Question
COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS
A common noun names any one of a class of people, places, things, or ideas. A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea.
Common nouns are not capitalized (except at the start of a sentence or in a title). Proper nouns are always capitalized. See the examples below.
Common Nouns girl, lake, country, book, company, organization
Proper Nouns Tess, Lake Tahoe, Bolivia, Jane Eyre, Edison Lighting Solutions, Grant High School
PRACTICE A Identifying Common and Proper Nouns
Read each sentence. Then, underline all the common nouns and circle all the proper nouns.
Example: The closest planet to our sun is Mercury.
Answer: The closest planet to our sun is Mercury.
1. My cousin, Damian, majors in English.
2. Our neighbors, who are from India, speak Hindi.
3. A freshwater basin in Eurasia is Lake Baikal.
4. The Last Battle is my favorite book by
C. S. Lewis.
5. The artist who painted the Sistine Chapel was Michelangelo.
6. Nearly as far south as Antarctica lie the islands of Tierra del Fuego.
7. My sister Aisha won the Service Award at her high school.
8. The hero of “Solitude” by Ursula K. Le Guin is a girl who is never named.
9. Mount Fuji, a volcano, is in Japan.
PRACTICE B Writing With Proper Nouns
Read each sentence. Then, rewrite it, replacing the underlined words with proper nouns.
Example: I like the book by an author.
Answer: I like Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
1. My neighbor works at a school.
2. She is reasonably satisfied with her physician.
Nia is reasonably satisfied with her doctor’s work.
3. My uncle likes to sing along with his favorite song.
Ariel’s Uncle likes to sing along to Hip Hop songs.
4. We will spend the holiday at my aunt’s home in another town.
5. He and she took a walk through a park.
Writing and Speaking Application
Write a paragraph about a place, using at least three common and two proper nouns. Circle the nouns. Then, read your paragraph to a partner. Your partner should listen for and name the proper nouns you used. Switch roles with your partner.
A common noun names any one of a class of people, places, things, or ideas. A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea.
Common nouns are not capitalized (except at the start of a sentence or in a title). Proper nouns are always capitalized. See the examples below.
Common Nouns girl, lake, country, book, company, organization
Proper Nouns Tess, Lake Tahoe, Bolivia, Jane Eyre, Edison Lighting Solutions, Grant High School
PRACTICE A Identifying Common and Proper Nouns
Read each sentence. Then, underline all the common nouns and circle all the proper nouns.
Example: The closest planet to our sun is Mercury.
Answer: The closest planet to our sun is Mercury.
1. My cousin, Damian, majors in English.
2. Our neighbors, who are from India, speak Hindi.
3. A freshwater basin in Eurasia is Lake Baikal.
4. The Last Battle is my favorite book by
C. S. Lewis.
5. The artist who painted the Sistine Chapel was Michelangelo.
6. Nearly as far south as Antarctica lie the islands of Tierra del Fuego.
7. My sister Aisha won the Service Award at her high school.
8. The hero of “Solitude” by Ursula K. Le Guin is a girl who is never named.
9. Mount Fuji, a volcano, is in Japan.
PRACTICE B Writing With Proper Nouns
Read each sentence. Then, rewrite it, replacing the underlined words with proper nouns.
Example: I like the book by an author.
Answer: I like Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
1. My neighbor works at a school.
2. She is reasonably satisfied with her physician.
Nia is reasonably satisfied with her doctor’s work.
3. My uncle likes to sing along with his favorite song.
Ariel’s Uncle likes to sing along to Hip Hop songs.
4. We will spend the holiday at my aunt’s home in another town.
5. He and she took a walk through a park.
Writing and Speaking Application
Write a paragraph about a place, using at least three common and two proper nouns. Circle the nouns. Then, read your paragraph to a partner. Your partner should listen for and name the proper nouns you used. Switch roles with your partner.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**PRACTICE A Identifying Common and Proper Nouns**
1. My cousin, **Damian**, majors in **English**.
- Common Nouns: cousin
- Proper Nouns: Damian, English
2. Our neighbors, who are from **India**, speak **Hindi**.
- Common Nouns: neighbors
- Proper Nouns: India, Hindi
3. A freshwater basin in **Eurasia** is **Lake Baikal**.
- Common Nouns: basin
- Proper Nouns: Eurasia, Lake Baikal
4. **The Last Battle** is my favorite book by **C. S. Lewis**.
