Here is a list of the most common titles that are used before names:
Admiral
Archbishop
Baron
Baroness
Bishop
Brother
Captain
Cardinal
Colonel
Congressman
Constable
Corporal
Dame
Doctor
Emperor
Father
General
Governor
Imam
Inspector
Justice
King
Lady
Lieutenant
Lord
Major
Miss
Mr
Mrs
Ms
Nurse
Police Constable
Pope
President
Prince
Princess
Private
Professor
Queen
Rabbi
Representative
Saint
Senator
Sergeant
Sir
Sister
A few titles, such as King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Sir, and Lady, can be followed just by the person’s first name.
…Queen Elizabeth.
…Prince Charles’ eldest son.
Sir Michael has made it very clear indeed.
Ways of using titles when you are speaking to people directly are explained in paragraphs 9.97 and 9.98.
titles used without names
1.56 Determiners, other modifiers, and phrases with of are sometimes used with titles, and the person’s name is omitted.
…Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
…the Archbishop of Canterbury.
…the President of the United States.
…the Bishop of Birmingham.
titles used as countable nouns
1.57 Most words that are titles can also be countable nouns, usually without a capital letter.
…lawyers, scholars, poets, presidents and so on.
…a foreign prince.
Maybe he’ll be a Prime Minister one day.
other proper nouns
1.58 The names of organizations, institutions, ships, magazines, books, plays, paintings, and other unique things are also proper nouns and are spelled with capital letters.
…British Broadcasting Corporation
…Birmingham University.
They are sometimes used with the or another determiner.
…the United Nations …the Labour Party …the University of Birmingham …the Queen Mary …the Guardian …the Wall Street Journal …the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The determiner is not spelled with a capital letter, except in the names of books, plays, and paintings.
…The Grapes of Wrath
…A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Some time expressions are proper nouns, and are dealt with in Chapter 4.
Nouns that are rarely used alone
1.59 There are some nouns that are rarely used alone. They need extra material such as an adjective or a following phrase, because the meaning of the noun would not be clear without it. Some of these nouns have many meanings; others have very little meaning on their own.
For example, you cannot usually refer to someone as the head without saying which organization they are head of. Similarly, you cannot say that there was a note in someone’s voice without describing it as, for example, a triumphant note or a note of triumph.
These nouns are used on their own only if it is obvious from the context what is meant. For example, if you have just mentioned a mountain and you say the top, it is clear that you mean the top of that mountain.
used with modifiers
1.60 A modifier is an adjective or a noun that is added to a noun in order to give more information about it.
…her wide experience of political affairs.
I detected an apologetic note in the agent’s voice.
He did not have British citizenship.
Check the water level.
For more information on modifiers, see Chapter 2.
extra information after the noun
1.61 Extra information after the noun is usually in the form of a phrase beginning with of.
…at the top of the hill.
There he saw for himself the extent of the danger.
Ever since the rise of industrialism, education has concentrated on producing workers. …a high level of interest.
For more information, see paragraphs 2.272 to 2.302.
always used with modifiers
1.62 Some nouns are always used with a modifier. For example, you would not say that someone is an eater because all people eat, but you may want to say that he or she is a meat eater or a messy eater.
Similarly, if you use range, you have to refer to a particular price range or age range. If you use wear to mean clothing, you have to say what sort of clothing, for example sports wear or evening wear.
Tim was a slow eater.
…the other end of the age range.
The company has plans to expand its casual wear.
always used with possessives
1.63 Some nouns are almost always used with a possessive, that is a possessive determiner, ’s, or a prepositional phrase beginning with of, because you have to show who or what the thing you are talking about relates to or belongs to.
The company has grown rapidly since its formation ten years ago.
Advance warning of the approach of enemies was of the greatest importance.
…the portrait of a man in his prime.
metaphorical uses
1.64 Nouns that are being used metaphorically (= when one thing is used to describe another thing) often have a modifier or some other form of extra information, often in the form of a phrase beginning with of, to show what is really being referred to.
…the maze of politics.
He has been prepared to sacrifice this company on the altar of his own political ambitions.
He has worked out a scheme for an economic lifeline by purchasing land.
Lloyd’s of London is the heart of the world’s insurance industry.
…those on the lower rungs of the professional ladder.
list of nouns that are rarely used alone
1.65 Many nouns have some meanings that need a modifier or some other form of extra information, and other meanings that do not.