Common or Proper noun worksheet for students to identify and correct capitalization.

Let's go through each sentence and determine whether the underlined noun is a common noun or a proper noun. If it’s a proper noun, we’ll correct its capitalization.

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🔹 Definitions:

- Common noun: A general name for a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., *dog*, *city*, *book*).
- Proper noun: A specific name of a person, place, thing, or idea — always capitalized (e.g., *New York*, *John*, *Microsoft*).

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Now let's analyze each sentence:

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1. Last month, Sue and Diane rode their bikes from Rhode Island to florida.
- Underlined: florida
- "Florida" is a state — a specific place → Proper noun
- Should be capitalized: Florida
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: Florida)

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2. Bring down the spare bed so LuAnn has a place to sleep tonight.
- Underlined: LuAnn
- "LuAnn" is a person's name → Proper noun
- Already capitalized correctly
✔ Answer: Proper

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3. My absolute favorite snack is a klondike bar.
- Underlined: klondike bar
- "Klondike Bar" is a brand name of an ice cream bar → Proper noun
- Should be capitalized: Klondike Bar
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: Klondike Bar)

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4. The garage down the street fixed my dad's motorcycle.
- Underlined: motorcycle
- A general vehicle — not a specific brand → Common noun
✔ Answer: Common

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5. We like to go camping and hiking every year in yellowstone park.
- Underlined: yellowstone park
- "Yellowstone Park" refers to Yellowstone National Park — a specific place → Proper noun
- Should be capitalized: Yellowstone Park
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: Yellowstone Park)

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6. The dentist wants me to brush my teeth every day with fluoride toothpaste.
- Underlined: fluoride toothpaste
- This is a type of toothpaste — general product category → Common noun
✔ Answer: Common

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7. Tonight's movie at the cinema is finding nemo.
- Underlined: finding nemo
- "Finding Nemo" is the title of a movie — Proper noun (titles are capitalized)
- Should be: Finding Nemo
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: Finding Nemo)

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8. Shamrocks are found all over if you celebrate st. patrick's day.
- Underlined: st. patrick's day
- "St. Patrick's Day" is a holiday — Proper noun
- Should be capitalized: St. Patrick's Day
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: St. Patrick's Day)

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9. The street that Anthony lives on is very hilly.
- Underlined: street
- A general term for a road — Common noun
✔ Answer: Common

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10. I would like to get my ears pierced at the sunshine mall tomorrow.
- Underlined: sunshine mall
- "Sunshine Mall" is a specific shopping center — Proper noun
- Should be capitalized: Sunshine Mall
✔ Answer: Proper (corrected: Sunshine Mall)

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✔ Final Answers (Fill-in-the-blank):

| Sentence | Common or Proper? |
|--------|-------------------|
| 1 | Proper (Florida) |
| 2 | Proper |
| 3 | Proper (Klondike Bar) |
| 4 | Common |
| 5 | Proper (Yellowstone Park) |
| 6 | Common |
| 7 | Proper (Finding Nemo) |
| 8 | Proper (St. Patrick's Day) |
| 9 | Common |
| 10 | Proper (Sunshine Mall) |

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📝 Summary:

- Proper nouns include names of specific people, places, brands, holidays, titles, etc.
- Always capitalize proper nouns.
- When a proper noun is lowercase in the sentence, correct it.
- Common nouns remain lowercase unless they start a sentence.

Let me know if you'd like this formatted as a printable answer sheet!