Proper and Common Nouns

Most of us know that a noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.  Nouns can further be divided into two distinct groups:  Proper nouns and common nouns.  Proper nouns name specific, one of a kind things, and they begin with a capital letter, regardless of where they appear in a sentence.  Common nouns, on the other hand, name general, non-specific things, and they are not capitalized unless they are the first word of a sentence.  For instance, "boy" is a common noun.  "Bob," on the other hand, is a proper noun because it signifies a specific boy.  Therefore, it would be capitalized.  (Note that if it is not capitalized, it can mean something entirely different than your cousin.) More...