Question

What are the proper and general nouns in the following sentence?: Bill went to the store and met with the manager.

Answer 1

Proper nouns are specific, capitalized nouns. Common/general nouns are common/general (hence, the name) and are never capitalized.

Explanation:

In this sentence, there is only one proper noun (Bill). Bill is a proper noun because it is specific (a particular person, opposed to the general noun person which could mean anyone), and it is capitalized. Names of specific people (George Washington, Genghis Khan, Joe, Mrs. Johnson, etc.) are proper.

The common nouns are store and manager. The sentence does not specify the store or manager and neither is capitalized.