1.11: Capitalization Rules

Rules of Capitalization

1.  Always capitalize the first word in every sentence.

When will I ever learn to speak English?
My sister lives in Rhode Island.

2.  Always capitalize the word “I” wherever it appears in a sentence.

My sister, my brother, and I liked to laugh a lot when we were kids.
My dog and I often go to the park together.

3.  Capitalize the names of people.

John, Mary, Bob, Robert, Inna, Mohammed, Jose, Tommy, Ivone, Xuan Mai, Atsuko
Bob and Mary will come to Seattle next year. 
I always enjoy seeing my friends Roger and Doug. 

4.    Capitalize the actual names of places.

Seattle, Safeco Field, South Seattle Community College, America, Vietnam, New York
We went to Boston to a baseball game at Fenway Park last year.
I was at Harvard University with a friend of mine from Le Puy, France.

5.  Capitalize the actual names of bodies of water and mountains.

the Pacific Ocean, Lake Washington, Green Lake, Mount Rainier, the Cascade Mountains
The Columbia River flows through southern Washington and empties into the Pacific Ocean.
A lot of people like to climb mountains during the summer.  Last year a friend of mine climbed Mount Rainier and Mount Baker.

6.  Capitalize the actual names of schools, buildings, and businesses.

Washington State University, Nathan Hale High School, the Selig Building, Cascade Court, Microsoft, Boeing Aircraft Company
Both of my sons will either go to the University of Washington or to some other university in 2006.
We attend class in Cascade Court, which is the building where my office is also located.
Many people in Seattle work for Microsoft or various other software companies.

7.  Capitalize the names of the days of the week, months of the year, and holidays.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, January, August, December, Labor Day, Christmas, Tet, Ramadan

On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 16 and 17, I will be absent from school.
My birthday was August 24, 1945.  This year my birthday will fall on a Thursday.
On New Year’s Eve a lot of people drink too much alcohol.  Our only holidays this quarter are Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day.  My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.

Do not capitalize the seasons of the year: summer, fall, autumn, winter, spring

8.  Capitalize the first word in a letter salutation and in a complementary closing.

Dear John, Dear Mr. Jones, Dearest Darling, Sincerely yours, Yours truly, Love, Love always

9.  Capitalize the actual names of streets, avenues, boulevards, lanes, etc.

Phinney Avenue North, First Avenue, Ambaum Boulevard, East Marginal Way South, Cedar Lane, 16^th Avenue Southwest

I walked along First Avenue when I went to Safeco Field last Friday with my friend Doug.
My address is 9548 Phinney Avenue North, which is located in the north end of Seattle.

10.  Capitalize the names of regions of the country and world.

South America, the Middle East, the Pacific Northwest, East Africa, the Orient, Southeast Asia, New England

I lived for two years in North Africa.  I grew up in New England.  The Lake Region of England is very famous.  The North Pole is very cold.  We live on the West Coast of America.  I am originally from the New England state of Rhode Island.

11.  Capitalize nationalities, languages, and religions.

Brazilian, Vietnamese, American, Mexican, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, French, Italian,
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Buddhism, Jewish, Islam, Bahai, Shinto, Hindu, Jehovah Witness

I am an American, but my ancestry is French and Italian.  I was raised a Roman Catholic.
Many Norwegian Protestants live in Seattle. 
Some Chinese people are Muslims.  Mexican people speak Spanish and Indian languages.
We ate in a Russian restaurant on Easter Sunday with some Catholic friends of ours.
Jews and Muslims have not fought with each other throughout history as many people think.  For most of history they have coexisted quite well.

12.  Capitalize school subjects if they are the actual names of the courses along with a number or if the subject is the name of a language.

History 101, Chemistry 222, French, Italian, Western Civilization 111, Philosophy 212

I want to take a history course.  I want to take History 244.  Some students want to take a psychology course next quarter.  Many want to take Psychology 141.  Some people love studying foreign languages like French or Spanish.

