas and my dad went to the mall, Johnny wearing Nikes and my dad wearing regular shoes.
The above sentence contains seven nouns, three of them capitalized: Johnny Bananas, my dad, the mall, Johnny, Nikes, my dad, regular shoes.
So, why capitalize these three nouns and not the others? The capitalized nouns classify as proper nouns, meaning they name specific people, places, and things, such as Johnny Bananas. This differentiates from regular nouns that name general people, places, and things, like dad.
Proper Nouns vs. Common Nouns: Know the Difference
Proper nouns, such as people’s names and movie titles, always get capitalized no matter where they appear in a sentence. On the other hand, common nouns never get capitalized unless they begin a sentence.
Proper noun examples:
- LeBron James
- Ford Mustang
- Christmas
- January
Common noun examples:
- basketball player
- car
- holiday
- month
Capitalize correctly to enhance your writing’s clarity.
When speaking, the distinction between these two doesn’t matter very much.
However, in writing, we must know when to use capital letters so that our writing maintains an academic, formal, detail-oriented, appropriate tone. Using capitals correctly will make your writing easier to read and can also control the pace at which your audience reads your text.
When to Capitalize Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
Below, find rules and examples for some of the trickiest capitalization situations.
Seasons (common noun): lower-case
Days of the week, months, and holidays (proper nouns): capitalized
Since we capitalize months (like May) and days of the week (like Saturday), it seems natural that we would also capitalize seasons (like spring), but we only capitalize them when part of a specific title or name (Spring Formal or Winter Break).
Seasons, broader and more loosely defined than days of the week or months, classify as common nouns.
Correct: I will travel to Maine this spring.
Incorrect: Did you travel home for spring break?
Correct: I will travel to Maine this May, for Christmas.
Incorrect: Did you fly home on tuesday, for mother’s day?
General title categories (common noun): lower-case
Specific people’s names, including their title (proper noun): capitalized
Specificity distinguishes between proper and common nouns. A specifically named person or group, a proper noun, requires a capital letter. The title only gets capitalized if part of the name, or substituting for a name.
So, when using a term like Mom to substitute for a name, the term becomes a proper noun and gets capitalized. When titles like doctor or professor precede a name, like Doctor Johnson, the proper noun gets capitalized.
Conversely, when you use articles like a, my, or the before the title, as in my mom or even the president, it generalizes into a common noun.
Correct: My boyfriend still hasn’t met my mom.
Incorrect: Did you hear that mom got us a new TV?
Correct: The president of the university went to meet Professor Contreras.
Incorrect: He heard from doctor Johnson that advil will help.
Directions and general locations (common noun): lower-case
Specific destinations (proper noun): capitalized
Similar to titles and seasons, directions only become proper nouns when referring to specific destinations. Otherwise, general directions remain uncapitalized common nouns.
When used as a directional adjective, like in western Washington or northern California, the direction remains a common noun. Still, directions can become part of a specific location title (The Pacific Northwest), in which case they get capitalized.
Correct: Will you head east during the holidays?
Incorrect: I attended college in south Florida.
General items (common noun): lower-case
Brands and brand-name items (proper noun): capitalized
General items, like tissues or cell phones or gaming consoles, classify as common nouns and begin with lower-case letters.
Specific item or brand-related titles, like Kleenex or Galaxy Z Flip or Playstation 5, become proper nouns and get capitalized.
Correct: Please pass me that Kleenex.
Incorrect: We need to open a new box of Tissues.
Correct: My brother just got some purple Converse All Stars.
Incorrect: I have a pair of red vans.
Other tricky rules and patterns to keep in mind while you write:
As you head on your way to write with confidence and distinction, remember the golden rule of common and proper nouns: specificity is king. If you name something specifically, those proper nouns always need a capital. General, non-specific nouns become common and require lower-case.
Capitalized proper nouns
- states (Wisconsin)
- religions (He is Buddhist)
- organizations (Kaiser Permanente)
- books (Crime and Punishment)
- languages (I speak Spanish)
- historical periods (World War II)
- specific course titles (Chemistry 101)
Uncapitalized common nouns
- lunar terms (the sun and the moon)
- school subjects (I study chemistry)
