ESL/ESL glossary of terms

Glossary of terms and definitions useful for learning English as a Second Language (ESL)

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E

etymology

• study of word origins

P

proper noun

• a noun that has a name or title (person, place or thing)
  • is capitalized to represent its proprietary reference (to a particular thing)
• we can think of a "proper noun" as a noun that refers to itself as distinct from something else
  • (we get stuck on the notion of "proper" as in appropriate
• "proper" comes from Latin proprius for "one's own, particular to itself"

proper number

• a number that is a title or represents a particular thing
• proper numbers are read out individually (either single or double-digit numbers) as opposed to being a full number, i.e.
• Room or apartment numbers:
  • Room 304 = "Room three-0-four" as opposed to "Room three hundred four"
  • Room 1204 = "Room 12-0-4" as opposed to "Room one-two-O-four" (or "Room one thousand, two hundred and four")
• Telephone numbers:
  • Tel. 789-234-4355 = "seven-eight-nine, two-three-Four, Four-Three-Five-Five
    • or Seven-Eight-Nine, Two-Three-Four, forty-three fifty-five
• Addresses
  • 116 Maple St = "one, one, six" or "one, sixteen"
• proper numbers