Common and Proper Nouns exercise for 3rd Grade - Free Printable

Let's solve this step by step.

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Part 1: Identify if the underlined noun is common or proper

We need to determine whether each underlined noun in the sentences is a common noun (a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea) or a proper noun (a specific name of a person, place, thing, or idea — always capitalized).

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1. My cousin lives in New York City.
- *cousin* → Common noun (general family member)
- *New York City* → Proper noun (specific city)
✔ So, "New York City" is a proper noun.

2. George is trying out for the soccer team.
- *George* → Proper noun (specific person's name)
- *soccer team* → Common noun (general group)
✔ So, "George" is a proper noun.

3. Cars pollute the air that we breathe.
- *Cars* → Common noun (general vehicles)
✔ So, "Cars" is a common noun.

4. Dad went to Walmart to get bread.
- *Dad* → Common noun (used here as a general term for father; not capitalized as a name)
*(Note: If it were "Daddy" or a personal name like "John," it might be proper, but "Dad" here is general)*
- *Walmart* → Proper noun (specific store name)
✔ So, "Dad" is a common noun, and "Walmart" is a proper noun.
But since only one is underlined, and based on the sentence structure, likely "Dad" is underlined → Common noun.

5. I love to have eggs and toast for breakfast.
- *eggs* and *toast* → both are common nouns (general food items)
✔ So, "eggs" and "toast" are common nouns.

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✔ Answers for Part 1:

1. New York City → Proper noun
2. George → Proper noun
3. Cars → Common noun
4. Dad → Common noun
5. eggs and toast → Common nouns

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Part 2: Complete the chart with correct type of noun

We are given a table with some entries. We need to fill in the blanks so that:
- Each common noun is paired with a proper noun that matches its category.
- The proper nouns should be specific examples of the common nouns.

Let’s go row by row:

| Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|-------------|-------------|
| girl | |
| | Fruit Loops |
| restaurant | |
| | Jupiter |
| store | |
| school | |
| | Altara |
| hospital | |
| | San Pedro Sula |

Now, let’s match:

- girl → a specific girl’s name → e.g., Emily
- Fruit Loops → brand name of cereal → common noun: cereal
- restaurant → specific example → e.g., McDonald’s or The Olive Garden
- Jupiter → planet → common noun: planet
- store → specific example → e.g., Target
- school → specific example → e.g., Lincoln Elementary
- Altara → appears to be a name (possibly a person or place) → common noun: name or person? But better to think: if Altara is a name, then the common noun could be girl or person
- hospital → specific example → e.g., Cleveland Clinic
- San Pedro Sula → city → common noun: city

Let’s fill in logically:

| Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|-------------|-------------|
| girl | Emily (example) |
| cereal | Fruit Loops |
| restaurant | Taco Bell |
| planet | Jupiter |
| store | Walmart |
| school | Central High School |
| person | Altara |
| hospital | Mayo Clinic |
| city | San Pedro Sula |

But note: The blank rows are alternating, so we must insert the missing common or proper noun accordingly.

Let’s reconstruct the full table properly:

| Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|-------------|---------------------|
| girl | |
| | Fruit Loops |
| restaurant | |
| | Jupiter |
| store | |
| school | |
| | Altara |
| hospital | |
| | San Pedro Sula |

So, we need to fill:

1. girl → proper noun: e.g., Sarah
2. Fruit Loops → common noun: cereal
3. restaurant → proper noun: e.g., Pizza Hut
4. Jupiter → common noun: planet
5. store → proper noun: e.g., Kroger
6. school → proper noun: e.g., Westwood Middle School
7. Altara → common noun: name or person (but best fit: girl or person)
8. hospital → proper noun: e.g., St. Mary’s Hospital
9. San Pedro Sula → common noun: city

Wait — the pattern is: first column has common nouns, second has proper nouns.

So where there's a blank in the first column, we need a common noun that matches the proper noun.

Where there's a blank in the second column, we need a proper noun that matches the common noun.

So:

- Row 1: common = girl → proper = ? → fill: Emma
- Row 2: common = ? → proper = Fruit Loops → fill: cereal
- Row 3: common = restaurant → proper = ? → fill: Burger King
- Row 4: common = ? → proper = Jupiter → fill: planet
- Row 5: common = store → proper = ? → fill: Target
- Row 6: common = school → proper = ? → fill: Harvard University
- Row 7: common = ? → proper = Altara → fill: girl (since Altara is a female name)
- Row 8: common = hospital → proper = ? → fill: Cleveland Clinic
- Row 9: common = ? → proper = San Pedro Sula → fill: city

✔ Final completed chart:

| Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|-------------|---------------------|
| girl | Emma |
| cereal | Fruit Loops |
| restaurant | Burger King |
| planet | Jupiter |
| store | Target |
| school | Harvard |
| girl | Altara |
| hospital | Mayo Clinic |
| city | San Pedro Sula |

> Note: There are multiple acceptable answers. For example:
> - "girl" can pair with any name like Lily, Olivia, etc.
> - "restaurant" can be McDonald’s, Subway, etc.
> - "school" can be Lincoln High, MIT, etc.
> - "hospital" can be Boston Children’s, etc.
> - "city" is clear for San Pedro Sula.

But we must ensure the category matches.

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✔ Final Answer:

#### Part 1: Underlined Nouns

1. New York City → Proper noun
2. George → Proper noun
3. Cars → Common noun
4. Dad → Common noun
5. eggs, toast → Common nouns

#### Part 2: Completed Chart

| Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|-------------|---------------------|
| girl | Emma |
| cereal | Fruit Loops |
| restaurant | Burger King |
| planet | Jupiter |
| store | Target |
| school | Harvard |
| girl | Altara |
| hospital | Mayo Clinic |
| city | San Pedro Sula |

> Note: The chart has two entries for "girl" — one in the common column and one in the proper column. This is fine because "girl" is a common noun, and "Altara" is a proper noun (a name), so they match.

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This completes the worksheet!