CAPITALIZATION
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FIRST WORDS
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All students attend advisory either
before or after lunch.
Early dismissal due to the heat will be
determined on a weekly basis.
Students are expected to be in the
classroom when the tardy bell rings.
Capitalize the first word in every
sentence.
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She asked, “When is the first football
game?”
He answered, “The first football game
is Friday, August 29th.”
“Do you want to go together?” they
said at the exact same time.
Capitalize the first word of a
directly quoted sentence.
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We all had the same thought: How are
you going to decide which attractions
to visit?
We all agreed that the city has many
worthwhile attractions: museums,
theaters, parks, and zoos.
Capitalize the first word after a
colon only if the word begins a
complete sentence.
1. there are many beautiful and exciting places to
see in New york State!
2. adirondack park is located in the Northern
corner of the state.
3. whiteface mountain is the highest skiing peak in
the east, and it is the only high peak in the
adirondacks reachable by car.
4. in 1935, president franklin d. roosevelt opened
the new state highway to the mountaintop.
5. the 1932 and 1980 winter olympic games were
held at lake placid, located just South of
whiteface mountain.
CAPITALIZATION
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FIRST PERSON PRONOUN—I
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I read all of the pages I was assigned.
I need to check my teacher’s website
for assignments.
Did you know that I can help you with
that before or after school?
Capitalize the pronoun I.
(The world is not an endless text message.)
CAPITALIZATION
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PROPER NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
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Yadier Molina
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William Shakespeare
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Lassie
Capitalize names of people and
pets.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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J.K. Rowling
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Dr. John Pullman, D.D.S.
Capitalize initials in names and
abbreviations that come before or
after a name.
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Morgan County
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Jacksonville, Illinois
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1211 N. Diamond St.
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the Midwest
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the Grand Canyon
Capitalize geographical names.
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Jacksonville High School
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St. Louis Cardinals
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American Cancer Society
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U.S. Department of Agriculture
Capitalize the names of
organizations, teams, government
bodies, and institutions.
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Tuesday, February 25
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Labor Day
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the Roaring Twenties
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Industrial Revolution
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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Capitalize the names of historical
events and periods, special events,
holidays and other calendar items.
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a summer morning
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Annual Spring Fling
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the first day of autumn
Do not capitalize the seasons
unless they are part of proper
nouns.
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Australian
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Lakota
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New Yorkers
Capitalize the names of
nationalities, races, and peoples.
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Christian
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a Jewish holiday
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praying to Allah
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Koran
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Good Friday
Capitalize the names of religions
and their followers, holy days and
celebrations, sacred writings, and
specific deities.
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The Greek goddess Demeter influences
the seasons.
Zeus, an all-powerful god, had twelve
wives.
An owl is the symbol of the goddess
Athena who is known for her wisdom.
The words god and goddess are not
capitalized when they refer to the deities
of ancient mythology, but the names of
specific gods and goddesses are
capitalized.
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Crest toothpaste
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Abercrombie & Fitch
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Bath & Body Works
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Quaker oatmeal
Capitalize the names of businesses
and the brand names of products.
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Mercury
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the evening star Venus
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Ursa Major
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the constellation Orion
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the Milky Way
Capitalize the names of planets,
stars/constellations, and other
heavenly bodies.
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total eclipse of the sun
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the earth and the moon
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Mercury, Venus, and Earth
The word earth is not capitalized unless
it is used along with the names of other
heavenly bodies that are capitalized. The
words sun and moon generally are not
capitalized.
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Chevrolet Corvette
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Toyota Sienna
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the Orient Express
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the shuttle Discovery
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Mercury Cougar
Proper names of boats or cars (and
other transportation) are generally
capitalized.
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Nobel Peace Prize
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Washington Monument
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Congressional Medal of Honor
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Heisman Memorial Trophy
Capitalize the names of awards,
memorials, and monuments.
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the Florence Bridge
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a drawbridge in Pike County
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Illinois College
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one of the colleges in town
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Buckingham Palace
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a palace in London
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Illinois Theater
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the theater in town
Capitalize the names of particular
buildings and other structures.
