nouns and noun phrases and proper names and place names

We write proper names with a capital letter like this: “Mark”. Not like this: “mark”.
Place names are proper names so we write place names with a capital letter like this: “America” . Not like this: “america”.

Look at this list of place names:

North America
South America
Central America

and this one:

Alaska
Canada

and this one:

Louisianna
The Appalachian Trail.

Nouns are really important. Place names are really important.
People talk about places all the time. You should learn place names in the same way that you learn other words.

Lesson One (self-study or teacher prepare for class)

If you live in a strange city, get a map and learn the spelling and pronunciation of place names (suburbs, areas) in your neighborhood. If you live in a strange country, get a map and learn the names of the cities and areas and how to spell them and pronounce them correctly. (when you become familiar with your city and country, this kind of knowledge will be second nature to you.)

Lesson Two

Get a map. Look a these places on the map. Make sure you understand where they are. Read about them in wikipedia.

North America
South America
Central America

Alaska
Canada
Winnipeg
Louisiana
Red River
North Dakota
The Mississipi

The Appalachian Trail
The Amazon
Tierra del Fuego.

Now read this list of nouns and noun phrases and put capital letters on the place names

idea
trip
horses
south america
tierra del fuego
countyside
canada
rivers and lakes and mountains
nature
kilometers
on horseback
canada and alaska
trails
the heart of the states
central america
people
winnipeg
river routes
father and son
canoe
down to louisiana
the amazon
by river passage
the same thing
the appalachian trail
north america
journey
whole journey
week
weeks
month
months
the web

Do you understand all the words?

Now listen to this conversation (On Horseback) then go outside and feel and think.