Using Capital Letters
Les Hanson 2002
Overview
This presentation reviews the rules you (should) already know as well as some of the tricky aspects of capitalization It deals with the following topics:
Sentences Lists
In general, specific names require capitals
Lake the
Titles Names
Superior, Fred, Great Depression
General names do not require capitals
prairies, my uncle, a recession
Sentences
Capitalize the first word of a sentence And the first word of a quoted sentence
She
said, “You are stupid.”
Don’t capitalize the second part of a fragmented quotation
“You
are stupid,” she said, “and your mother dresses you funny.”
Don’t capitalize partial quotes
He
talked of the “plausible deniability” of the scheme.
Lists
Capitalize sentences that follow a colon Capitalize the first word of each item in a vertical list
These Remember
this: Grammar is boring.
Don’t capitalize words in horizontal lists
Language
Colons Semicolons Dashes
punctuation marks are confusing:
is made up of numerous parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Titles of books, articles, and songs
Capitalize the first, last, and all important words in a title Don’t capitalize short articles, prepositions, and conjunctions
As You Like It The Merry Wives of Windsor Love’s Labours Lost Taming of the Shrew The Merchant of Venice
Capitalize the specific names of people, places, and institutions
Names and Titles
Stockwell Day, Alberta, Canadian Alliance party leader, communist, fascist, right wing Aunt Polly
But not general references
Prime Minister Chretien,
Capitalize titles that precede names
But not when used alone, or after names
The minister was demoted to the back benches Bill, my uncle, sat beside Gary Doer, premier of Manitoba
Names of Groups
Capitalize races, religions, and languages
Bosnian,
Buddhism, French, Cree
Do not capitalize general references
aboriginal, A
white, black, fundamentalist
Some words vary according to usage
native speaker of English A Native from the Yukon (used as a substitute for “Indian” Australian Aborigines have certain aboriginal rights
Product Names
Capitalize brand names and trademarks Do not capitalize generic product names Capitalize words derived from proper nouns Freudian slip, Swiss cheese, English
muffin scotch
pasteurize, cola, Coke,
Kleenix, Roller Blades, Popsicle
tissues, inline skates, flavoured ice
Eventually such words lose their capitals
french fry, panama hat,
Dates and Directions
Capitalize days of the week, months, holidays But not seasons
summer, I Monday,
June, Thanksgiving fall, winter
Don’t capitalize directions
Unless it refers to a specific location
Fighting broke out in the Middle East Winter roads are common in the North
drove north for two blocks
Course Names
Capitalize specific names of courses
History
101, Intermediate Basketweaving, a Bachelor of Arts degree
But not general references to courses
geography,
communication, accounting He is studying engineering
Interactive Exercise
Click on the buttons below or key in the links to do interactive exercises on capitalization (and to receive a dose of Winnipeg trivia)
http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_1.htm http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_2.htm
Capitalization 1
Capitalization 2