- Common Nouns: book
- Proper Nouns: The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
5. The artist who painted the **Sistine Chapel** was **Michelangelo**.
- Common Nouns: artist
- Proper Nouns: Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
6. Nearly as far south as **Antarctica** lie the islands of **Tierra del Fuego**.
- Common Nouns: islands
- Proper Nouns: Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego
7. My sister **Aisha** won the **Service Award** at her high school.
- Common Nouns: sister, award, high school
- Proper Nouns: Aisha, Service Award
8. The hero of “Solitude” by **Ursula K. Le Guin** is a girl who is never named.
- Common Nouns: hero, girl
- Proper Nouns: Solitude, Ursula K. Le Guin
9. **Mount Fuji**, a volcano, is in **Japan**.
- Common Nouns: volcano
- Proper Nouns: Mount Fuji, Japan
---
**PRACTICE B Writing With Proper Nouns**
1. My neighbor works at **Grant High School**.
2. **Nia** is reasonably satisfied with her physician.
3. My uncle likes to sing along with his favorite song, **"Lose Yourself"** by **Eminem**.
4. We will spend the holiday at my aunt’s home in **San Diego**.
5. **Michael** and **Sarah** took a walk through **Central Park**.
---
**Writing and Speaking Application**
**Paragraph:**
Last summer, I visited **Yellowstone National Park** with my family. We saw **bears** and **bison** roaming around the beautiful **landscape**. It was a fantastic experience to explore the **geysers**, especially **Old Faithful**. We enjoyed a picnic near **Lake Yellowstone**, which made the trip even more memorable.
---
Feel free to read the paragraph aloud to your partner and see if they can identify the proper nouns used!
1. My cousin, **Damian**, majors in **English**.
- Common Nouns: cousin
- Proper Nouns: Damian, English
2. Our neighbors, who are from **India**, speak **Hindi**.
- Common Nouns: neighbors
- Proper Nouns: India, Hindi
3. A freshwater basin in **Eurasia** is **Lake Baikal**.
- Common Nouns: basin
- Proper Nouns: Eurasia, Lake Baikal
4. **The Last Battle** is my favorite book by **C. S. Lewis**.
- Common Nouns: book
- Proper Nouns: The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
5. The artist who painted the **Sistine Chapel** was **Michelangelo**.
- Common Nouns: artist
- Proper Nouns: Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
6. Nearly as far south as **Antarctica** lie the islands of **Tierra del Fuego**.
- Common Nouns: islands
- Proper Nouns: Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego
7. My sister **Aisha** won the **Service Award** at her high school.
- Common Nouns: sister, award, high school
- Proper Nouns: Aisha, Service Award
8. The hero of “Solitude” by **Ursula K. Le Guin** is a girl who is never named.
- Common Nouns: hero, girl
- Proper Nouns: Solitude, Ursula K. Le Guin
9. **Mount Fuji**, a volcano, is in **Japan**.
- Common Nouns: volcano
- Proper Nouns: Mount Fuji, Japan
---
**PRACTICE B Writing With Proper Nouns**
1. My neighbor works at **Grant High School**.
2. **Nia** is reasonably satisfied with her physician.
3. My uncle likes to sing along with his favorite song, **"Lose Yourself"** by **Eminem**.
4. We will spend the holiday at my aunt’s home in **San Diego**.
5. **Michael** and **Sarah** took a walk through **Central Park**.
---
**Writing and Speaking Application**
**Paragraph:**
Last summer, I visited **Yellowstone National Park** with my family. We saw **bears** and **bison** roaming around the beautiful **landscape**. It was a fantastic experience to explore the **geysers**, especially **Old Faithful**. We enjoyed a picnic near **Lake Yellowstone**, which made the trip even more memorable.
---
Feel free to read the paragraph aloud to your partner and see if they can identify the proper nouns used!