CapitalizationCapitalization

Capitalize the names of people, organizations, places, and things.

• Joe Smith• Los Angeles, California• Mount Rushmore• Hudson River• Indian Ocean• Dr. Amber Jones• Yellowstone National Park• West End Bridge Club• Mr. MacLean• Pacific Northwest

Capitalize the names of political parties, nationalities,

geographical names, and races.

• Republican, Democrat, Independent• German, Russian, Korean, Nigerian• South Africa, Indiana, North America,

Mount Everest, Black Sea, Pacific Rim, Kalahari Desert, Ayers Rock, Zion National Park, Dunns River Falls

• Caucasian, African American, Native American, Asian

Capitalize the names of particular buildings, governmental bodies,

and departments.• The Empire State Building, The Pentagon,

Washington Monument, Brevard County Courthouse, St. Stephen’s Church, St. Basil’s Basilica, Kennedy Middle School

• Governor, Representative, Congress, Senate, President, Judicial Branch, Secretary of State

• Department of the Treasury, Department of Defense, State Department

These little words do not need to be capitalized.

Capitalize days of the week, months of the year, and

holidays.

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday• May, June, July, August• Thanksgiving, Easter, Kwanzaa, Groundhog’s

Day, Memorial Day, Secretary’s Day, Yom Kippur, Chinese New Year

A note about Proper Nouns• Names of people, places, or things are called

proper nouns. Many of the examples in this tutorial contain proper nouns. You need to capitalize proper nouns. – For instance, the word mountain is a noun.

Bear Mountain is a proper noun because it is the name of the mountain.

– St. John’s River is a proper noun because that is the name of the river; the word river is a noun.

– Saturday is a proper noun; day is a noun.– Emily is a proper noun, but girl is a noun.The next few slides will test you on proper

nouns.

Be careful not to capitalize words that are not proper nouns.

These two sentences are correct.

These two sentences are correct.

She didn’t want to go to the Beach.She didn’t want to go to the beach.She didn’t want to go to Cocoa Beach.

He took his Children to play at the Park.He took his children to play at the park.He took Jimmy and Sally to play at Rotary Park.

Beach is not a proper noun.

Click for Correctio

n

Children and park are not proper nouns.

Click HereNext

Sentence

Next

More Examples

These two sentences are correct.

We went to the Grocery Store on the way Home from Work.We went to the grocery store on the way home from work.We went to Publix on the way home from work.

Grocery, store, home and work are not proper nouns.

The Artist painted many beautiful Paintings of his Wife, Julia.The artist painted many beautiful paintings of his wife, Julia.Hector painted many beautiful paintings of his wife, Julia.

Artist, paintings, and wife are not proper nouns.

These two sentences are correct.

Click for Correctio

n

Click Here

Next Sentence

Next

Capitalize the important words in titles of books, movies, television shows, poems, plays, musicals,

newspapers, songs, etc.

• The Catcher in the Rye• The Wizard of Oz• The King of Queens• Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Don’t capitalize words like “the”, “in”, “on”, “of”, “for”, etc. unless they are the first word in the title.

Capitalize the first word of a sentence, direct quotation, and line

of poetry.• He went to the beach before work.• The cat slept on the windowsill.• She said, “Don’t forget to write.”• “I love skiing,” he said. “Falling, however, is

not fun.”

• Roses are red.Violets are purple.Some poems rhyme,But this one doesn’t.

Capitalize religious sects, and names referring to God, the Bible, or parts of the Bible

• Judas Maccabaeus, Saint Peter• Passover, Ramadan, All Saint’s Day• Genesis, Revelations, Psalms• Islamic, Muslim, Buddhist• Old Testament, New Testament• The Koran, The Bible

Capitalize the names of historical events, eras, and

important documents.

• World War I, The Revolutionary War, Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston Tea Party, Desert Storm, Presidential Inauguration

• Roaring Twenties, Fabulous Forties, Awesome Eighties, Age of Reason, Mesozoic Era

• Declaration of Independence, The First Amendment, The Constitution

Capitalize titles when they precede a name, nicknames, epithets, suffixes, brand names, and school subjects

related to languages.

• The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dr. Warren Bland• Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, Mean Joe Green• Catherine the Great, Ivan the Terrible• Emily Spencer, LMHC, Stephen Jones, Jr.• Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Birkenstock, Izod• French, English, Spanish, Russian, Latin

Capitalize the first word and all nouns in the salutation of a letter and of a complimentary closing

phrase.• Dear John,• To Whom It May Concern:• Dear Family and Friends,• Very Truly Yours,• Sincerely,• With Much Admiration,

Test YourselfClick on the sentence that has the

correct capitalization.

Steven Jones climbed mount mckinley when he was Twenty.Steven Jones climbed Mount McKinley when he was twenty.

She went Kayaking on the mississippi River with her Roommates kim and Sue.

She went kayaking on the Mississippi River with her roommates, Kim and Sue.

Whenever Jim goes to Oregon, it rains for days and days.Whenever Jim goes to oregon, it Rains for Days and Days.

Click for the next

set.

Next

Click the words that have the correct capitalization.

Great Wall of Chinauniversity of FloridaDr. William M. MerrittThe Wind In The WillowsSt. Peter’s Cathedral

chimney rock

Brevard community collegethe Star-Spangled Banner

Great Wall Of ChinaUniversity of Floridadr. William m. MerrittThe Wind in the WillowsSt. Peter’s cathedral

Chimney Rock

Brevard Community CollegeThe Star-Spangled Banner Next

Click “Correct” or “Fix it!” for each of the sentences below.

•Clint Eastwood said, “Go ahead, make my day.”•The reverend Patrick Morris took his lesson from the book of Psalms in the Bible.

•During world war II, many women played Professional Baseball with the All American Pro Girls League.•Since he no longer wanted anyone to call him by name, he began to call himself “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.” •Does christmas fall on a thursday this year?

•Congress meets in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Correct

Fix it!

•The Reverend Patrick Morris took his lesson from the Book of Psalms in The Bible.

•During World War II, many women played professional baseball with the All American Pro Girls League.

•Does Christmas fall on a Thursday this year?

Next

Good work!