Capitalization of Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Common and Proper Nouns

A common noun is a noun that names any person, place, thing, or idea. Common nouns do not start with capital letters unless they’re at the beginning of a sentence.

• teacher (person)

• city (place)

• book (thing)

• truth (idea)

A proper noun is a noun that names a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

• Mrs. Tams (person)

• Philadelphia (place)

• Freak the Mighty (thing)

Is the noun common or proper?

Multiple Choice

baseball

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

teammate

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

Monday

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

Seattle

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

bookshelf

• common

• proper

Is the underlined noun common or proper?

Multiple Choice

My neighbor is moving to Texas.

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

We traveled down the Mississippi River.

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

I saw a lion at the zoo.

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

Cars and boats require gas to run.

• common

• proper

Multiple Choice

Jennifer was sick all week.

• common

• proper