Capitalization

Capitalize the first word after a colon only if the word begins a complete sentence YES:We all had the same thought: How are we going to decide which attractions to visit? NO: We all agreed that the city had many worthwhile attractions: museums, theaters, parks, and zoos.

Capitalize Proper Nouns 1. Person’s name 2. Geographical names ex. streets, towns, cities, states, continents, rivers, falls, lakes, bays, seas, oceans, islands

Titles indicating family relationships are capitalized when used as names or as parts of names. – Ex. It is hard to believe that Aunt Maria and Mom are twins. *if the title is preceded by a possessive word, or an article, it is not capitalized. – Ex. My uncle admitted that being a father can be difficult.

Compass directions: north, east, south, west When it names a specific area of a country, it is capitalized. Do not capitalize directions that merely indicate direction or a general location. » Ex. My family lives in the Northeast. » The Barnets moved from the East Coast to the Southwest. » Ex. The wind came from the west. Drive south on Pine Street to the first stoplight. I spent my vacation on the western coast of Yugoslavia.

Seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer – Do not capitalize! – Ex. We visited Manhattan last winter. – Ex. The spring is my favorite time of year.

Capitalize the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close. – Ex. Dear Ms. Mohamed: – My dear Mr. Sanchez: – Very truly yours, – Sincerely yours,

Student Classifications Do not capitalize "freshman," "sophomore," "junior," "senior." Do capitalize as a class designation or formal title. Ex. He's a senior engineering major. The Senior Class gift was the clock.

Religious References: Always capitalize – Ex. God, the Lord, the Father, the Prophets, the Koran, the Torah – EXCEPTION: when you refer to a god or goddess of ancient mythology. – Ex. The god Zeus, the goddess Hera

Proper Adjectives: a proper noun used as an adjective or an adjective formed from a proper noun. New York cabdriver A Korean restaurant *THERE ARE SOME PROPER ADJECTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN USED SO OFTEN THAT THEY HAVE LOST THEIR CAPITALS. » EX. french fries

Bodies of the Universe: Capitalize the names of planets in the solar system and other objects in the universe, EXCEPT words like sun and moon. – Capitalize the word “earth” only when it is used in conjunction with the names of other planets. The word “earth” is not capitalized when the article “the” precedes it. – Ex. In addition to Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto are known as terrestrial planets. They resemble the earth in size, density, and chemical composition.

Capitalize titles of courses when the courses are language courses or when the courses are followed by a number. French, Chemistry 1A, Economics 313 *The capital letters are dropped when school subjects are discussed in a general way and no specific course is named. Ex. Last year, I studied chemistry and French. After English class, I have to rush to biology.

Exercise 1: 1. We 2. Our, It’s 3. You 4. There, The 5. We

Exercise 2: 1. New York City, “Big Apple” 2. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island. 3. Northeast 4. Manhattan, Central Park 5. Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, Manhattan 6. Empire State Building 7. Liberty Island, New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty 8. Intrepid, World War II 9. New York, Saint Paul’s Chapel, Broadway, City Hall Park 10. Greek, Prometheus, Rockefeller Center

Exercise 3: – 1. Egyptian mummy, Mongolian, Greek, Ethiopian – 2. Dutch colony – 3. European immigrants – 4. African Americans – 5. Spanish-speaking Americans, Caribbean, South American

Exercise 4: – 1. Sir – 2. General Sadler – 3. President – 4. Reverend – 5. Grandmother Johnson

Exercise 5: – 1. The Nutcracker – 2. The Wall Street Journal – 3. Porgy and Bess – 4. The Sweet and Sour Animal Book, The Dream Keeper – 5. The Sunshine Boys