Capitalization of proper nouns

Confused about when to use capital letters? Read on to learn about the difference between proper nouns and common nouns, and find out when we use capital letters. 

In English, we capitalise proper nouns no matter where they appear in a sentence. 

Proper nouns are names for specific places, things or people. 

On the other hand, common nouns are general names for places, things or people. 

Take a look at the following examples:

'Australia' is a proper noun. The word 'country' is a common noun as it can refer to any country. 

The 'Sydney Harbour Bridge', 'Tower Bridge' and 'Golden Gate Bridge' are examples of proper nouns. The word 'bridge' is a common noun as it can refer to any bridge in the world.

'Aunt Mary' and 'Uncle Joe' are proper nouns. 'Aunts' and 'uncles' are examples of common nouns.