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Rvw Posted 22 years ago
Linguistics Studies

Proper nouns

Definitions of 'proper noun' describe it as a noun designating a particular being or thing.

But that is not enough, because in "I am riding my bike.", 'my bike' is a particular bike.

So the definitions add that a proper noun does not take a limiting modifier (such as 'my', 'this', 'a', 'an', ...).

Does anyone know of a satisfactory definition of 'proper noun' that does not resort to the limiting- modifier exclusion?
  

Top answer

The modifier is not part of the noun. A proper noun is limited to the proper name of any individual person, place or thing. It is considered a noun phrase in itself (Eiffel Tower).

— Mister Micawber

  • The modifier is not part of the noun.
  • A proper noun is limited to the proper name of any individual person, place or thing.
  • It is considered a noun phrase in itself (Eiffel Tower).
  • Whether it is preceded by a determiner (the Eiffel Tower-- the real one-- or my Eiffel Tower-- the toy one) is irrelevant.
  • There is no reason not to accept the limiting-modifier exclusion any more than you would not accept the fact that a proper noun is not a verb.
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43 Answers
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The modifier is not part of the noun. A proper noun is limited to the proper name of any individual person, place or thing. It is considered a noun phrase in itself (Eiffel Tower). Whether it is preceded by a determiner (the Eiffel Tower-- the real one-- or my Eiffel Tower-- the toy one) is irrelevant.

There is no reason not to accept the limiting-modifier exclusion any more than you
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I don't think the use of limiting adjectives IS irrelevant.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines 'proper noun' : " a noun that designates a particular being or thing, does not take a limiting modifier, and is usu. capitalized in English."

The American Heritage Dictionary: "a noun designating by name a being or thing without a limiting modifier."

Perh
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0 What if we approach it in a different way. 02br
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00If I say 'show me your bike' to anyone who says 'I am riding my bike', I will be shown a different object each time. 02br
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00If I say 'show me the Eiffel Tower' to anyone who says 'I am looking at the Eiffel Tower', I will always be shown the same object. 02hr
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00Objectio
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0 Hello, everyone,. This is a tough one ... it seems to me few questions were more disputed than this one during 20th century. I'm not competent for this discussion at all, but I'd like to put my some word in here. 02br
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00[1] In Montague Grammar, proper names, definite descriptions, indefinite descriptions and all the other quantified terms are considered as expressions
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0 (A correction notice) 02br
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00Hello, there is a indecisive part in my explanation and it makes me uneasy. I wrote in (5) 02br
00[ , or at least not as acceptable as the sentence in (4).] , but I'd like to retract this. 02br
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00We should consider such sentences as meaningless: 02br
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00*Aristotle could be not Ar
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0 Hello guys 02br
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00OED says about "proper noun" in the entry of "proper" as below. I think it is very close to Mr P's opinion. Unlike Webster and Heritage it doesn't mention anything about its relation to determiners. Personally I like the definition by Mill which is quoted last below. 02br
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0101b00proper02b00
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0 Good morning, paco. I won't refute OED's definition. But....Mill's definition, 02br
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00# Proper names have strictly no meaning: they are mere marks for individual objects. 02br
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00Many philosophers were not content with such a vague explanation....05102br
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00I found an interesting site: maybe it helps as regard to your
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0 Can we say: 02br
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00"A proper noun denotes an object whose address does not change with a change of speaker or situation." 02br
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00MrP 0-
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0 PS: I use 'address' in its widest possible sense. 0-
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0 This is a fairly appropriate definition. 02br
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00It's my first impression. I will think over about it.... 0-
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