What is a proper name 4. Proper and common nouns

Many nouns denoting persons, objects and phenomena are usually classified in accordance with the object of naming - this is how the division into a common noun and a proper name appeared.

Common nouns VS onyms

Common nouns (otherwise - appellatives) name objects that have a certain common set of features and belong to a particular class of objects or phenomena. For instance: boy, peach, sturgeon, meeting, mourning, pluralism, uprising.

Proper names, or onyms, call single objects or individuals, for example: writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, town Essentuki, painting " girl with peaches", TV center " Ostankino».

Proper names and common nouns, examples of which we have given above, are traditionally opposed to each other, as they have different meanings and do not coincide in the sphere of their functioning.

Typology of common names

The common noun in Russian forms special lexical and grammatical categories, the words in which are grouped depending on the type of the naming object:

1. Specific names (they are also called "concrete-objective") serve as the names of persons, living beings, objects. These words change in numbers and are combined with cardinal numbers: teacher - teachers - the first teacher; chick - chicks; cube - cubes.

2. Abstract, or abstract, nouns name the state, sign, action, result: success, hope, creativity, merit.

3. Real, or material, nouns (they are also called "concrete-material") - words specific in semantics that name certain substances. These words most often do not have a correlative plural form. There are the following groups of real nouns: nominations of food products ( butter, sugar, tea), drug names ( iodine, streptocide), names of chemicals ( fluorine, beryllium), minerals and metals ( potassium, magnesium, iron), other substances ( rubble, snow). Such common nouns, examples of which are given above, can be used in the plural form. This is appropriate when it comes to types and varieties of a substance: wines, cheeses; about the space that is filled with this substance: sands of the Sahara, neutral waters.

4. Collective nouns name a certain set of homogeneous objects, the unity of persons or other living beings: foliage, students, nobility.

"Shifts" in the meaning of common names

Sometimes a common noun includes in its meaning an indication not only of a certain class of objects, but also of some very specific object within its class. This happens if:

• The individual characteristics of the object are ignored as such: for example, there is a folk sign “ Kill a spider - forty sins will be forgiven”, and in this context, it does not mean any particular spider, but absolutely any.
• In the described situation, one specific object of this class is meant: for example, “ Come sit on the bench» - the interlocutors know exactly where the meeting point is.
• The individual features of an object can be described with explanatory definitions: for example: “ I can't forget the wonderful day we met”, - the speaker stands out a specific day among a series of other days.

The transition of nouns from onyms to appellatives

Separate proper names are sometimes used to generically designate a number of homogeneous objects, then they turn into common nouns. Examples: Dzhimorda, Don Juan; Napoleon cake; colt, mauser, revolver; ohm, amp.

Proper names that have become appellatives are called eponyms. In modern speech, they are usually used to jokingly or derogatoryly speak about someone: Aesculapius(doctor), pele(football player) Schumacher(racer, lover of fast driving).

An animate common noun can also become an eponym if any product or institution is called like that: sweets " Bear in the north", butter " Kuban Burenka", a restaurant " Senator».

Nomenclature units and trademarks-eponyms

The class of eponyms also includes any proper name of an object or phenomenon, which begins to be used as a common noun for the entire class of similar objects. Examples of eponyms are words such as " diapers, tampax, xerox, in modern speech used as a common noun.

The transition of the own trademark naming into the category of eponyms eliminates the value and uniqueness in the perception of the manufacturer's brand. Yes, an American corporation Xerox, for the first time in 1947, which introduced the world to a device for copying documents, “etched out” the common noun from the English language xerox, replacing it with photocopier and photocopy. In Russian, the words " xerox, xerox, xerox and even " xerify" turned out to be more tenacious, since there is no more suitable word; " photocopy" and its derivatives are not very good options.

A similar situation with the product of the American multinational company Procter & Gamble - diapers Pampers. Any diapers from another company with similar moisture-absorbing qualities are called diapers.

Spelling of proper and common names

The common noun rule governing the spelling norm in Russian recommends writing with a lowercase letter: kid, grasshopper, dream, prosperity, secularization.

Onims also have their own spelling system, however, simple:

These nouns are usually capitalized: Tatyana Larina, Paris, Academician Koroleva street, dog Sharik.

When used with a generic word, the onym forms its own name, denoting the name of a trademark, event, institution, enterprise, etc.; such naming is capitalized and enclosed in quotation marks: VDNKh metro station, Chicago musical, Eugene Onegin novel, Russian Booker award.