(Generally, do not capitalize words like hotel, theater,
college, high school, post office, and courthouse
unless they are part of a proper name.)
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American history
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Spanish, English, German
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Art I
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biology
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concert choir
Do not capitalize the names of
school subjects except the names
of language classes or course
names that contain a number.
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freshmen soccer players
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Junior Prom Committee
Do not capitalize the class names
freshman, sophomore, junior, or
senior unless they are part of a
proper noun.
1. the niagara river and niagara falls are located in
Western new york.
2. more than 10 million visitors a year come to see
the great Falls, which native Americans call the
“thunder of the waters.”
3. there are five homes designed by the american
Architect frank lloyd wright in the Western New
York City of buffalo.
4. to cross over to Central new york, you can rent a
Houseboat and cruise the historic erie canal.
5. the new york state capitol building is in albany.
CAPITALIZATION
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TITLES
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Mrs. Symons
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Superintendent Ptacek
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Assistant Principal Dillard
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Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer
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Dr. Stevenson
Capitalize a person’s title when the
title comes before the person’s
name.
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The senator is running for re-election.
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The doctor will see you next.
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Go see Mr. McGiles, the principal!
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Thank you, Senator!
Generally, a title that is used alone or
following a person’s name is not
capitalized, especially if that title is
preceded by a or the. Titles used alone in
direct address, however, generally are
capitalized.
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my uncle Jack
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Uncle Gary
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your grandma
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Yes, Dad, I’ll finish my homework now.
Capitalize a word showing a family
relationship when the word is used
before or in place of a person’s
name, unless the word follows a
possessive noun or pronoun.
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The New York Times
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Chapter 21
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“The Most Dangerous Game”
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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
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“A Rose for Emily”
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the Jacksonville Journal Courier
Capitalize the first and last words
and all important words in titles and
subtitles.
Unimportant words in a title include
articles a, an, the; prepositions with
fewer than five letters: in, of, for,
and so forth; coordinating
conjunctions: and, but, or, for, nor,
so, yet; and the sign of the
infinitive: to. Capitalize an article (a,
an, the) at the beginning of a title or
subtitle only if it is the first word of
the official title or subtitle.
1. for bob smith, the first day at Washington high
school had not begun well.
2. bob had not wanted to move to new york and
leave his old school in centerville, Indiana.
3. however, his Father had accepted a job at st.
john’s university, and his mother had been
offered a job as a reporter for the new york
times, so they moved in august.
4. the Bus this morning had been delayed in traffic
on maple street.
5. bob’s first class was History with mr. Harris.
6. finally, He found Room 302 and took a seat.
7. mr. Harris was telling the class about the Field
Trips they would be taking throughout the
semester.
8. when mr. Harris finished his lecture, the girl
sitting next to bob smiled and extended her hand.
9. “i am sarah carter,” She said, “And this is my
first day here.”
10. perhaps tuesday, september 2, was going to be
a good day after all.
TYPES OF SENTENCES
DECLARATIVE SENTENCE:
STATEMENT
The regular school day at
Jacksonville High School consists of
eight periods.
Students at Jacksonville High School
are expected to be dressed
appropriate to the school setting.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE:
QUESTION
Where is the cafeteria?
When is the first football game?
Is there a club for that?
IMPERATIVE SENTENCE:
COMMAND/REQUEST (understood you)
Do not wear hats, hoods, or
bandanas in the school building.
Be in class and ready when the tardy
bell sounds.
IMPERATIVE SENTENCE:
STRONG COMMAND
Sit down and be quiet!
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE:
EXCLAMATION (showing emotion)
We won the football game!
I got an A on my first test!
1. The lynx is a wildcat that measures up to three feet in length
2. What color is the lynx
3. It has a brownish-gray coat with a black, bobbed tail and black
ear tufts
4. It is so adorable
5. Look for the lynx in dense forests
6. What is the purpose of camouflage
7. Lynxes are successful hunters because their prey cannot
differentiate between them and the dense forest
8. Have you ever wondered why the lynx is endangered
9. What a sad thing that is
10.Read this article if you want to learn more