Common Nouns Worksheet for 3rd - 5th Grade | Lesson Planet - Free Printable

It looks like you've uploaded a worksheet titled "Common Nouns" with a task that asks students to identify the common noun in each sentence. The instructions are:

> "Read each sentence. Underline the common noun in each sentence."

Here is the list of sentences from the worksheet:

1. Please give the man a piece of cake.
2. The principal is in charge of the school.
3. A librarian works in a library.
4. When will his father come for a visit?
5. The pilot flies to Mexico once a week.
6. Ann went with her mother to the store.
7. The scientist was doing some research.
8. Judith and her sister are going to a movie.
9. Carol’s uncle gave her a new bike.
10. My grandmother plays golf every day.
11. The captain of the ship was ready to go.
12. The clerk at the store worked very hard.

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✔ Solution: Identify the Common Noun in Each Sentence

A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea (not a specific one). It is not capitalized unless it starts a sentence. Proper nouns (specific names) are capitalized and should be avoided here.

Let’s go through each sentence and underline the common noun:

1. Please give the man a piece of cake.
→ cake (thing)

2. The principal is in charge of the school.
→ principal (person)

3. A librarian works in a library.
→ librarian and library (both are common nouns — person and place)

4. When will his father come for a visit?
→ father (person)

5. The pilot flies to Mexico once a week.
→ pilot (person)

6. Ann went with her mother to the store.
→ mother (person), store (place)

7. The scientist was doing some research.
→ scientist (person), research (idea/thing)

8. Judith and her sister are going to a movie.
→ sister (person), movie (thing/event)

9. Carol’s uncle gave her a new bike.
→ uncle (person), bike (thing)

10. My grandmother plays golf every day.
→ grandmother (person)

11. The captain of the ship was ready to go.
→ captain (person)

12. The clerk at the store worked very hard.
→ clerk (person)

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✔ Final Answer (Underlined Common Nouns):

1. cake
2. principal
3. librarian, library
4. father
5. pilot
6. mother, store
7. scientist, research
8. sister, movie
9. uncle, bike
10. grandmother
11. captain
12. clerk

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🔍 Explanation:

- We look for general nouns (not proper names).
- For example, “Mexico” is a proper noun (a specific country), so we don’t underline it.
- Words like “man,” “school,” “father,” “pilot,” etc., are common nouns because they refer to general people or things.
- In sentence 3, both “librarian” and “library” are common nouns — one is a person, the other a place.

✔ This exercise helps students distinguish between common nouns (general) and proper nouns (specific).

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