Capitalization
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Capitalize all proper nouns and all proper
adjectives. A proper noun is the name of a
particular person, place, thing, or idea. A
proper adjective is an adjective formed from a
proper noun.
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Proper Noun: Canada, Abraham Lincoln
Proper Adjective: Asian, Canadian
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Names of People
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Capitalize the names of people and also the
initials or abbreviations that stand for those
names.
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Margaret Thatcher
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martha Ulferts Meyer
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Historical Events
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Capitalize names of historical events, documents,
and periods of time.
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World War I
the Bill of Rights
the Middle Ages
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Abbreviations
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Capitalize abbreviations of titles and
organizations.
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U.S.A.
FBI
Ph.D.
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Organizations
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Capitalize the name of an organization,
association, or a team and its members
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New York State Historical Society
the Democratic Party
the Miami Dolphins
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Names of Subjects
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Capitalize the name of a specific course, but not
the name of a general subject. (Exception – the
names of all languages are proper nouns and are
always capitalized: French, Spanish, English.)
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My brother flunked Chemistry 101 because he
exploded most of his experiments.
My science teacher said that he could forgive
most of his mistakes, but he was fed up with his
pranks.
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First Words
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Capitalize the first word of every sentence and
the first word in a direct quotation. Do not
capitalize the first word in an indirect quotation.
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That’s when my dad took my brother to visit the
teacher.
Then Dad said, “Well son, I think it’s time you try
a science experiment again.”
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Particular Sections of the Country
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Capitalize words which indicate particular sections
of the country; words which simply indicate
direction are not capitalized.
Also capitalize proper adjectives formed from
names of specific secions of a country. Do not
capitalize adjectives formed from words which
simply indicate direction.
Having grown up in the hectic West Coast, I find
life in the Midwest to be refreshing.
Here in western Tennessee, Southern hospitality is a
way of life.
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Names of Languages, Races, Nationalities,
Religions
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Capitalize the names of languages, races,
nationalities, and religions, as well as the proper
adjectives formed from them.
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Spanish, Yiddish, African art, Irish linen,
Swedish meatballs, Methodist, Judaism
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Words Used as Names
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Capitalize words such as mother, father, aunt,
and uncle when these words are used as names.
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Uncle George started to sit on the couch.
Then Uncle stopped in midair.
My aunt had just found him.
Then my dad and mom walked into the room.
“Mom, what is everyone doing in here?” I asked.
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Note: Words such as mom, dad, grandma, etc.,
are not usually capitalized if they come after a
possessive pronoun (my, his, our).
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Days of the Week
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Capitalize the names of the days of the week,
months of the year, and special holidays. (Do
not capitalize the names of seasons.)
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Thursday, July, Independence Day, Labor Day,
winter, spring
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Official Names
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Capitalize the names of businesses and the
official names of their products. (These are
called trade names.) Do not, however, capitalize
a general, descriptive word like toothpaste when
it follows the product name.
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Post Sugar Crisps, Memorex tape, Ford Mustang
GTP, Pioneer sound system, Crest toothpaste,
Pizza Hut, Tombstone pizza
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Titles Used with Names
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Capitalize titles used with names of persons and
abbreviations standing for those titles.
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Mayor Andrew Young, President Bill Clinton,
Representative Miller, Dr. Tim Swanson, Pastor
Jon
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Titles
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Capitalize the first word of a title, the last word,
and every word in between except articles (a, an,
the), short prepositions, and short conjunctions.
Follow this rule for titles of books, newspapers,
magazines, poems, plays, songs, articles, movies,
works of art, pictures, stories, and essays.
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Las Vegas Tribune
Field and Stream
“Jeremiah was a Bullfrog”
Phantom of the Opera
Back to the Future
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