Capitalization

Know the rules or laws of capitalization and use

them in your writing.

Why?Writers use capital letters to help

readers better understand what is written.

LEARN THE CAPITALIZATION LAWS & USE THEM IN

YOUR WRITING! (Don’t do what I just did and capitalize

everything though as you will have broken a rule!)

Capital Letters

All sentences begin with capital letters.

The students are really enjoying the class novel.

Capital LettersThe pronoun I is always

capitalized no matter where it appears in the sentence.

I don’t need your help.My aunt and I picked up the papers.

Capital Letters Basics…

Capitalize proper nouns. This means to capitalize names of particular people, places, things, or ideas.

Sounds simple, right? However, this law or rule actually

includes many, many things.

Capital LettersThe rule about capitalizing proper nouns and

adjectives is a “toughy!”Proper nouns and proper adjectives begin with Proper nouns and proper adjectives begin with

capital letters.capital letters. BUT…what exactly is a proper noun or proper adjective? There are so many nouns

& adjectives in the English language, how will I ever know which ones are “proper” ones? Do I use “A” or “a” ~ Is this a proper noun or proper adj.?

Proper Noun Capitalization Laws…The list begins! Capitalize the names of cities, states, countries,

continents, bodies of water, and geographical features. District of Columbia Los Angeles, California Tampa, Florida Pacific Ocean Lake Michigan Catalina Island Mt. Everest South America

Capitalize titles or abbreviations used with a person’s name Governor Schwarzenegger Rabbi Torenheim Reverend Torenson Mrs. Rosenbloom Dr. Martin Luther King Mr. Smith

J. Paul Getty Senator Smith

Application Practice

mrs. rosenbloom moved here from tampa, florida, which is located on tampa bay near the gulf of mexico

mrs. Briggs and i are your teachers

the sixth graders at john thomas dye school traveled across the pacific ocean by ferry to catalina island

More Proper Noun and Proper Adjective Capitalization Laws…Capitalize nationalities, races,

languages, and religious terms ANDCapitalize proper adjectives referring

to proper nouns American (n. or adj.) Spanish (n. or adj.) Catholic (n. or adj.) Jewish (n. or adj.) Christian (n. or adj.) Torah, Bible, Koran English, Bulgarian, French (n. or adj.)

Even More Capitalization Laws!Capitalize the names of the 12

months and the 7 days of the week

October February Monday Saturday

Capitalize names of holidays even if you do not celebrate them

Christmas Hannukah Passover Yom Kippur Diwali Thanksgiving

More Application Practice

while on my trip through the canadian rockies in august, I met a woman from spain who could speak spanish,english, french, and bulgarian

on the tuesday before yom kippur leaders from the jewish temples and christian churches gathered in los angeles to discuss ways to promote peace

One More Capitalization Law or Rule for Today…. Capitalize the exact names of Capitalize the exact names of

buildings, companies, highways, buildings, companies, highways, bridges, monuments, streets, bridges, monuments, streets, special awards, and names of shipsspecial awards, and names of ships

Sears Tower Eiffel Tower White House Oscars and Emmys Jefferson Memorial Golden Gate Bridge Pacific Coast Highway Disney World Titanic Purple Heart Sony Corporation Sprint

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/proofread/proof.htm

More Application Practice since mrs. rosenbloom is christian, she celebrates

christmas and easter

her husband celebrates hannukah and observes yom kippur because he is jewish

mr rosenbloom, who lives in los angeles california was awarded the communicator award for his sports announcing at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 olympics

before my oldest son, gregory, left for bulgaria to join the peace corps last july, he and I visited the smithsonian institute in washington dc together and took a cruise on disney cruise lines’ ship called fascination

Capitalization Laws Continued…Capitalize names of

organizations, businesses, institutions, and agencies

National Football LeagueMajor League BaseballSocial Security AdministrationFederal Bureau of InvestigationMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Capitalization Laws…

Capitalize names of historical events, periods of time, and documents

Civil War (when you mean the War Between the States)Vietnam WarWar of 1812Middle AgesPaleolithic AgeOld Stone Age vs. New Stone AgeUnited States ConstitutionBill of RightsDeclaration of Independence

Capitalization Rules for Titles Capitalize the first, last, and all important

words in a title of a book, newspaper, movie, song, pamphlet, computer game, C.D. title

Schooled or Schooled The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle “The Road Less Traveled” (poem) The New York Times “The Landlady”

We will go over the rule of when you underline (or use italics) and when you use quotations in the next grammar unit.

Application Practice

on sunday nights i like to watch teams in the national football league compete against one another on television

one team from the national football conference and one from the american football conference will compete against each other in the super bowl held in february

my dad works for the federal bureau of investigation to help fight crime in the united states

while i was reading the book, island of the blue dolphins, my husband was watching the world series between the tampa bay rays of the american league and the philadelphia phillies of the the national league.

Capitalizing School SubjectsWhen do you capitalize them? Capitalize school subjects that are languages or ones that have a number after them

Capitalize school subjects when you are writing them in your heading or in your assignment book, but think of the rule when you are using them in sentences.

Do NOT capitalize any other subjects except languages and subjects with numbers after them.