The use of terminology in defining parts of speech and their varieties is a common thing for philologists. For a simple person, often all sorts of tricky names seem to be something unclear and complicated. Many schoolchildren are not given abstract terms denoting varieties of parts of speech, and they turn to their parents for help. Adults have to look again in textbooks or search for information on the Internet.

Today we will try to tell in a simple and understandable Russian language what proper and common nouns are, how they differ, how to find them and use them correctly in speech and in the text.

What is the part of speech?

Before determining the part of speech in Russian, you need to correctly ask a question to the word and determine what it means. If the word you have chosen matches the questions “who?” or “what?”, but it denotes an object, then it is a noun. This simple truth is easily learned even by schoolchildren, many adults remember. But the question of whether a proper or common noun is in front of you can already confuse a person. Let's try to figure out what these linguistic definitions mean.

Answer in meaning

All words belonging to the part of speech we are considering are divided into several types and categories according to different criteria. One of the classifications is the division into proper and common nouns. It is not so difficult to distinguish between them, you just need to understand the meaning of the word. If a separate specific person or some single object is called, then it is your own, and if the meaning of the word indicates the common name of many similar objects, persons or phenomena, then you have a common noun.

Let's explain this with examples. The word "Alexandra" is proper because it denotes the name of an individual. The words "girl, girl, woman" are common nouns because they are a common name for all females. The difference becomes clear, but it lies in the meaning.

Names and nicknames

It is customary to classify several groups of words as proper nouns.

The first is the name, patronymic and surname of a person, as well as his nickname or pseudonym. This also includes cat, dog and nicknames of other animals. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, Murka, Pushinka, Sharik, Druzhok - these names distinguish one particular creature from others of their own kind. If we pick up a common noun for the same objects, then we can say: a poet, a cat, a dog.

Names on the map

The second group of words are the names of various geographical objects. Let's give examples: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Washington, Neva, Volga, Rhine, Russia, France, Norway, Europe, Africa, Australia. For comparison, let's give a common noun corresponding to the given names: city, river, country, continent.

space objects

The third group includes various astronomical names. These are, for example, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, the Solar System, the Milky Way. Each of the above names is a proper name, and you can pick up a common noun generalized in meaning to it. Examples of these objects correspond with the words planet, galaxy.

Names and brands

Another group of words that belong to their own are the various names of something - shops, cafes, literary works, paintings, magazines, newspapers, and so on. In the phrase "shop" Magnet "" the first is a common noun, and the second is a proper noun. Let us give more similar examples: the Chocolate Girl cafe, the novel War and Peace, the painting Pond, the Murzilka magazine, the Arguments and Facts newspaper, the Sedov sailboat, the Babaevsky plant, the Gefest gas stove, Consultant Plus system, Chardonnay wine, Napoleon cake, United Russia party, Nika award, Alyonka chocolate, Ruslan plane.

Spelling features

Since proper names indicate a specific single object, marking it from all other similar ones, they also stand out in writing - they are written with a capital letter. Children learn this at the very beginning of schooling: last names, first names, patronymics, symbols on the map, animal names, other names of something are capitalized. Examples: Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, Vanka, Ivan Kalita, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Novgorod, Angara, Cyprus, Turkey, Australia, Zhuchka, Fluff, Murzik.

There is one more feature of writing proper nouns, it concerns the names of factories, firms, enterprises, ships, periodicals (newspapers and magazines), works of art and literature, feature films, documentaries and other films, performances, cars, drinks, cigarettes and other similar words. Such names are written not only with a capital letter, but also enclosed in quotation marks. In philological science, they are called their own names. Examples: Niva car, Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Mayak radio, Ruslan and Lyudmila poem, Chanel perfume, Za Rulem magazine, Troika cigarettes, Fanta drink, Enlightenment publishing house , Abba group, Kinotavr festival.

A proper noun begins with a capital letter, a common noun begins with a lowercase letter. This simple rule often helps a person in determining spelling norms. This rule is easy to remember, but sometimes there are difficulties. As you know, the Russian language is rich in its exceptions to every rule. Such difficult cases are not included in the school curriculum, and therefore, in the tasks of the textbook on the Russian language, even younger students can easily determine by the first letter in the word whether their own or common noun is in front of them.

Transition of a proper name into a common noun and vice versa

As noted above, a common noun is a generalized name for something. But the Russian language is a living, changing system, and sometimes various transformations and changes take place in it: sometimes common nouns become proper ones. For example: earth is land, Earth is a planet in the solar system. Universal human values, denoted by common nouns love, faith and hope, have long become female names - Faith, Hope, Love. In the same way, some animal nicknames and other names arise: Ball, Snowball, etc.

