Capitalization Review
There are general rules that govern the use of capital letters in English.
1- The first word of a sentence begins with a capital letter and the first letter of a quote
e.g. They soared above the earth like birds.
Stacy said, “My sister and I are going to the water park”
2- Names of persons are capitalized
e.g. We shall meet Juan and Miller
3- Initials used in names and abbreviations of well- known organisations are capitalized
e.g. The “WHO” World Health Organization
4- The word “I” is always capitalized
e.g. Martha and I will do the job.
5- The names of months
e.g. He was born on January, 1st , 1995.
6- The names of days of the week
e.g. This class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday
N.B Seasons are not capitalized (summer, autumn, winter, spring)
7- The names of holidays
e.g. Christmas day comes in December.
8- The names of countries, states and cities.
e.g. The doctor is native of Mexico.
e.g. I have visited France, England, and U.S.A.
9- The names of streets and avenues
e.g. There are no business buildings on Temple Street.
e.g. Meet me at 212 Fifth Avenue.
10- The names of mountains, parks, and bodies of water.
e.g. The Mississippi River enters the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans.
11- Titles with names (courtesy titles), titles of books and newspaper.
e.g. Dr. and Mrs. Hill had dinner with Captain Smith.
e.g. The name of a book : “The Old Man and the Sea”
e.g. Did you read The Washington Dc Post advertisements?
12- All the words in the greetings and the first word of the closing of letters
e.g. Dear Mr. Arnaz/ Dear Sir
To Whom It May Concern
Sincerely
13- The names of religions/ companies
e.g. Last fall we attended a Catholic wedding in San Diego
e.g. Coca Cola, Visa Card, Google, Yahoo
14- Specific periods and historical events that have proper names should be capitalized
e.g. Most of the World War I veterans are deceased.
e.g. In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene was partly responsible for the spreading of disease.
15- Nationalities and names of languages should be capitalized.
e.g. Algerian, Chinese, Spanish, English.
Capitalization Practice
1. Capitalization Exercises
A. DIRECTIONS: Circle the words in the following sentences that need a capital letter. There are 25.
2. my favorite books are green eggs and ham and horton hears a who.
3. on sunday, i will see the movie star wars and eat at taco bell.
4. terry and louis went to central park last july.
5. she has a friend from london, england.
6. did you know that abraham lincoln was the sixteenth president?
B. DIRECTIONS: Write the following sentences correctly.
1. every december, i can hardly wait for santa claus.
2. friday is the best day because we order pizza from domino’s.
3. the best television shows are sponge bob and ed, edd, and eddie.
4. my favorite song is we will rock you.
5. king arthur ruled over camelot.
2-Capitalization
A. DIRECTIONS: Put an X if the sentence is capitalized incorrectly and a C if it is capitalized correctly.
1. _____ Big Ben of London is a clock.
2. _____ I drove east to the city and turned north.
3. _____ My family supports the American cancer society.
4. _____ Yellowstone National Park is a great Park.
5. _____ I work for the New York Times.
6. _____ She is a republican and proud of it.
7. _____ The Emancipation proclamation was issued in 1862.
8. _____ Buddhists have been around a very long time.
9. _____ The Sidney Opera House is a Gorgeous Building.
10. _____ The Bronze Age lasted for several thousand years.