Understanding Capitalization Rules for Personal Names and Titles

1. Capitalization Chapter 11

2. Personal Names • Personal names and initials • Ben Kilian, not benkilian • Jessica A. MacQuarrie • PhD • Titles used with a name • Doctor Waddle • President! • Do not capitalize titles used in place of a person’s name! • The doctor checked on my health.

3. Personal Names • Family words used as proper nouns • Uncle Mark • I will go to see Grandmother this summer. • Do not capitalize a family word that is modified by an adjective. • My aunt lives in Massachusetts. • Personification • Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me.

4. Religions • Names of religions • Christianity, Islam • Nouns and personal pronouns referring to the one true God. • Jesus is the Messiah; He rose from the dead. • Do not capitalize nouns referring to other gods. • Capitalize the titles and parts of sacred religions. • the Koran • Old Testament, Holy Bible, Judges

5. Nationalities • Nationalities, languages • France, French • Races and ethnic groups • Africans, American Indians • Proper adjectives • German • Do not capitalize a word modified by a proper adjective unless the two together form a proper name.

6. Exercise 11-1 • 1. During the time of alexander the great, a group of nabataean caravan drivers established an independent kingdom east of the israeli nation. • 2. Later emperor hadrian squelched the Nabataean Trade Monopoly by rerouting trade elsewhere; for reasons that are mysterious to us, however, the nabataeans’ desert cities continued to flourish.

7. Exercise 11-1 • 3. Excavating the ruins of the nabataeans’ capital city, Petra, in 1937, american archaeologist dr. nelson glueck uncovered the secrets behind this desert people’s amazing survival. • 4. High in the mountains, in what is today the jordanian nation, this arabtrib developed astounding water-harvesting and farming techniques.

8. Place Names • Countries and continents • United States, North America • Cities and states • Midland, Michigan • Sections of a country or the world • West Coast, the North • Do NOT capitalize compass direction words. • Go north for five miles.

9. Place Names • Geographic features and recreational areas • Niagara Falls, Central Park • Streets and roads • Main Street • Bodies of Water • Juniata River, Arctic Ocean • Do NOT capitalize a geographical noun unless it is part of a proper noun. • I went to the park.

10. Transportation • Aircraft- Air Force One • Spacecraft- Challenger • Ships- Titanic • Trains- Tom Thumb

11. Astronomy Terms • Planets- Venus, Mercury • Stars- Polaris, Vega • Other heavenly bodies- Milky Way, Halley’s Comet • Capitalize earth, sun, and moon only when they are listed with other heavenly bodies. • Do not capitalize earth when it is preceded by the.

12. Business • Businesses and abbreviations- IBM, Macintosh • Do not capitalize the common noun for a business. • Giant is a grocery story • Brand names- Kleenex, Toyota • Do not capitalize the product name unless it is part of the brand name. • Toyota Corolla, Toyota car

13. Organizations • Gov. dept.- Department of Education • Political parties- Republican Party • Organizations- World Health Organization • Members of most organizations- Republican • Do not capitalize the common name of a club or team. • Will you consider joining the garden club?

14. Schools and Structures • Schools- Calvary Baptist Academy • Buildings- Empire State Building • Structures- Golden Gate Bridge • Monuments- Statue of Liberty

15. Times • Months- August • Days- Saturday • Holidays- Christmas, Memorial Day • Do NOT capitalize the names of the seasons unless personified. • B.C.- after the year • A.D.- before the year • A.M./P.M., a.m./p.m- consistency • Historical events- Civil War

16. Titles • Newspapers, magazines- Daily News, Time • Do not capitalize the word the when referring to a newspaper. • Literary compositions- books, essays, poems, plays • Little Women, “Essay on Man,” “In Flanders Fields, Hamlet • TV and radio programs- Chip and Dale, Adventures in Odyssey

17. Titles • Sections of a book or play- Chapter 1, Act III, Introduction • Some do not capitalize the parts of a book or play unless they appear as a title. *** • Musical compositions- songs, operas, instrumental music • “Holy, Holy, Holy,” The Pirates of Penzance • Works of art- The Starry Night • Specific courses of study- Algebra I

18. First Words • In a sentence • Do not capitalize the 1st word of a sentence in parentheses within another sentence. • In a line of dialogue • Do not capitalize the second part of a divided quotation unless the 2nd part is the beginning of a new sent. • Do capitalize quotations integrated into your own sent.

19. First Words • In a line of poetry • First word and any proper nouns and adjectives in a formal outline • I. Capitalization • A. Titles • B. First Words • II. Punctuation • In a formal statement or quotation following a colon • The first word of an explanatory statement after a colon is usually lowercased.

20. First words • Of a letter and all nouns in the greeting- Dear Friends and Family, • In the closing of a letter- For His glory,

21. Single Letters • I • O • Single letters used as words- grades, vitamins, musical notes, and major musical keys- key of C major, A on the test, vitamin C • Letters used clarify a following word- L-shaped desk