Capitalization

1. Capitalization

2. Capitalize the names of people, organizations, places, and things. • Joe Smith • Los Angeles, California • Mount Rushmore • Hudson River • Indian Ocean • Dr. Amber Jones • Yellowstone National Park • West End Bridge Club • Mr. MacLean • Pacific Northwest

3. Capitalize the names of political parties, nationalities, geographical names, and races. • Republican, Democrat, Independent • German, Russian, Korean, Nigerian • South Africa, Indiana, North America, Mount Everest, Black Sea, Pacific Rim, Kalahari Desert, Ayers Rock, Zion National Park, Dunns River Falls • Caucasian, African American, Native American, Asian

4. Capitalize the names of particular buildings, governmental bodies, and departments. • The Empire State Building, The Pentagon, Washington Monument, Brevard County Courthouse, St. Stephen’s Church, St. Basil’s Basilica, Kennedy Middle School • Governor, Representative, Congress, Senate, President, Judicial Branch, Secretary of State • Department of the Treasury, Department of Defense, State Department These little words do not need to be capitalized.

5. Capitalize days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. • Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday • May, June, July, August • Thanksgiving, Easter, Kwanzaa, Groundhog’s Day, Memorial Day, Secretary’s Day, Yom Kippur, Chinese New Year

6. A note aboutProper Nouns • Names of people, places, or things are called proper nouns. Many of the examples in this tutorial contain proper nouns. You need to capitalize proper nouns. • For instance, the word mountain is a noun. Bear Mountain is a proper noun because it is the name of the mountain. • St. John’s River is a proper noun because that is the name of the river; the word river is a noun. • Saturday is a proper noun; day is a noun. • Emily is a proper noun, but girl is a noun. The next few slides will test you on proper nouns.

7. Be careful not to capitalize words that are not proper nouns. Click for Correction Next Sentence Beach is not a proper noun. Click Here She didn’t want to go to the Beach. These two sentences are correct. She didn’t want to go to the beach. She didn’t want to go to Cocoa Beach. Children and park are not proper nouns. These two sentences are correct. He took his Children to play at the Park. He took his children to play at the park. He took Jimmy and Sally to play at Rotary Park. Next

8. Click for Correction More Examples Next Sentence Click Here Grocery, store, home and work are not proper nouns. We went to the Grocery Store on the way Home from Work. We went to the grocery store on the way home from work. We went to Publix on the way home from work. These two sentences are correct. Artist, paintings, and wife are not proper nouns. The Artist painted many beautiful Paintings of his Wife, Julia. The artist painted many beautiful paintings of his wife, Julia. Hector painted many beautiful paintings of his wife, Julia. These two sentences are correct. Next

9. Capitalize the important words in titles of books, movies, television shows, poems, plays, musicals, newspapers, songs, etc. • The Catcher in the Rye • The Wizard of Oz • The King of Queens • Somewhere Over the Rainbow Don’t capitalize words like “the”, “in”, “on”, “of”, “for”, etc. unless they are the first word in the title.

10. Capitalize the first word of a sentence, direct quotation, and line of poetry. • He went to the beach before work. • The cat slept on the windowsill. • She said, “Don’t forget to write.” • “I love skiing,” he said. “Falling, however, is not fun.” • Roses are red. Violets are purple. Some poems rhyme, But this one doesn’t.

11. Capitalize religious sects, and names referring to God, the Bible, or parts of the Bible • Judas Maccabaeus, Saint Peter • Passover, Ramadan, All Saint’s Day • Genesis, Revelations, Psalms • Islamic, Muslim, Buddhist • Old Testament, New Testament • The Koran, The Bible

12. Capitalize the names of historical events, eras, and important documents. • World War I, The Revolutionary War, Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston Tea Party, Desert Storm, Presidential Inauguration • Roaring Twenties, Fabulous Forties, Awesome Eighties, Age of Reason, Mesozoic Era • Declaration of Independence, The First Amendment, The Constitution

13. Capitalize titles when they precede a name, nicknames, epithets, suffixes, brand names, and school subjects related to languages. • The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dr. Warren Bland • Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, Mean Joe Green • Catherine the Great, Ivan the Terrible • Emily Spencer, LMHC, Stephen Jones, Jr. • Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Birkenstock, Izod • French, English, Spanish, Russian, Latin

14. Capitalize the first word and all nouns in the salutation of a letter and of a complimentary closing phrase. • Dear John, • To Whom It May Concern: • Dear Family and Friends, • Very Truly Yours, • Sincerely, • With Much Admiration,

15. Test YourselfClick on the sentence that has the correct capitalization. Steven Jones climbed mount mckinley when he was Twenty. Steven Jones climbed Mount McKinley when he was twenty. She went kayaking on the Mississippi River with her roommates, Kim and Sue. Click for the next set. She went Kayaking on the mississippi River with her Roommates kim and Sue. Whenever Jim goes to Oregon, it rains for days and days. Whenever Jim goes to oregon, it Rains for Days and Days. Next

16. Click the words that have the correct capitalization. Great Wall of China Great Wall Of China university of Florida University of Florida Dr. William M. Merritt dr. William m. Merritt The Wind In The Willows The Wind in the Willows St. Peter’s Cathedral St. Peter’s cathedral chimney rock Chimney Rock Brevard community college Brevard Community College the Star-Spangled Banner The Star-Spangled Banner Next

17. Correct Click “Correct” or “Fix it!” for each of the sentences below. Fix it! • Clint Eastwood said, “Go ahead, make my day.” • The reverend Patrick Morris took his lesson from the book of Psalms in the Bible. • The Reverend Patrick Morris took his lesson from the Book of Psalms in The Bible. • During world war II, many women played Professional Baseball with the All American Pro Girls League. • During World War II, many women played professional baseball with the All American Pro Girls League. • Since he no longer wanted anyone to call him by name, he began to call himself “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.” • Does christmas fall on a thursday this year? • Does Christmas fall on a Thursday this year? • Congress meets in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Next

18. Good work!