At J.T.D. students take math, English, social studies, and science, but they do not take Latin, French, or Chinese.

Application Practice

in history class this year mr. lee will teach us about the old stone age, new stone age, mesopotamia, egypt, greece, and the election process

the declaration of independence was signed by strong leaders

in algebra I we are studying balanced equations in ninth grade I will take spanish, algebra II, history, geography, and english which includes

grammar, writing, reading, spelling, and vocabulary.

Capitalizing the words: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST

Capitalize North, South, East, and West when you mean the region. Do NOT capitalize north, south, east, and west when you mean the direction and when you can substitute left or right or up or down instead.

People in the North get to enjoy the colorful fall leaves.People flocked to the West when gold was discovered

there.The North and the South battled each other in the Civil

War. Northern troops drove the Southerners south to the border.

To get to Florida from California, travel west on I-10. I must drive south on the freeway to get home.

Do the “Region Test.” Can you put the word “region” in?

Capitalize Calendar ItemsDo not capitalize the seasons unless they are part of a calendar item though.

Leaves change colors in the fall, and flowers bloom in the spring.

The Fall Fair will take place this weekend.

There is a big dance at school in the spring.

We will decorate for the Spring Fling Dance after school.

I like summer vacation because there is no school.

Relatives’ Names…When do you capitalize and when do you not capitalize? Capitalize the word referring to a relative if it is part of

the name or if it is being used in place of someone’s name.

We visited Grandma last Christmas.We visited Aunt Mary at Thanksgiving.We visited my Uncle Henry on the weekend. Do not capitalize the word referring to a relative if there

is a possessive pronoun in front of it and it is not part of the name.

I visited my grandma last Christmas.I went to see my aunt last year.

(Do the “Relative Test.” Can you substitute a name in the place of the word?)

Last three capitalization rules:1) Capitalize all the words in the salutation of a

letter.Dear Sally, Dear Sir, To Whom It May Concern

2) Capitalize the first word of the closing of a letter.Love, Yours truly, Fondly,

3) Capitalize the first word of a main topic and subtopic in an outline. Do not capitalize the other words

Application Practice

will grandma be coming to visit us in the east for thanksgiving at the end of november

my grandma is driving south on the freeway to reach san diego

the children received gifts from aunt sue over the winter holidays

we will get to see grandpa jones this fall and our other grandparents who live in the north during the spring

When you use a capital letter, you need to be able to state the rule you are using!

Don’t just sprinkle capital letters on your paper. Know WHY you are using them!

Punctuation: Period

A complete sentence that makes a statement ends with a period. Another name for this is a declarative sentence.

It’s your birthday. You blow out the candle.

Punctuation: PeriodA sentence that is a command may also end in a period. Another name for a command is an imperative sentence.

(Imperative sentences may also end in exclamation points depending on how the command is given.)

Look at the paper.Clean up your room!

Punctuation: Question Mark

A question ends with a question mark. Another name for a sentence that asks a question is an interrogative sentence.

When will you be finished?

Punctuation: Exclamation Mark

A statement expressing strong feeling or excitement ends with an exclamation mark. This kind of sentence is called an exclamatory sentence.

What a beautiful day it is!

Punctuation: ColonA colon shows the reader that a list or explanation follows.

I will need the following items: scissors, paper, glue, and paint.

Punctuation: Quotation MarksQuotation marks are used

to identify the exact words of a speaker .

President Bush said, “We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.”

PUNCTUATING TITLES

When do you UNDERLINE titles? The GiverWhen do you put titles in ITALICS? The GiverWhen do you put titles in

quotations? “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”

UNDERLINING TITLES Underline the following types of titles

when you are using them in sentences:Books The True Confessions of Charlotte DoyleMagazines National GeographicNewspapers Los Angeles TimesShips (including spaceships, rockets, etc.) Titanic,

Apollo 11Paintings or other works of art (sculptures) Whistler’s

MotherC.D.’s, tapes, record albums Beatles’ Greatest HitsPlays & Operas Carmen, Phantom of the OperaT.V. shows or series Friends, Sponge BobEncyclopedias World BookPamphlets Book Length Poems + Epics

USING ITALICS FOR TITLES

This is an easy one!Titles that are underlined

may also be put in italics.Choose one or the other in a

document.Do NOT underline and use

italics at the same time though.

EASY TRICK to REMEMBERWHEN to UNDERLINE (italics) OR WHEN to USE QUOTATIONS:

UNDERLINE/ITALICS: You underline titles with a WHOLE line and these are WHOLE things where you could go and pick up the WHOLE thing

QUOTATIONS: Quotations come in 2 PARTS:

“____________”Use quotations for PARTS of things

USING QUOTATIONS FOR TITLES

USE QUOTATIONS FOR THESE TITLESChapters of booksArticles in newspapers or magazinesShort storiesPoemsSongs, hymnsTelevision episodesEncyclopedia articles

Online Complete Sentence Activities

Capitalization & Punctuation Practice ICapitalization & Punctuation Practice 2Capitalization & Punctuation Practice 3Capitalization & Punctuation Practice 4Capitalization & Punctuation Practice 5Capitalization & Punctuation Practice 6CapitalizationPeriods, Question Marks & Exclamation

Marks