We’ve not yet dealt with important features of nouns and associated functions and structures, including some you may already know. Here we discuss several of them. You can also review the basics in our guide to Nouns and browse 80+ English Grammar Articles & Guides for comprehensive learning.
THE COMMON AND THE PROPER
You may already know about common and proper nouns. Common nouns are words like man, woman, child, city, state. They name general, nonspecific persons or things. Proper nouns name particular persons or things, and they’re capitalized: Henry, Annie, Herbert, St. Louis, Missouri. (There are no improper nouns, and if there are, being very proper ourselves, we refuse to discuss them.)
Usually, it’s easy to know when to capitalize a noun, but there can be uncertainly about words that may—or may not—be official titles:
I spoke with Doctor Smith yesterday.
I spoke with the doctor of obstetrics yesterday.
The president of the club lives in that white house.
The President lives in the White House.
Context often has a great deal to do with this. (When Dr. Smith has his business cards printed, the words Doctor of Obstetrics are capitalized.) To make these decisions, notice what is being done in contexts similar to yours.
