A common noun names any one of a kind: a girl, a city, a day. A proper noun is the special name of one particular person, place or thing — Aisha, Tokyo, Friday — and it always starts with a capital letter.
What your child will learn
- Tell a common noun from a proper noun
- Use a capital letter for names of people, places, days and months
- Match a proper noun to its common noun
- Find and fix missing capital letters
One of many, or the only one?
“River” could be any river, so it is a common noun. “Nile” is the name of one river, so it is a proper noun and needs a capital. The same goes for dog and Rex, month and April, teacher and Mrs Tan.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which sentence is written correctly?
- My friend sara lives in Spain.
- my friend Sara lives in Spain.
- My Friend Sara lives in spain.
- My friend Sara lives in Spain.
Show answer
Answer: My friend Sara lives in Spain.. Sara and Spain are proper nouns; friend is a common noun.
2. A proper noun is the special name of…
- any person, place or thing
- an action
- a describing word
- one particular person, place or thing
Show answer
Answer: one particular person, place or thing. Proper nouns name one particular thing and take a capital letter.
3. Which word is the name of a planet and needs a capital letter?
- planet
- star
- Mars
- rocket
Show answer
Answer: Mars. Mars is the name of one particular planet.
Tips for grown-ups
- Sort words on cards into “any one” and “special name”.
- Write the names of family members, pets and places you know — all with capitals.
- Spot proper nouns on signs, maps and book covers.