Let's solve this step by step.
Understanding the Task:
We need to sort the given nouns into two categories:
-
Common Nouns: General names for people, places, things, or ideas (not specific).
-
Proper Nouns: Specific names of people, places, organizations, etc., and are always capitalized.
---
List of Nouns Given:
- day
- girl
- Colorado
- river
- Mississippi
- mountain
- Sunday
- Canada
- cousin
- Asia
- Vernon
- doctor
- city
- Hannah
- country
- month
- Dr. Smith
- continent
- July
- New York
---
Step-by-Step Sorting:
####
✔ Common Nouns (general terms):
These are general categories, not specific names.
- day
- girl
- river
- mountain
- cousin
- doctor
- city
- country
- month
- continent
> These are all general types of things — not specific ones.
####
✔ Proper Nouns (specific names):
These refer to specific people, places, or things and are capitalized.
- Colorado (a specific state)
- Mississippi (a specific river)
- Sunday (a specific day of the week)
- Canada (a specific country)
- Asia (a specific continent)
- Vernon (a person’s name)
- Hannah (a person’s name)
- Dr. Smith (a specific person)
- July (a specific month)
- New York (a specific city)
> Note: Even though "Sunday" and "July" are days/months, they are proper nouns because they name specific days/months. Similarly, "Mississippi" is a proper noun because it names a specific river.
---
✔ Final Answer:
|
Common Nouns |
Proper Nouns |
|------------------|------------------|
| day | Colorado |
| girl | Mississippi |
| river | Sunday |
| mountain | Canada |
| cousin | Asia |
| doctor | Vernon |
| city | Hannah |
| country | Dr. Smith |
| month | July |
| continent | New York |
---
🔍 Explanation:
-
Common nouns are generic: e.g., "river" can be any river, but "Mississippi" is one specific river →
proper noun.
-
Proper nouns are specific and always capitalized: names of people (Hannah), places (New York), countries (Canada), rivers (Mississippi), months (July), days (Sunday).
This sorting helps students understand how language distinguishes between general and specific references.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of proper noun and common noun worksheet.
