Capitalization

1. Capitalization

2. Proper vs. common nouns • Proper nouns = specific people, places, things • Common nouns =general people, places, things

3. Proper Kelly Slater Kenya Pepsi Malibu University of Southern California Common a man country soft drink a city university,school Proper vs. common nouns

4. Now you try! The (nations/Nations) formed an alliance. The nations formed an alliance. She once lived in (Carmel/carmel). She once lived in Carmel. My sister loves (California/california) cuisine. My sister loves California cuisine.

5. Trademarks • They’re specific, so capitalize them: Students will get free Cokes at class. Be sure to buy a Tivo for your new TV. The concert is being sponsored by Sprite. She wore an Armani suit.

6. Now you try! Clenching a (kleenex/Kleenex), she tearfully recalled what happened on the beach. Clenching a Kleenex, she tearfully recalled what happened on the beach. He made a (xerox/Xerox) of the document to prove it existed. He made a Xerox of the document to prove it existed. They had (jello/Jell-O) for dessert. They had Jell-O for dessert.

7. Now you try! Clenching a Kleenex, she tearfully recalled what happened on the beach. Clenching a tissue, she tearfully recalled what happened on the beach. He made a Xerox of the document to prove it existed. He made a photocopy of the document to prove it existed. She was wearing Nikes and Ray-Bans. She was wearing running shoes and sunglasses.

8. Compass points • Capitalize if it’s a specific region: He is from the West. They live on the Westside. • Lowercase if it’s a direction: She drove south on I-405. Five miles east of the city, the officers found the abandoned car.

9. Now you try! Clinton was popular in the east but not in the south. Wrong. Clinton was popular in the East but not in the South. The wind shifted suddenly to the north. Correct. After leaving Las Vegas, they headed West. Wrong. After leaving Las Vegas, they headed west.

10. Now you try! “The south will rise again”, he said. Wrong. “The South will rise again”, he said. The tracks run from West to East. Wrong. The tracks run from west to east. It rarely snows that far south. Correct. They moved here from the West Coast. Correct.

11. Awards, honors and prizes • Capitalize specific awards: • Nobel Prize • Emmy • Oscar • Medal of Honor • Pulitzer Prize • Heisman Trophy

12. Now you try! She won an academy award in 1998. Wrong. She won an Academy Award in 1998. The newspaper received a Pulitzer for international reporting. Correct. She has earned numerous awards for teaching. Correct. The Nobel peace prize is awarded each spring. Wrong. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded ...

13. Multiword proper nouns • Capitalize all the words if they’re part of the formal name: Beverly Hills High School Los Angeles River Orange County Main Street

14. Multiword proper nouns • Be careful with plurals: Beverly Hills and Hamilton high schools James and York rivers Ventura and Los Angeles counties Main and Harrison streets Don’t capitalize the ‘pluralized’ word, such as schools or streets.

15. Multiword proper nouns • Capitalize: • Grant and Lee fought in the Civil War. • He is taking History 102. • Spain is part of the European Union. • But lowercase: • There’s a civil war in Sri Lanka. • She is studying American history. • Morocco is seeking a union with Algeria.

16. Now you try! He fell from the top of the Empire State building. Wrong. He fell from the top of the Empire State Building. The accident occurred at Main and Laurel Streets. Wrong. The accident occurred at Main and Laurel streets.

17. Now you try! She had no transcript from Middle School when she transferred to Goodwin High school. Wrong. She had no transcript from middle school when she transferred to Goodwin High School. They flew missions in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Correct.

18. Now you try! I took four semesters of History. Wrong. I took four semesters of history. I flunked Biology 101. Correct. The professor has taught at the Universities of Tennessee and Hawaii. Wrong. The professor has taught at the universities of Tennessee and Hawaii.

19. Government • Capitalize specific governmental bodies: • Congress • Senate • House • Virginia General Assembly • the General Assembly • the Legislature ilovenr

20. Government • Lowercase nonspecific and plural references: • The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, … • The Virginia and Maryland legislatures

21. Now you try! By October, Congress is expected to pass the long-delayed bill. Correct. No Legislature has passed the amendment. Wrong. No legislature has passed … The new cabinet met with the President Wrong. The new Cabinet met …

22. Now you try! Jesse Helms is retiring from the Senate. Correct. The California and Oregon Legislatures will consider regulating salmon fishing. Wrong. The California and Oregon legislatures will consider ... She is a member of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. Correct.

23. Government • Capitalize ‘Capitol’ because it refers to a specific building: • He visited the Capitol in Washington, D.C. • Lowercase ‘capital’ - referring to the city where government is headquartered: • Sacramento is the capital of California.

24. Government • Capitalize City Hall and City Council because they’re specific. • Lowercase ‘council’ standing alone: The council will vote next week.

25. Now you try! The capitol dominates the skyline of the nation’s Capital. Wrong. The Capitol dominates the skyline of the nation’s capital. What is the capital of Texas? Correct. The protesters marched east to the capitol. Wrong. The protesters marched east to the Capitol.

26. Religion • Capitalize names of religions, religious groups, their deities and their sacred books: • God, Allah, Buddha • Christians, Jews, Muslims • the Bible, the Torah, the Koran

27. Religion • But remember:‘bible’ can be lowercase, too: The Oxford English Dictionary is the bible of the English language. • Always lowercase ‘biblical.’ The speech included several biblical references.