13.  Capitalize titles before a person’s name or titles which are used in place of names.

Mr. Bissonnette, Mrs. Dang, Dr. Griffin, Governor Gregoire, President Bush, Father O’Brien, Aunt Grace, Uncle Charlie, Dad, Mom, Granny, Senator Cantwell

I spoke to the parish priest, Father Gagnon, last year.  The mayor of Seattle is Mayor Maguin.
One of my uncles, Uncle Carl, used to take me to baseball games when I was a boy.

14.  Capitalize the first, last, and other important words in a title.  Do not capitalize prepositions, conjunctions, or articles unless they are the first or last word in the title.

A Farewell to Arms, The Call of the Wild, War and Peace, Great Chinese Travelers, The Old Man and the Sea, Elements of Style, Like a Rolling Stone, With God on Our Side, Blowing in the Wind

15.  Capitalize sacred names (names of God) and books.

God, Allah, Jehovah, Ghoda, Vishnu, the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, the Talmud, the Gita

People believe that there is only one God, but they call Him by different names.  For example, some people call God Jesus; others call Him Allah; still others call Him Yahweh.  In religious books, such as the Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud, these are the names they use for the same God.  Basically, only the name is different.

16.  Basically, when trying to decide whether to capitalize or not, you must think and decide if you are using the actual names of people, places, and things.  If you are using the actual names of persons, places, and things, then use capital letters.

Other Examples:

The boy, Robert Johnson, was caught shoplifting from the store.

Our city, Seattle, is famous for its rainy weather.

Most people hate and fear wars.  Civil wars are often the stupidest because they are fought among people from the same country.  For example, the Somali Civil War has been raging since 1991.

The building that I am in right now, the Cascade Court, is very old and needs many repairs.

Most of my students from the Middle East are of the Muslim religion and speak Arabic.

My friend wrote a book titled The Chinese Lantern Festival.

I belong to the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union.

In spring and summer from April to September the weather can be nice in Seattle.

The Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, is famous all over the world.

Many people in this city swim in Green Lake and Lake Washington during the summer.  However, very few people swim in the Puget Sound.

My wife went to Macy’s to buy a dress for a wedding.  It is a big department store.

 

Capitalization Exercise

Exercise 59:  Capitalize when necessary in the following sentences, please.

1.  my son and i went to the store with my wife tie, who comes from brazil.

 

2.  learning to speak english often takes students many months.

 

3.  my friend roger and i met in iran in 1975 and then traveled to afghanistan, pakistan, india, and nepal together.

 

4.  south attleboro, massachusetts, is the name of the town where i grew up.

 

5.  my son andre and i spoke to my sister rosanne, who lives in the city of providence, rhode island, which is next to the atlantic ocean.

 

6.  for my education, i went to bridgewater state college for my bachelor of arts degree and to lesley university for my master’s degree in education.

 

7.  the cascade mountains are very beautiful in the winter but also very cold.

 

8.  the baseball stadium here in seattle in called safeco field, and it is located right next door to the football stadium.

 

9.  the software company, microsoft, is in the city of redmond, washington, very close to seattle.

 

10.  my students come from places in africa, asia, central america, south america and north america.  (mexico is in north america.)

 

11.  i voted for president obama in 2008, but i didn’t vote for him in 2012.  instead, i voted for a man named rocky annderson, who comes from the state of utah.

 

Exercise 60:  Please capitalize the following sentences. Be careful.

1. while i was walking down the road, i saw a little boy on the corner of pine street and fifth avenue near the benson building.

 

2. dr. woo wanted to do three things before he went home: make a phone call study a report and lock his medicine cabinet.

 

3. the boys father wanted him to pass the exam; therefore, he made him study three afternoons a week: monday, tuesday, and thursday.

 

4. although john f kennedy was a rich man, many poor people loved him.

 

5. it’s 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, and billy still isn’t home from his school.

 

6. they’ll bring the knife and its sheath to the store to try to sell it to the store’s owner, mr j j johnson.                

 

7. wow!  did you see the 1947 cadillac which the andersons’ just bought?

 

8. the woman i saw was mrs. simpson, barts mother.

