Proper nouns · Learn the idea
Proper nouns
A common noun names a kind of person, place or thing: girl, city, day.
A proper noun gives a particular name: Maya, Melbourne, Monday. Proper nouns begin with capital letters.
A capital letter at the start of a sentence does not automatically make a word a proper noun.
The girl is called Maya.
Girl is a common noun. Maya is her particular name: a proper noun.
We visit Melbourne on Monday.
Melbourne names a city. Monday names a day. Both begin with capitals.
Dogs bark.
Dogs has a capital because it starts the sentence. It is still a common noun.
Remember: Use a capital for a particular name, wherever it appears in a sentence.
Grown-up guide
Do not ask the child to type their own name or address. Invented names are welcome. Notice whether they distinguish sentence capitals from names.
Allow about 10 minutes, with breaks as needed. Listen to the explanation and look at the child’s own sentences. Correct choices alone do not show mastery. Writing is reviewed together, not automatically marked.
A useful starting point: nouns.
No account or saved answers. Reloading starts this lesson again. Read aloud uses your device’s voice and does not read your typed writing.