The reverse process also occurs in Russian, when proper nouns become common nouns. So, from the own name of the Italian physicist Volta, the unit of electrical voltage, the volt, was named. The name of the master of musical instruments Saks became a common noun "saxophone". The Dutch city of Bruges gave its name to the word "pants". The names of the great gunsmiths - Mauser, Colt, Nagant - became the names of pistols. And there are many such examples in the language.

Nouns name objects, phenomena or concepts. These meanings are expressed using the categories of gender, number, and case. All nouns belong to the groups of own and common nouns. Proper nouns, which serve as the names of single objects, are opposed to common nouns, denoting generalized names of homogeneous objects.

Instruction

To determine common nouns, establish whether the named object or phenomenon belongs to the class of homogeneous objects (city, person, song). The grammatical feature of common nouns is the category of number, i.e. using them in the singular and plural (cities, people, songs). Please note that most real, abstract and collective nouns do not have a plural form (gasoline, inspiration, youth).

To determine proper nouns, determine whether the name is an individual designation of the subject, i.e. does it highlight " name» an object from a number of homogeneous (Moscow, Russia, Sidorov). Proper nouns call the names and surnames of persons and nicknames of animals (Nekrasov, Pushok, Frou-frou) - geographical and astronomical objects (America, Stockholm, Venus) - institutions, organizations, print media (Pravda newspaper, Spartak team, store "El Dorado").

Proper names, as a rule, do not change in numbers and are used only in the singular (Voronezh) or only in the plural (Sokolniki). Please note that there are exceptions to this rule. Proper nouns are used in the plural form if they denote different persons and objects that have the same name (both Americas, Petrov's namesakes) - persons who are related (the Fedorov family). Also, proper nouns can be used in the plural form, if they name a certain type of people, “highlighted” according to the qualitative characteristics of a famous literary character. Please note that in this meaning, nouns lose their sign of belonging to a group of single objects, therefore, both the use of an uppercase and a lowercase letter (Chichikovs, Famusovs, Pechorins) is acceptable.

The orthographic feature that distinguishes between proper nouns and common nouns is the use of a capital letter and quotation marks. At the same time, all proper names are always written with a capital letter, and the names of institutions, organizations, works, objects are used as applications and are enclosed in quotation marks (the ship "Fyodor Chaliapin", Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons"). Any part of speech can be included in the appendix, but the first word is always capitalized (Daniel Defoe's novel The Life and Adventures of the Sailor Robinson Crusoe).

When opening a new Internet resource, one of the most difficult problems is choosing the right name. This process is further complicated by the fact that most of the monosyllabic domain names are already taken by more efficient Internet startups. But there is still a way out.

You will need

• - resource brand-book;
• - a list of theses of the semantic load of the title.

Instruction

Divide the name selection process into two successive steps: choosing a name for the resource itself and choosing a domain name. First of all, you need to find the best options for the name. It is necessary to determine the main goals and objectives of the resource, the policy for creating content and the style of presenting the material. It does not matter whether the resource is commercial or not.

Create a list of abstracts for the future name based on the accepted brand book. They should outline the informative and emotional content of the future name. There are no clear restrictions when compiling such a list: these can be nouns and verbs, proper names and common nouns, they can express emotions and feelings.

Gather an initiative group of employees related to the resource and brainstorm. To increase efficiency, it is necessary to distribute in advance to all participants the task of compiling a list of abstracts. At their discretion, everyone should make an arbitrary written description of the most important informative features of the future site name. During the brainstorming session, ask everyone to read their list in turn and, as part of a peer discussion, select the most successful proposals.

Summarize the brainstorming and make a final list of abstracts. On their basis, each of the members of the initiative group must draw up a list of names and titles. It is best to limit the number of suggested options by quantity.

Gather suggested lists and try to find some of the best names. After that, check if the same domain names are free, including those in the rf zone. If you don't find an exact match, take a seat, otherwise try modifying the site name by using valid punctuation marks, numbers instead of letters, etc.

Nouns are divided into proper and common nouns according to their meaning. The very definitions of this part of speech have Old Slavonic roots.

The term "common" comes from "reproaches", "reproach", and is used for the general name of homogeneous, similar objects and phenomena, and "proper" means "feature", an individual person or a single object. This naming distinguishes it from other objects of the same type.

For example, the common word "river" defines all rivers, but the Dnieper, Yenisei are proper names. These are constant grammatical features of nouns.

What are proper names in Russian

A proper name is an exclusive name for an object, phenomenon, person, different from others, standing out from other multiple concepts.

