CAPITALIZATION (WRITING)

CAPITALIZATION

1. Begin every sentence with a capitalized word.

Example               :

—  In the beginning, the book was slow reading.

—  He said that he felt fine.

2. Capitalize the pronoun I.

                Example:

—  Jack and I went to the beach yesterday.

3. Capitalize proper nouns—names of people, places, courses, organizations, and languages.

                Example               :

—  David Beckham

—  the National Audubon Society

—  Main High School (BUT high school)

—  China

—  Biology 111 (the name of a course) BUT biology (not a course name)

—  Fleet Street

—  New Yorker

4. Capitalize a person’s title before his or her name.

—  Mayor Juarez                 BUT            He is the mayor.

—  Professor Williams           BUT        Who is your English professor?

—  President Lincoln                          BUT           Abraham Lincoln was president.

—  Dr. Williams                        BUT        She is a doctor.

5. Capitalize names of areas or countries.

                Don’t capitalize these terms when they mean only a direction.

—  The North won the Civil War.

—  She is from the West.

                                                BUT

—  We are traveling north.

—  Which way is east?

6. Capitalize the names of days, months, and holidays. Don’t capitalize the seasons of the year.

                Example               :

—  Tuesday

—  March

—  Independence Day

                                                BUT

—  summer

—  spring

—  fall

7. Capitalize all major words in titles. Don’t capitalize little words—short prepositions, conjunctions, articles—unless they are the first or last words in the title or subtitle.

                Example               :

—  For Whom the Bell Tolls

—  Life on the Mississippi

—  Journal of American Medical Association

—  “What to Listen For”

               

Exercise 1

Identify and correct all the improperly capitalized words. You can check your answers using the key.

1. the statue of liberty is located in new york harbor.
2. "happy birthday, kayla!" jack cheered.
3. playing scrabble is a good way to improve your vocabulary.
4. "place the flowers in the vase," remarked tyneal, "and put them on the front table.“
5. pizza and hamburgers were popular choices for the party.
6. dr. seuss's the cat in the hat was played by jim carey in the movie.
7. "what did mom say when you told her you were invited to go to washington, d.c., with teddy?" james asked.
8. juneau is the capital of alaska, our forty-ninth state.
9. subs are called grinders, po' boys, and hoagies in different parts of the united states.
10. grandpa told my uncle that aunt penny and allison went to the grove to go shopping.

Exercise 2

Write the following sentences correctly.

1. every december, i can hardly wait for santa claus.
2. friday is the best day because we order pizza from domino’s.
3. the best television shows are spongebob and ed, edd, and eddie.
4. my favorite song is we will rock you.
5. king arthur ruled over camelot.