Proper Nouns— Let’s Practice!

Proper Nouns— Let’s Practice! exercise

• Are these proper or common nouns?

  Hints

  Think about each word. Is it the name of a person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month?

  If so, it is a proper noun.

  Proper nouns are always capitalized.

  Common nouns start with a lowercase letter unless they are at the start of a sentence.

  Solution

  Proper nouns are people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months. They are always capitalized.

  Common nouns are people, places, animals, and things. They are not capitalized unless they are at the start of a sentence.

• Help Goopaw find the proper nouns.

  Hints

  Jack, Labor Day, and Friday are examples of proper nouns.

  Examples of common nouns are school, monkey, and pencil.

  Solution

  Proper nouns:
  *The names of holidays such as New Year's Eve or Labor Day.
  *The names of people such as Jack or Prakarsh.
  *The names of days of the week such as Friday or October.
  *The names of places such as New York City or California.
  *The names of products such as Cheetos or Pringles.

  Common nouns:
  *Non-specific people, places, animals, and things such as sister, school, and cat.

• Which sentences have errors in their use of capital letters?

  Hints

  Proper nouns are the specific names of people, places, holidays, products, days of the week and months.

  Check if all the proper nouns in the sentences are capitalized.

  Common nouns are non-specific people, places, and things.

  Check to make sure no common nouns are capitalized.

  Solution

  Two of the sentences had errors with the capitalization.

  New York City is the name of a place, so it is a proper noun that should be capitalized.

  The word teacher is a non-specific person, so it is a common noun and does not need to be capitalized.

  The correct sentences are shown below:

  *On Thursday, I'm going to New York City.
  *My teacher's name is Ms. Smith.

• Which letters should be capitalized?

  Hints

  Have you checked that there are capital letters for all the names of people and places in the letter?

  Have you checked that there are capital letters for any days of the week or months in the letter?

  Solution

  Above is the letter with all of the errors highlighted.

  Proper nouns we capitalize are people, places, holidays, products, days of the week and months.

  June is the name of a month, so the 'J' must be capitalized.

  France is the name of a place, so the 'F' must be capitalized.

  Sarah is the name of a person, so the 'S' must be capitalized.

  Amour is the name of a restaurant, so the 'A' must be capitalized.

• Which words in the sentences are proper nouns?

  Hints

  Check to see if the word is the specific name of a person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month. These words are proper nouns.

  Remember all proper nouns start with a capital letter.

  Solution

  Above are the sentences with the proper nouns correctly highlighted.

  Proper nouns we capitalize are people, places, holidays, products, days of the week, and months.

  Cheerios is the name of a food product, so it is a proper noun.

  Olivia is the name of a person, so it is a proper noun.

  Thanksgiving is the name of a holiday, so it is a proper noun.

  Asia is the name of a place, so it is a proper noun.

• Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

  Hints

  Is the missing word in the sentence a person, place, holiday, product, day of the week, or month? If so, it is a proper noun.

  Remember that proper nouns always start with a capital letter.

  Solution

  The correct sentences are shown above.

  • Chicago is the specific name of a place, so it is a proper noun.
  • dog is is not a proper noun, it is a common noun.
  • park is is not a proper noun, it is a common noun.
  • tennis is not a proper noun, it is a common noun.
  • Tuesday is a day of the week, so it is a proper noun.
  • Jeep is the name of a product. It is the name of a specific type of car, so it is a proper noun.