These are the names and nicknames of people, the names of countries, cities, rivers, seas, astronomical objects, historical events, holidays, books and magazines, animal names.

Also, ships, enterprises, various institutions, product brands and much more that require a special name can have their own names. May consist of one or more words.

Spelling is determined by the following rule: all proper names are capitalized. For instance: Vanya, Morozko, Moscow, Volga, Kremlin, Russia, Russia, Christmas, Battle of Kulikovo.

Names that have a conditional or symbolic meaning are enclosed in quotation marks. These are the names of books and various publications, organizations, firms, events, etc.

Compare: The Bolshoi Theatre, but the Sovremennik theater, the Don River and the Quiet Don novel, the play Thunderstorm, the Pravda newspaper, the Admiral Nakhimov motor ship, the Lokomotiv stadium, the Bolshevichka factory, the Mikhailovskoye Museum-Reserve.

Note: the same words, depending on the context, are common or proper and are written according to the rules. Compare: bright sun and star Sun, native earth and planet Earth.

Proper names, consisting of several words and denoting a single concept, are underlined as one member of the sentence.

Let's look at an example: Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov wrote a poem that made him famous. So, in this sentence, the subject will be three words (first name, patronymic and last name).

Types and examples of proper nouns

Proper names are studied by the linguistic science of onomastics. This term is derived from the ancient Greek word and means "the art of giving names"

This area of ​​linguistics deals with the study of information about the name of a specific, individual object and identifies several types of names.

Anthroponyms are called proper names and surnames of historical figures, folklore or literary characters, famous and ordinary people, their nicknames or pseudonyms. For instance: Abram Petrovich Hannibal, Ivan the Terrible, Lenin, Lefty, Judas, Koschey the Immortal.

Toponyms study the appearance of geographical names, names of cities, streets, which may reflect the specifics of the landscape, historical events, religious motifs, lexical features of the indigenous population, economic signs. For instance: Rostov-on-Don, Kulikovo field, Sergiev Posad, Magnitogorsk, Strait of Magellan, Yaroslavl, Black Sea, Volkhonka, Red Square, etc.

Astronyms and cosmonyms analyze the appearance of the names of celestial bodies, constellations, galaxies. Examples: Earth, Mars, Venus, Halley's Comet, Stozhary, Ursa Major, Milky Way.

There are other sections in onomastics that study the names of deities and mythological heroes, the names of nationalities, the names of animals, etc., helping to understand their origin.

Common noun - what is it

These nouns name any concept from a set of similar ones. They have a lexical meaning, that is, informativeness, in contrast to proper names, which do not have such a property and only name, but do not express the concept, do not reveal its properties.

The name doesn't tell us anything Sasha, it only identifies a particular person. In the phrase girl Sasha, we learn the age and gender.

Common noun examples

Common names are all the realities of the world around us. These are words expressing specific concepts: people, animals, natural phenomena, objects, etc.

Examples: doctor, student, dog, sparrow, thunderstorm, tree, bus, cactus.

Can denote abstract entities, qualities, states or characteristics:courage, understanding, fear, danger, peace, power.

How to define a proper or common noun

A common noun can be distinguished by meaning, because it names an object or phenomenon related to homogeneous, and a grammatical feature, because it can change by numbers ( year - years, man - people, cat - cats).

But many nouns (collective, abstract, real) do not have a plural form ( childhood, darkness, oil, inspiration) or the only one ( frosts, weekdays, darkness). Common nouns are written with a small letter.

Proper nouns are the distinctive name of single objects. They can only be used in the singular or plural ( Moscow, Cheryomushki, Baikal, Catherine II).

But if they call different persons or objects, they can be used in the plural ( Ivanov family, both Americas). Capitalized, enclosed in quotation marks if necessary.

It is worth noting: between proper and common names there is a constant exchange, they tend to move into the opposite category. common words Faith Hope Love became proper names in Russian.

Many borrowed names were also originally common nouns. For instance, Peter - "stone" (Greek), Victor - "winner" (Lat.), Sophia - "wisdom" (Greek).

Often in history, proper names become common nouns: bully (English Houlihan family with a bad reputation), volt (physicist Alessandro Volta), colt (inventor Samuel Colt). Literary characters can acquire a common noun: donquixote, Judas, plushkin.

Toponyms have given names to many objects. For instance: cashmere fabric (Kashmir Valley of Hindustan), cognac (province in France). At the same time, an animate proper name becomes an inanimate common noun.

And vice versa, it happens that generic concepts become uncommon: Lefty, cat Fluff, signor Tomato.