Capitalization!Capitalization!Capitalization!Capitalization!

2

Proper vs. common nouns

•Proper nouns = specific people, places, things

•Common nouns =general people, places, things

Proper vs. common nouns

Proper

– James Bond– Kenya– Pepsi– Providence– University

of Rhode Island

Common

–a man–country–soft drink–a city–university,school

Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives

• Capitalize the names and also the initials or abbreviations that stand for those names.– E.B. White Elwyn Brooks

White

Lesson #2:Pronouns, Religions, and Locations (continued)

• Capitalize major words in geographical names. Also capitalize names of sections of the United States but not compass directions.– Continents: North America, Asia– Bodies of Water (oceans, rivers, lakes,

bays, falls, etc): the Atlantic Ocean, the Nile River

– Landforms (valleys, deserts, mountains): Death Valley, Gobi Desert, Rocky Mountains

– Political Units (towns/counties/cities/states): Kingston, South County, Warwick, Rhode Island

– The Desert Southwest vs. I live west of Narragansett Bay.

Geographical names (cont’d)

– Public Area: Fort McHenry, Central Park– Streets, Roads and Highways: Interstate

95, Route 1, Addison Road– Islands: Sicily, Grand Cayman Island– State/National Monuments: Gettysburg

National Battlefield, Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park

• Capitalize the names of historical events, documents, and periods of time.– Battle of Gettysburg -the Civil War– Victorian Age

• Capitalize the names of months, days, and holidays (religious and secular), but not the names of the seasons.– The fall holiday of Halloween is always October

31.– My favorite season is summer.

• Special Events: Republican National Convention

• Capitalize all the important words in the names of clubs, businesses, organizations and institutions, including abbreviations.– Msgr. Clarke Catholic School – University of Rhode Island– URI

• Government bodies, political parties– National Junior Honor Society– Supreme Court

• Do not capitalize such words as school, college, and church when they are not used as names.– Turn left at the church, then go right at the light.

• Capitalize words referring to the Deity and to religious scripture.– Allah, Jesus, the Bible, the Koran

• Do not capitalize the words that refer to mythological deities. – In Greek myths, Athena was the

goddess of wisdom.

• Capitalize the names of sections of the United States and proper adjectives derived from them.– Many large cities are located in the

Northeast.– The Southwest is known for its hot, dry

weather.

• Do not capitalize directions of the compass or adjectives derived from them.– The flight east was smooth. – He likes northern winters.

• Capitalize the names of languages, races, ethnic groups, and nationalities.– French– Spanish– German

• Capitalize other proper adjectives and brand names used as adjectives.– Olympic champion– Kleenex tissue

• Capitalize the names of ships, trains, aircraft, and the brand names of automobiles.– Titanic– Ford– Volkswagen– Concorde

• Capitalize the abbreviations: – B.C. and B.C.E. -A.D. and C.E.

– A.M. and P.M.

Lesson #1:Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives (continued)

• Capitalize title used with names.– Mayor Brown -Mr. David Chang– Dr. T. Brush -Mrs. G.H. Smith– Lt. C.E. Morro -Ms. Moniz

• Capitalize the following titles when used alone if they refer to the current holders of their positions.– the President (of the U.S.)– the Queen (of England)– the Vice-President (of the U.S.) – the Pope

• Do not capitalize titles used as common nouns.– Yesterday the mayor addressed the city

council.– One of the doctors on call is Dr. Ross.

• Do Not capitalize titles, when they follow a name:– Elizabeth II, the queen of England, is in the

Windsor family. – Barak Obama, president of the United States,

is a Democrat.

• Capitalize words such as mother, father, aunt, uncle, brother, and sister when the titles are used as names. – Uncle Rob gave Mother a ring for her

birthday.• When the noun is modified by a personal

pronoun, the noun is not capitalized.– My mother helped me make my costume

for the party.

Greetings, Closings, and Titles• Capitalize all the important words in the

greeting and closing of a letter.– Dear Sir: Sincerely,

• Capitalize the first word, last word, and all other important words in the titles of books, poems, short stories, articles, newspapers, magazines, plays, motion pictures, works of art, television programs, and musical compositions.– Book The Island of the Blue Dolphins– Poem “The Raven”– Story “To Build a Fire”– Play The Sound of Music– Movie Field of Dreams

• Do not capitalize the names of school subjects unless they are languages or unless a course name is followed by a number (AP or IB)– World History I– history – mathematics– English

Lesson #4:Object Names, Common Abbreviations, Quotations, and Outlines

• Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation.– Susan said, “This book would make a

great movie!”

• Do not capitalize the first word of the second part of a divided quotation unless it starts a new sentence.– “I think,” replied Sasha, “that book

was made into a very popular movie.”– “You are right,” said Dan. “The movie

was made in 1990.”

Artistry with CapitalsWhat is the writer trying to do?

I couldn’t see her very clearly amid all the tributes, but there didn’t seem to be much to hate—she seemed mostly to be a professional sick person, like me, which made me worry that when I died they would have nothing to say about me except that I had fought heroically, as if the only thing I had ever done was to Have Cancer.

I have a full-time job Learning How to Be Blind.

Both quotes from The Fault in our Stars by John Green