Grammar And Usage For Better Writing - Problems with Capitalization

The following review summarizes the important rules of capitalization.
In Letters
Capitalize the first word and all nouns in the salutation.
Dear James, Dear Mr. Patterson:
Dear Aunt Jane, Dear Miss McCloud:
Capitalize only the first word in the complimentary close.
Your friend, Very truly yours,
Your niece, Cordially yours,
In Quotations
A direct quotation begins with a capital letter.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote, “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’”
When a one-sentence quotation is interrupted, however, the second part does not start
with a capital.
“Does anyone,” Bethany asked, “know where my ice skates are?”
See Lesson 25, pages 209–211, for other examples of capitalizating quotations.
First Words
Capitalize the first word of a complete sentence, the comments of each new speaker in
conversation, and each line of poetry or verse.
SENTENCE
: The antelope survives on dry plains.
CONVERSATION
:“You begin to comprehend me, do you?” cried he,
turning towards her.
214 COMMON USAGE ERRORS
Lesson
26
Problems with
Capitalization
“Oh! yes—I understand you perfectly.”
“I wish I might take this for a compliment; but
to be so easily seen through I am afraid is piti-

ful.”
—from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
POETRY
: The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
—Emily Dickinson
Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives
Capitalize proper nouns, their abbreviations, and proper adjectives derived from
proper nouns.
PROPER NOUN
: New Mexico
ABBREVIATION
: N.M. (or NM, the postal abbreviation)
PROPER ADJECTIVE
: New Mexican (as in New Mexican art)
EXERCISE 1.
A. Copy the following, adding needed capitals.
1. dear mr. keane: ____________________________________________________
2. your friend, ____________________________________________________
3. dear stefan, ____________________________________________________
4. sincerely yours, ____________________________________________________
5. dear mr. thomas: ____________________________________________________
6. yours very truly, ____________________________________________________
B. Copy the following, and capitalize each sentence correctly.
1. a local anchorperson used to end her evening broadcasts by saying, “have a good day
tomorrow.”
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2. “do you know,” asked the teacher, “who serves as the secretary of state?”

3. he said, with a smile on his face, “look at my grades.”
C. Correctly capitalize the following conversation.
“where were you born?” asked the interviewer.
mariel said, “i was born in columbus, ohio.”
“when did you move to north carolina?”
“in 2002, when my father accepted his new job here.”
EXERCISE 2.
Copy the following, and capitalize each sentence correctly.
1. susie began her letter, “dear aunt olivia.”
2. mark twain said, “if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
3. “why don’t you take art as an elective next year?” suggested mrs. esposito.
4. “you know,” said the guidance counseler, “you really should apply for early
decision.”
5. will rogers said, “don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
216 COMMON USAGE ERRORS
Here are some specific kinds of proper nouns, with examples, that require capital letters.
Names of particular persons, real or imaginary
Linda, Jeremy, Shania Twain, Ben Affleck, Sandra Day O’Connor, James
Bond, Frodo Baggins
Geographical names
Australia, New Jersey, Palm Beach County, Yosemite National Park, Fifth
Avenue
Titles of organizations, companies, and buildings
Kiwanis Club, National Audubon Society, Ford Motor Company, Riverside
Cathedral
Political parties, nations, government bodies
Republican, Democrat, France, Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Senate,
Department of the Interior
Titles of persons showing office, rank, profession
President Roosevelt, General Marshall, Dr. Reed, Professor Hutchinson

Names of planets, satellites, stars, and constellations
Jupiter, Ganymede, Sirius, the Big Dipper
(Note: The words sun, earth, and moon are often not capitalized.)
Names of days of the week, months, holidays
Thursday, March, Independence Day
(Note: The names of the seasons are not capitalized.)
Titles
Gone with the Wind, Better Homes and Gardens, “The Night the Ghost
Got In”
(Note: Articles—a, an, the—prepositions, and conjunctions are not capi-
talized unless they occur at the beginning or end of a title.)
Brand names
Campbell’s soups, Pepperidge Farm bread, Green Giant broccoli
Names referring to God, the Bible, or religions
the Almighty, Exodus, the Old Testament, Christianity, Hinduism,
Buddhism, Islam, the Torah
PROBLEMS WITH CAPITALIZATION 217
There are three kinds of items that require extra thought if you are to capitalize them
correctly.
Sections of the country
the Southeast, the Northwest, the Southwest
Do not capitalize these words if they are merely compass points:
Philadelphia lies southwest of New York City.
Family relationships
Father, Cousin Gene, Aunt Gloria, Grandpa
Do not capitalize these family titles unless they are used before a name
(Uncle Sid) or as a name (Hi, Mom):
My mom, sister, cousin, and aunt visited Duke Gardens.
School subjects: languages and numbered courses
English, French, Spanish, German, Mechanical Drawing 2, Social Studies 3,

Mathematics 4
Do not capitalize the names of unnumbered courses except for
languages:
I’m taking mechanical drawing, social studies, mathematics, and
German in the fall.
EXERCISE 3.
Draw a circle around each letter that should be capitalized.
1. my uncle in london 6. john jay high school
2. the republican candidate 7. lord of the rings: return of the king
3. english and history 8. grandma and aunt louise
4. the planet saturn 9. in the southwest near phoenix
5. fourth of july holiday 10. fire island national seashore
218 COMMON USAGE ERRORS
EXERCISE 4.
A. Copy these sentences, adding needed capitals.
1. mayor chang spoke at the meeting of the rotary club.
2. the blue ridge parkway winds through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery
in the east.
3. my sister has already taken spanish and french in high school.
4. a ford assembly plant is being built at the corner of spring street and linden boule-
vard.
5. the only continent my uncle hasn’t visited is antarctica.
6. the empire state building is still a major tourist attraction in new york city.
7. the department of agriculture oversees our national forests.
8. i saw venus and jupiter in the sky at twilight on labor day.
9. the first two books of the old testament are genesis and exodus.
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