Nouns: Common and Proper
Identifying and using common nouns and proper nouns
Nouns: Common and Proper
Identifying and using common nouns and proper nouns
Language Arts - Grade 2-3
- 1
Circle the common nouns in this sentence: The girl carried a backpack to school.
Look for words that name a person, place, or thing, but not a specific name.
The common nouns are girl, backpack, and school because they name general people, things, or places. - 2
Underline the proper nouns in this sentence: Mia visited Central Park on Saturday.
The proper nouns are Mia, Central Park, and Saturday because they name specific people, places, or days. - 3
Write C for common noun or P for proper noun next to each word: teacher, Mr. Lee, city, Chicago.
Proper nouns usually begin with capital letters.
Teacher is C, Mr. Lee is P, city is C, and Chicago is P. Common nouns name general things, and proper nouns name specific ones. - 4
Rewrite this sentence with the proper nouns capitalized correctly: my dog max likes to run at oak park.
The correct sentence is: My dog Max likes to run at Oak Park. Max and Oak Park are proper nouns and need capital letters. - 5
Sort these nouns into two groups: aunt, Aunt Rosa, store, Target, river, Mississippi River.
A common noun is a general name. A proper noun is the exact name of someone or something.
The common nouns are aunt, store, and river. The proper nouns are Aunt Rosa, Target, and Mississippi River. - 6
Choose the proper noun that could replace the common noun in this sentence: The boy read a book. Choices: child, Liam, student.
Liam is the proper noun because it is the specific name of a boy. - 7
Choose the common noun that matches the proper noun: Mount Everest. Choices: mountain, ocean, school.
Think about what kind of place Mount Everest is.
The common noun that matches Mount Everest is mountain because Mount Everest is the name of a specific mountain. - 8
Find the noun that should be capitalized: We ate lunch at sunny cafe.
Sunny Cafe should be capitalized because it is the name of a specific cafe. - 9
Write one proper noun for each common noun: friend, school, city.
Use the exact name of a person, school, and city.
Answers will vary. Examples are Emma for friend, Lincoln Elementary for school, and Denver for city. - 10
Read the sentence: The cat slept on the sofa. Write the common nouns from the sentence.
The common nouns are cat and sofa because they name general things. - 11
Read the sentence: On Friday, Ben and Carla went to the library. Write all the proper nouns.
Do not include library because it is a general place in this sentence.
The proper nouns are Friday, Ben, and Carla because they are specific names. - 12
Add a proper noun to complete the sentence: My favorite restaurant is ____.
Answers will vary. A correct answer names a specific restaurant, such as Olive Garden or Taco Bell. - 13
Look at the words: dog, Rover, park, Green Park. Put each word in the correct place on the chart.
Rover is a pet's name, and Green Park is the name of a specific park.
Dog and park belong under common nouns. Rover and Green Park belong under proper nouns. - 14
Fix the capitalization in this sentence: last summer, ava went to florida with her family.
Capitalize the first word of the sentence and the names of specific people and places.
The correct sentence is: Last summer, Ava went to Florida with her family. Last begins the sentence, and Ava and Florida are proper nouns. - 15
Write a sentence that uses one common noun and one proper noun. Then underline the proper noun.
Answers will vary. A correct sentence might be: My cousin visited New York. New York is the proper noun because it names a specific place.