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 brother Kevin plays soccer at the park."
A) brother
B) Kevin
C) soccer
D) park
The correct answer is B) Kevin. Which word in this sentence is a proper noun? "My brother Kevin plays soccer at the park." — the answer is Kevin.
2. Which word is a common noun? "Last December, Grandma flew to London."
A) December
B) Grandma
C) London
D) flew
The correct answer is B) Grandma. Which word is a common noun? "Last December, Grandma flew to London." — the answer is Grandma.
3. How many proper nouns are in this sentence? "On Saturday, Lily rode her bike to Green Lake."
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
The correct answer is C) three. How many proper nouns are in this sentence? "On Saturday, Lily rode her bike to Green Lake." — the answer is three.
4. Which sentence uses proper nouns correctly?
A) We visited the grand canyon.
B) My Cat is named max.
C) She lives on Pine Road.
D) I went to the Store on tuesday.
The correct answer is C) She lives on Pine Road.. Which sentence uses proper nouns correctly — the answer is She lives on Pine Road..
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. In the sentence "Lily ate cereal," the proper noun is Lily.
Lily is the name of one specific person in the sentence, which makes it the proper noun. Cereal is a general food word, so it stays a common noun.
2. In the sentence "The dog ran down the hill," the common nouns are dog and hill.
Dog names any dog and hill names any hill, so both are general words. Neither one points to a specific animal or place, so they are both common nouns.
3. The word "Africa" is a proper noun because it names a specific continent.
Africa is one of the seven large land areas called continents on Earth. Because it names one specific continent, Africa is a proper noun.
4. In "We swam in Lake Huron," the words "Lake Huron" are a proper noun.
Lake Huron is the name of one specific Great Lake, not just any lake. When two words work together to name a specific place, they form a proper noun.
5. A noun that names any food, like "pizza," is a common noun.
Pizza can mean any pizza from any restaurant, not one specific pie. General food words like this are common nouns with no capital letter.