ESL/ESL glossary of terms
Glossary of terms and definitions useful for learning English as a Second Language (ESL)
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
- Tel. 789-234-4355 = "seven-eight-nine, two-three-Four, Four-Three-Five-Five
- Addresses
- 116 Maple St = "one, one, six" or "one, sixteen"
- 116 Maple St = "one, one, six" or "one, sixteen"
- proper numbers