A CAPITAL IDEA The Uses and Rules of Capital Letters

A CAPITAL IDEA  Capitalize the first word of every sentence  Capitalize the personal pronoun I

A CAPITAL IDEA  Capitalize the names of family relations when they are used as substitutes for names (proper nouns)  Mom and Dad took me to visit my Uncle Ted and Aunt Margaret.  But…  My mom and dad took me to visit my uncle and aunt.

Title  In titles capitalize the first, last, and all important words. Usually, we don’t capitalize articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.  Where the Red Fern Grows  The Summer of the Swans

Proper Nouns  Capitalize names of specific persons, places, and geographical locations.  My brother Charlie, who used to live in New York and work for Wal Mart, now lives in South Carolina and works for Home Depot.  Don’t capitalize directions.  He moved from the north to the south.

More on Proper Nouns  Capitalize the names of days of the week, months, and holidays.  Valentines Day falls on Wednesday, February 14 th.  Don’t capitalize the names of the seasons.  We are heading south next fall.

Still More on Capital Nouns  Capitalize the names of historical events.  The Holocaust took place during World War ll.  Capitalize the names of religious terms.  God, Jews, The Bible, Christians, Muslims

Still More on Proper Nouns  Capitalize the names of nations, nationalities, languages, and words based on such words.  Swedish  English muffin  French horn  Spanish class

Still More on Proper Nouns  Capitalize the names of academic courses when they’re used as titles.  He likes Earth Science and English 101, but dislikes his math class. but dislikes his math class.  Capitalize brand names  Nintendo games, Kleenex, Ford, MTV, Nikes

Titles of People and Offices  Capitalize titles when they precede names.  President Bush introduced the Secretary of State.  but… usually not after a name….  Joe, the president of the senior class, is planning the trip.