Proper and Common Nouns

To capitalise or not to capitalise . . .

Lesson Objective

To know how to use proper and common nouns effectively in your writing. PLTS - Self managers - work towards your goals

Proper NounsProper nouns refer to a unique person, place, or object. E.g. De La Salle AcademyMiss Smith Apple Mac

Common NounsCommon names refer to general objects, or something where there is more than one of that kind. E.g. school tables pens

Activity 1: MatchupLook at the two lists below. On the left side is the proper noun and on the right side is its matching common noun. Sort them into matching pairs in your book. What do you notice about the Proper Nouns?

Liverpool teacherLiverpool vs. Everton classroomDe La Salle Academy book, movie

Ender’s Game cityMr Ealey sporting event

1.03 school

Activity 2: SentencesUse the following proper and common nouns and build interesting sentences with them. You can use only 1-2 nouns per sentence.

reading book travel map

Spain swimming chicken and chips

summer Nando’s Eiffel Tower

Want a challenge? Make all your sentences part of one paragraph.

Activity 3: Something Special

Now we want to find out a bit more about you. You are going to write a paragraph about a proper noun.

Think of a proper noun that is important to you (a family member, celebrity you admire or place you have travelled to). Tell us:

Who/what it is

Why it is important to you

Extension Challenge? Do the same thing, but with a common noun; not as easy as it seems.

Plenary: Pop QuizAnswer True/False to the following questions:

1. Proper nouns do not need a capital letter. T/F

2. Common nouns are names of general items. T/F

3. Proper nouns name a unique/particular thing. T/F

4. Common nouns are only used for plurals. T/F

5. Nouns are only used for naming things. T/F