1. Using Capital Letters 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

2. Why is capitalization important?
Suppose a friend sent you this text message.
meet me at ken’s garage at 5:30. bring the beetle.
Would you go to
Would you bring or or
Ken’s garage?
Ken’s Garage?
the beetle?
the Beetle?

3. Why is capitalization important?
With correct capitalization, your mission is clear.
Meet me at Ken’s Garage at 5:30. Bring the Beetle.

4. First word of sentence Capitalize the first word in every sentence.
After the concert we went out for fruit smoothies.
Most of my friends liked the music. One day we may go to another concert.

5. 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.”

6. Salutations and closings of letters
In letters, capitalize the first word in
the salutation
the closing
Dear Manager:
Sincerely yours,
My dearest Nora,
Regards,

7. The pronoun I Capitalize the pronoun I.
When I finished the race, I was feeling strong.
If you go running, I’ll go too.

8. Using capital letters
On Your Own
Correct each capitalization error in the following sentences.
the kite i like has already been sold.
my dad asked, “have you fed the cat yet?”
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.”
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9. 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

10. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns. Names of people and animals
Marcus
the Collins family
Rover
Initials in names
D. F. Scott
Sabrina G. Santos
Abbreviations before or after names
Dr. Rachel Moss
Herbert Wu, Sr.

11. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns. Geographical names
Santa Fe (city)
Red River (body of water)
New Zealand (country)
the Northwest (region)

12. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of organizations, teams, government bodies, and institutions
Girl Scouts of America (organization)
Austin City Council (government body)
Pittsburgh Steelers (team)
Stanford University (institution)

13. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of historical events and periods, special events, holidays, and other calendar items
Battle of Britain (historical event)
Cinco de Mayo (holiday)
Parents’ Day (special event)
Thursday (calendar item)

14. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of nationalities, races, and peoples
Korean
Caucasian
Aztec
Asian
Puerto Rican
Zulu

15. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of religions and their followers, holy days and celebrations, sacred writings, and specific deities
Buddhism (religion) Buddhist (follower)
Dead Sea Scrolls (sacred writing)
Good Friday (holy day)
Allah (specific deity)

16. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of businesses and the brand names of business products
Marvie Dot Com
X-Sports! Shoes
(businesses)
PizzaWish
Formed Cabinets
Cheeky
(brand names)
SuperSwipes

17. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of planets, constellations, stars, and other heavenly bodies
Saturn
the Milky Way
Orion
Andromeda Galaxy
Great Nebula
3/C p. 625 and 4/C p. 679
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18. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of ships, trains, aircraft, and spacecraft
Yankee Clipper
Columbia
Enterprise
Queen Mary
Spirit of St. Louis
Orient Express

19. Proper nouns Capitalize proper nouns.
Names of awards, memorials, and monuments
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Nobel Prize
Lincoln Memorial
Heisman Trophy

20. 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

21. 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

22. Proper nouns and proper adjectives
On Your Own
Correct the capitalization errors in the following word groups.
pictures of the eiffel tower in paris
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
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23. School subjects Do not capitalize the names of school subjects.
geometry
music
chemistry
art
social studies
Exception: Do capitalize the names of language classes and courses that contain a number.
English
Spanish
Geometry II
Chemistry I

24. Titles
Capitalize a person’s title when the title comes before the name.
President Kennedy
Dr. Sakamoto
Professor Wells
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.

25. Titles
Capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word is used before or in place of a person’s name.
Uncle Manuel
Cousin Josh
Grandfather
Do not capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word follows a possessive noun or pronoun.
my uncle Manuel
your cousin Josh
Kim’s grandfather

26. 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)

27. Abbreviations
Capitalize abbreviations if the words they stand for are capitalized.
Abbreviations that come before or after names of persons
Mrs. Jill Robbins
John H. Glenn, Jr.
Col. Whitman
Abbreviations of geographical names
Mt. St. Helens
Bahama Is.
Madera Co.

28. Abbreviations
Capitalize abbreviations if the words they stand for are capitalized.
Abbreviations used in addresses
2414 Grand St.
Witte Hall, Rm. 108
P.O. Box 1628
Abbreviations of the names of organizations, government bodies, and businesses
American Dental Assn.
CloudBank Corp.
FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

29. School subjects, titles, and abbreviations
On Your Own
Correct the capitalization errors in the following sentences.
Does dad like the movie fly away home?
Did mr. Wills write a book about st. Augustine?
Where are astronauts employed besides nasa?
Ask principal Hendrix for a copy of the herald.
Does your aunt really know mayor Goodall?
[End of Section]

30. 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]

31. Review B
Correct the sentences in the following paragraph by capitalizing or lowercasing letters as needed.
(1) Louis armstrong was born in new orleans in august (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 (5) Louis Armstrong soon became a Composer too. (6) He wrote the classic Jazz songs “dippermouth blues” and “wild man blues.”
[End of Section]

32. The End