Why is correct capitalization important?

First word of sentence

Salutations and closings of letters

The pronoun I

Proper nouns

Proper adjectives

School subjects

Titles

Abbreviations

Review A

Review B

Using Capital Letters

Why is capitalization important?

Suppose a friend sent you this text message.

meet me at ken’s garage at 5:30. bring the beetle.

Ken’s garage? the beetle? the Beetle?

Would you go to Would you bring

Ken’s Garage?

or or

Why is capitalization important?

With correct capitalization, your mission is clear.

Meet me at Ken’s Garage at 5:30. Bring the Beetle.

First word of sentence

Capitalize the first word in every sentence.

Most of my friends liked the music. One day we may go to another concert.

After the concert we went out for fruit smoothies.

First word of sentence

Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.

Jack said, “Kangaroos and wallabies are marsupials.”

Ms. Herrera said, “Your answer is correct, Jack.”

Salutations and closings of letters

In letters, capitalize the first word in

the salutation the closing

Dear Manager:

My dearest Nora,

Sincerely yours,

Regards,

The pronoun I

Capitalize the pronoun I.

When I finished the race, I was feeling strong.

If you go running, I’ll go too.

On Your Own

Using capital letters

Correct each capitalization error in the following sentences.

1. the kite i like has already been sold.

2. my dad asked, “have you fed the cat yet?”

3. during the rainstorm the barn flooded.

4. the letter began, “my dearest, How i have missed you.”

5. the firefighter said, “let’s not wait any longer.”

[End of Section]

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or ideas. A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea.

Common Nouns Proper Nouns

dog Lassie, Spot

patriot Patrick Henry

city New Orleans

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of people and animals

MarcusInitials in names

D. F. Scott

Abbreviations before or after names

Dr. Rachel Moss

the Collins family Rover

Sabrina G. Santos

Herbert Wu, Sr.

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Geographical names

Santa Fe (city)

New Zealand (country)

Red River (body of water)

the Northwest (region)

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of organizations, teams, government bodies, and institutions

Girl Scouts of America (organization)

Pittsburgh Steelers (team)

Austin City Council (government body)

Stanford University (institution)

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of historical events and periods, special events, holidays, and other calendar items

Battle of Britain (historical event)

Parents’ Day (special event)

Cinco de Mayo (holiday)

Thursday (calendar item)

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of nationalities, races, and peoples

Caucasian Aztec

Asian Puerto Rican ZuluKorean

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of religions and their followers, holy days and celebrations, sacred writings, and specific deities

Buddhism (religion)Buddhist (follower)

Good Friday (holy day)

Dead Sea Scrolls (sacred writing)

Allah (specific deity)

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of businesses and the brand names of business products

Marvie Dot Com

Formed Cabinets Cheeky

SuperSwipes

(brand names)

X-Sports! Shoes

PizzaWish

(businesses)

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of planets, constellations, stars, and other heavenly bodies

Saturn the Milky Way Orion

Andromeda Galaxy Great Nebula

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of ships, trains, aircraft, and spacecraft

Columbia Enterprise

Queen Mary

Orient ExpressSpirit of St. Louis

Yankee Clipper

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of awards, memorials, and monuments

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Nobel Prize

Heisman TrophyLincoln Memorial

Proper nouns

Capitalize proper nouns.

Names of specific buildings and other structures

Plaza Hotel the Alamo Great Wall of China

Golden Gate Bridge Shasta Dam Tower of London

Proper adjectives

Capitalize proper adjectives.

A proper adjective is an adjective formed from a proper noun.

Proper Nouns Proper Adjectives

Turkey Turkish border

Thomas Jefferson Jeffersonian ideals

Islam Islamic beliefs

Queen Elizabeth Elizabethan drama

On Your Own

Correct the capitalization errors in the following word groups.

1. pictures of the eiffel tower in paris

2. the wisconsin badgers versus the texas longhorns

3. flying in the spruce goose

4. running in the boston marathon

5. a passage from the koran

[End of Section]

Proper nouns and proper adjectives

School subjects

Do not capitalize the names of school subjects.

geometry

English

Exception: Do capitalize the names of language classes and courses that contain a number.

chemistrymusic art social studies

Spanish

Geometry II Chemistry I

Titles

Capitalize a person’s title when the title comes before the name.

President Kennedy

Generally, a title that is used alone or following a person’s name is not capitalized, especially if the title is preceded by a or the.

Franklin Roosevelt was the president during World War II.

Dr. Sakamoto Professor Wells

Titles

Capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word is used before or in place of a person’s name.

Do not capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word follows a possessive noun or pronoun.

Uncle Manuel

my uncle Manuel

Cousin Josh Grandfather

your cousin Josh Kim’s grandfather

Titles

Capitalize the first and last words and all important words in titles and subtitles.

Songs of the Tewa (book)

“Love Without Love” (poem)

It’s a Wonderful Life (movie)

“Blue Moon” (song)

Abbreviations

Capitalize abbreviations if the words they stand for are capitalized.

Abbreviations that come before or after names of persons

Mrs. Jill Robbins

Abbreviations of geographical names

Mt. St. Helens

John H. Glenn, Jr. Col. Whitman

Bahama Is. Madera Co.

Abbreviations

Capitalize abbreviations if the words they stand for are capitalized.

Abbreviations used in addresses

2414 Grand St.

Abbreviations of the names of organizations, government bodies, and businesses

American Dental Assn.

Witte Hall, Rm. 108 P.O. Box 1628

CloudBank Corp.

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

School subjects, titles, and abbreviations

On Your Own

Correct the capitalization errors in the following sentences.

1. Does dad like the movie fly away home?

2. Did mr. Wills write a book about st. Augustine?

3. Where are astronauts employed besides nasa?

4. Ask principal Hendrix for a copy of the herald.

5. Does your aunt really know mayor Goodall?

[End of Section]

Review A

Correct the following sentences by capitalizing or lowercasing letters as needed.

1. On saturday, may 18, my Brother ted and i won a Fact quiz against our parents.

2. Ted’s world literature I and spanish courses came in handy, and so did my Geography class.

3. Mom and dad couldn’t remember that the first united states satellite was explorer I.

4. can you believe we knew that kleenex® tissues were first used as gas-mask filters during world war I?

[End of Section]

Review B

[End of Section]

Correct the sentences in the following paragraph by capitalizing or lowercasing letters as needed.

(1) Louis armstrong was born in new orleans in august 1901. (2) While growing up, he played the trumpet on the Paddleboats that sailed the mississippi river. (3) Later he played in a band in chicago called the Creole jazz band. (4) The band’s pianist, Lil hardin, became mrs. armstrong in 1924. (5) Louis Armstrong soon became a Composer too. (6) He wrote the classic Jazz songs “dippermouth blues” and “wild man blues.”

The End