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All English activities

Activities: “What are common nouns and proper nouns in English?”

By: Erin Kuester

Activity 1: Answering questions with proper nouns

In this activity, we’ll try and come up with some of our own proper nouns!

For each question below, answer with a full sentence that includes a proper noun. To practice your English fluency, you can add even more information. After you finish, use these questions to interview a friend or family member who is also learning English!

Remember these common types of proper nouns: names, places, days, months, titles, holidays, company names, titles of books/movies/art, formal ideas and concepts.

Here’s an example:

Question:
Who is your best friend?
Answer:
My best friend is Charlie.
Optional: We live very far away from each other, so I talk to Charlie once a week on Skype.

Now you try!

  1. Who is your best friend?

  2. What is your favorite holiday?

  3. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

  4. What store do you shop at most often?

  5. When is your birthday?

  6. What is your favorite day of the week?

  7. What are some of the most famous places in your city, or a city near you?

  8. Who is your favorite movie or TV character?

Activity 2: Thinking of common and proper nouns

Look at the pictures below. Can you name them with both a proper noun and a common noun?

Example:

A red Nike brand shoe pictured against a red background.

Proper noun(s): Nike

Common noun(s): tennis shoe, sneaker, shoe

  1. A photograph of Big Ben and the British Parliament building taken from across the river.

    Proper noun(s):

    Common noun(s):

  2. A photo of a hand holding out a blue and green Starbucks take-out cup with starts on it.

    Proper noun(s):

    Common noun(s):

  3. A copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is lying on a gray blanket.

    Proper noun(s):

    Common noun(s):

  4. A photo of President Obama speaking on the phone and holding up one hand as though he is waving to someone out of frame. He is surrounded by several other people in suits and appears to be somewhere in the White House.

    Proper noun(s):

    Common noun(s):

  5. A photo of a desk calendar resting on a table. It reads "September 2021."

    Proper noun(s):

    Common noun(s):