 

9. i know they’ve tried to fix the problem many times, but it still hasn’t improved at all.

 

10. my brother carl likes to drive big cars; on the other, hand i like to drive small ones like our parents’ car.

 

11. by the time we got there, the house’s occupant had put out the fire; however, he hadn’t shut off the electricity or closed the windows.

 

12. we live in seattle, washington, which is not only one of the most beautiful cities in america but also one of its wettest.

 

13. the women’s basketball team lost to the kent state university team on wednesday evening at the joseph p. billings auditorium; however, they’re still eligible to play one more game on friday.

 

14.  i saw a beautiful girl named ellen at my high school basketball game.

 

15.  sometimes people do stupid things, such as making fun of other people.

 

16.  have you ever seen a baseball game in seattle?

 

17.  my grandparents came from canada and italy, but my parents were born in america.

 

18.  my father, whom i loved very much, spoke french before he spoke english.

 

Exercise 61: Capitalize the following sentences, please.

1.  we went into the building next to cascade court last friday.

 

2.  my sister and i often played in the snow in winter in massachusetts.

 

3.  the ocean i swam in when i was a boy was the atlantic ocean.

 

4.  my students come to school from monday through friday during winter.

 

5.  on veterans day on november 11, many veterans march in parades.

 

6.  in the cascade mountains to the east of seattle, there are some very beautiful mountains. lakes, and wild animals.

 

7.  i first went to mount rainier in 1980 with my american friends lisa and lance.

 

8.  i swam in the mediterranean sea on vacation in europe this past summer with my wife and friends, but not my boys alex and andré.

 

9.  the seattle mariners, the home baseball team in seattle, will begin playing baseball in safeco field in seattle in april and will continue until october.

 

10.  my friend, a mechanic, works for matt’s auto center in the greenwood area of the city, which is located near green lake.

 

11.  independence day in america is celebrated on the fourth of july.

 

12.  john asked, “do i have to go lake washington this afternoon”?

 

13.  seattle central college is located to the east of the center of the city and is the only public college on capitol hill, a neighborhood of seattle.

 

14.  teachers often ask students in school to do a lot of homework during the week.

 

15.  my sister rosanne, who lives in the state of rhode island, used to love to swim in the atlantic ocean during the summer.

 

16.  we need to fix our car, a 1996 subaru legacy, at tony’s one-stop auto body on greenwood avenue north on greenwood avenue north in north seattle.

 

17.  i saw president obama on television on monday evening.

 

18.  george w. bush was the 43^rd president of the united states.

 

19.  all of you are taking esl 031 this quarter in my class.

 

Exercise 62:  Correct the capitalization errors in the following sentences, please.

1.  mary and bob went up the space needle at seattle center two weeks ago.

 

2.  on top of mount baker near the city of bellingham, washington, there is always snow, even in summer.

 

3.  i drive a ford taurus to school every monday through friday.

 

4.  both of my sons, alex and andré, were born in group health hospital on capitol hill.

 

5. the university of washington is the most famous university in the state of washington.

 

6.  my sister’s birthday is december 18, and on her next birthday she will be 70 years old.

 

7.  i used to swim in green lake and lake wahington when i first came to seattle from the state of idaho.

 

8.  the twin towers of the world trade center in new york city were struck by terrorists on september 11, 2001, when i was with my uncle in alaska.

 

9.  the faces of four united states’ presidents are carved on mount rushmore in north dakota, which is directly north of south dakota.

 

10.  martin luther king junior was a very brave man and a wonderful speaker.

 

11.  my favorite season is spring because the days get longer, the weather warms up a lot, and the seattle mariners begin to play baseball at safeco field.

 

12.  elliot bay is the name of the water near the center of seattle across from the pike place market in downtown seattle.

 

13.  my family and i went to australia, indonesia, and singapore during the summer of 1999 for a long vacation.

 

14.  chinese new year (tet in vietnam) will be celebrated later on, either in the month of january or in the month of february during the winter season.

 

15.  the pacific ocean is bigger than the atlantic ocean, and both oceans are on either side of the united states, separating america from asia and from europe.