capitalization know the rules or laws of capitalization and use them in your writing
TRANSCRIPT
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