Common and Proper Nouns — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which word in this sentence is a proper noun? "My friend Emma loves to read books."
A) friend
B) Emma
C) books
D) read
Emma is a proper noun because it is the specific name of a person.
2. Which word is a common noun? "The family drove to Orlando for vacation."
A) Orlando
B) family
C) drove
D) for
Family is a common noun because it names any family, not a specific one.
3. How many proper nouns are in this sentence? "On Monday, Ben walked to Sunset Park."
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
Monday, Ben, and Sunset Park are all proper nouns, so there are three.
4. Which sentence uses a proper noun correctly?
A) I saw a Dog at the park.
B) We live near lake Erie.
C) My birthday is in March.
D) She ate a apple for lunch.
March is a proper noun and is correctly capitalized as the name of a specific month.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. In the sentence "Tom ate lunch," the proper noun is Tom.
Tom is the proper noun because it is the specific name of a person.
2. In the sentence "The cat sat on the mat," the common nouns are cat and mat.
Cat and mat are both common nouns because they name any cat and any mat.
3. The word "Wednesday" is a proper noun because it names a specific day.
Wednesday is a proper noun because it is the specific name of a day of the week.
4. In "We went to Spain," the word "Spain" is a proper noun.
Spain is a proper noun because it is the name of one specific country.
5. A noun that names any animal, like "bird," is a common noun.
Bird is a common noun because it names any bird, not one specific bird.