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Ignition Learning — Activity Sheet

Common vs proper nouns & plurals

English · Year 7

Name: ______________________Date: ____________

A common noun names a general person, place or thing ("city", "teacher", "dog"). A proper noun names a specific one and always starts with a capital letter ("Melbourne", "Ms Chen", "Rex"). Most nouns form plurals by adding "-s" ("cats"), but some follow different patterns: words ending in -s, -x, -ch or -sh add "-es" ("boxes", "churches"), words ending in a consonant + y change to "-ies" ("babies"), and some nouns are irregular ("child" → "children", "mouse" → "mice").

Example

Plural patterns: "one city" → "two cities"; "one fox" → "two foxes"; "one child" → "two children".

Key terms

Common noun:
A word naming a general person, place or thing.
Proper noun:
A word naming a specific person, place or thing, always capitalised.
Plural:
The form of a noun referring to more than one.

Questions

  1. 1. A common noun names:

    • A specific person or place
    • A general person, place or thing
    • Only feelings
    • A type of punctuation
  2. 2. A proper noun names:

    • A general thing
    • A specific person, place or thing
    • A number
    • A verb
  3. 3. Proper nouns always start with a:

    • Lowercase letter
    • Capital letter
    • Number
    • Question mark
  4. 4. Which is a common noun?

    • Melbourne
    • City
    • Rex
    • Ms Chen
  5. 5. Which is a proper noun?

    • Teacher
    • Dog
    • Melbourne
    • City
  6. 6. Most nouns form their plural by adding:

    • -es only
    • -s
    • -ies always
    • Nothing
  7. 7. The plural of "cat" is:

    • Cats
    • Cates
    • Catss
    • Cat
  8. 8. Words ending in -s, -x, -ch or -sh usually form plurals by adding:

    • -s
    • -es
    • -ies
    • Nothing
  9. 9. The plural of "box" is:

    • Boxs
    • Boxes
    • Boxies
    • Box
  10. 10. Words ending in a consonant + y usually form plurals by:

    • Adding -s
    • Changing y to -ies
    • Adding -es
    • Staying the same
  11. 11. The plural of "baby" is:

    • Babys
    • Babies
    • Babyes
    • Baby
  12. 12. Which is an irregular plural?

    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Children
    • Boxes
  13. 13. The plural of "mouse" is:

    • Mouses
    • Mice
    • Mouseies
    • Mouse
  14. 14. Which sentence correctly uses a proper noun?

    • the city of melbourne is big.
    • The city of Melbourne is big.
    • The City of melbourne is big.
    • the city of Melbourne is big.
  15. 15. Which sentence correctly distinguishes common and proper nouns?

    • my teacher, Ms Chen, took us to the city of melbourne.
    • My teacher, Ms Chen, took us to the city of Melbourne.
    • My Teacher, ms chen, took us to the City of Melbourne.
    • my Teacher, Ms Chen, took us to the city of melbourne.
  16. 16. Which word is an irregular plural that does NOT simply add -s or -es?

    • Books
    • Tables
    • Children
    • Chairs
  17. 17. A noun like "Australia" is always capitalised because it is a:

    • Common noun
    • Proper noun
    • Plural noun
    • Verb
  18. 18. Which sentence has a plural error?

    • The two foxes ran away.
    • The two fox ran away.
    • The two children played.
    • The two babies slept.
  19. 19. Understanding irregular plurals mainly helps writers:

    • Avoid common spelling mistakes
    • Ignore grammar rules entirely
    • Remove all nouns
    • Replace verbs
  20. 20. Which best explains why "the dog" is a common noun but "Rex" is a proper noun?

    • "Rex" names one specific dog, while "dog" refers to dogs generally
    • They are exactly the same type of noun
    • "Dog" is always capitalised
    • "Rex" is a common noun

Answer key (parent copy)

  1. 1. A general person, place or thing
  2. 2. A specific person, place or thing
  3. 3. Capital letter
  4. 4. City
  5. 5. Melbourne
  6. 6. -s
  7. 7. Cats
  8. 8. -es
  9. 9. Boxes
  10. 10. Changing y to -ies
  11. 11. Babies
  12. 12. Children
  13. 13. Mice
  14. 14. The city of Melbourne is big.
  15. 15. My teacher, Ms Chen, took us to the city of Melbourne.
  16. 16. Children
  17. 17. Proper noun
  18. 18. The two fox ran away.
  19. 19. Avoid common spelling mistakes
  20. 20. "Rex" names one specific dog, while "dog" refers to dogs generally