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Capitalization Rules |
Knowing how to use capital letters correctly is important to providing accurate understanding to the reader of the meaning and function of the word. Here are the rules for capitalizing and some examples of correct usage. |
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Begin with a capital letter in the following situations.
1. The first word of a sentence. 2. The first word of a quoted sentence. 3. The first line of a poem. 4. The first word and the important words in titles of books, articles, films, plays, and musical works. 5. Proper nouns. 6. The pronoun I. 7. The first word of a salutation and closing of a letter or e-mail.
The definition of proper noun sometimes creates confusion. Here are examples to clarify what constitutes a proper noun.
Capitalize the following.
Proper names:
Cassadaga Valley High School New York City United Nations
Definite Place Names:
Madison Avenue Winchester Street
Family Relationships:
Aunt Ann (however, if preceded by a possessive then my aunt Ann) Uncle Michael
Substitute for a person’s name particularly in direct address:
“Hello, Aunt.” Dear Sir “No, Dad, I didn’t take the car keys.”
Definite events:
World War II President’s Day
Races, Languages, Religions:
Catholic African-American French
Titles:
Dr. Wheatley Mrs. Ascot Reverend Jeremiah Lott
Organization Names:
Rotary Club Verizon Democratic Party
Deity (and other words associated with deities like sacred writings):
God Buddha Christ St. Luke Scriptures Koran Bible (when referring to a holy work as opposed to referring to a thorough work about a particular subject area – “Her book is the bible of cooking.”)
Trade names: (only capitalize the part of a trade name which distinguishes it from other brands)
McDonald’s Big Mac Arrow shirts Motorola cell phones
Do not capitalize in the following situations.
Words that are not a specific name:
my elementary school our writing club
The names of the seasons:
spring summer autumn winter
Studies other than languages:
biology math social studies
A title after a modifier:
my aunt a pastor three sisters
Remember this rule for capitalizing a title.
Do not cap the “CAP” unless it is the first word. The last “CAP” stands for
C- conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor) A- articles (the, a, an) P- prepositions (of, to, for, from)
Examples:
Gone with the Wind Of Mice and Men The Sound of Music America the Beautiful
©Celia Webb, 2008 Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all links active, give the author credit, and do not edit the article. |
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Other articles of interest:
Most Commonly Misspelled Words
Auxiliary Verbs (also called helping verbs)
Visit our Reference Desk page for a complete listing of articles. |