28. Now you try! Jerry Garcia was almost a god to his devoted fans. Correct. Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Correct. The talmud is a book of religious and civil laws. Wrong. The Talmud is a book ...

29. Race & ethnicity • Capitalize the formal names of races and ethnic groups: • African American, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, Indian • Lowercase skin colors: • black community, white residents,

30. Now you try! In the South, Whites used the poll tax to keep Blacks from voting. Wrong. In the South, whites used the poll tax to keep blacks from voting. Virginius Dabney, a white editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, won a Pulitzer for opposing the poll tax. Correct.

31. Now you try! But the Times-Dispatch led the campaign against allowing blacks and whites to attend schools together. Correct. As a result, many people in the Black Community continue to distrust the white-owned daily. Wrong. As a result, many people in the black community continue to distrust the white-owned daily.

32. Titles • Capitalize formal titles directly before a name (‘fused’ to a name), not separated by a comma: • The speaker is Mayor Tim Kaine. • Today, President Bush signed the bill. • Lowercase descriptive titles: • The concert featured singer Sheryl Crow. • The city bought the land from farmer Jerry Crawford.

33. Titles • Formal titles denote authority or professional or academic achievement: • Pope Paul, President Bush, King Henry • Descriptive titles include: • sophomore Bill Sims, reporter Jean Williams, first baseman Mark Grace

34. Titles • If a comma separates the title and name, the title is no longer a proper noun: • The new dean, Steve Gottfredson, will meet with the students. • The U.S. president, George W. Bush, held a state dinner for Mexican President Vicente Fox.

35. Titles • Likewise, lowercase titles that come after a name: • Eugene Trani, president of Virginia Commonwealth University, ... • Jeff South, a VCU professor, taught Newswriting last year. • Juan Carlos, the king of Spain, is visiting South America.

36. Titles • Always lowercase titles standing alone, without a name. • They met the president in the White House. • The pope gave his blessing.

37. Titles • Plural formal titles are capitalized: • In Washington, Presidents George W. Bush of the United States and Vicente Fox of Mexico are discussing immigration. • The committee will be headed by Vice Provosts Cynthia McWilliams and Oscar Garcia.

38. Titles • Don’t capitalize words that modify or describe a formal title: • At VCU, former President Jimmy Carter will speak at a symposium on poverty. • The group invited retired Gen. Art Hall.

39. Now you try! A popular Soul Singer, Mary J. Blige, will perform in Richmond. Wrong. A popular soul singer, Mary J. Blige, will perform in Richmond. The pressure is building on president Bush. Wrong. The pressure is building on President Bush.

40. Now you try! Police Officer Jessica Jean Cheney died Saturday night in a traffic accident. Correct. A police officer, Jessica Jean Cheney, died Saturday night in a traffic accident. Correct. Jessica Jean Cheney, a police officer, died Saturday night in a traffic accident. Correct. These are three ways of handling titles. Capitalize only if it’s a formal title ‘fused’ to the person’s name (sentence No. 1).

41. Organizations • Capitalize an organization’s namebecause it’s a proper noun. • But don’t capitalize: • a, an, the • and • prepositions of fewer than 5 letters

42. Organizations Department of Fish and Game Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce the Delta Chi Fraternity (because‘Fraternity’ is part of the name) the Phi Mu sorority (because ‘sorority’isn’t officially part of the name) UCLA Board of Visitors Federal Communication Commission

43. Now you try! Amnesty International Correct. National Football League Correct. American Society Of Interior Designers Wrong. American Society of Interior … Activities Programming board Wrong. Activities Programming Board

44. Now you try! Federal Bureau Of Investigation Wrong. Federal Bureau of Investigation Latino Student Alliance Correct. the Donkey And Elephant Society Wrong. Donkey and Elephant Society BHHS Associated Student Body Correct.

45. U.S. military branches • Capitalize when written in full or shortened form the U.S. Air Force the Air Force the U.S. Army the Army the U.S. Marines the Marines

46. U.S. military branches • Lowercase when these wordsdon’t mean military: • An army of ants took over the picnic. • Like an air force bent on destruction, the birds swooped over the crowd and dropped their bombs.

47. Political terms • Capitalize ‘party’ when it is part of a proper noun: • the Democratic Party • the Republican Party • the Green and Libertarian parties She is a Democrat and a loyal member of the party. He is a longtime Republican senator.

48. Political terms • Lowercase a political term when it refers to a form of government or an ideology (not a political party): They believed in the republican form of government, with elected representatives. She opposes socialism, but she used to belong to the Socialist Party of America.

49. Now you try! The democratic governor appointed a Republican to the Supreme Court. Wrong. The Democratic governor appointed a Republican … She joined the Navy at age 19. Correct. He spent his life fighting Communism. Wrong. Lowercase ‘communism.’

50. Now you try! The Green party is collecting signatures. Wrong. The Green Party … The country was founded in 1776 on Democratic ideals. Wrong. Lowercase ‘democratic’ ideals. A ragged army of refugees fled from the drought-striken region. Correct.