Capitalization

The idea behind capitalization is simple: designate proper nouns with capitals. A proper noun is a specific named person, place, or thing. An ocean is a lowercase body of water, but the Atlantic is one of the capitalized and named oceans of the world. However, for all capitalization's apparent simplicity, it has more instances than most other grammar rules.

PEOPLE:
Names	Frederick Mertz
Initials	F. M.
Shortened forms	Fred
Nicknames	Freddie

COLLECTIONS OF PEOPLE:
Races	The Caucasians had a party.
Religions	The Christians ran from the lions.

PLACES:
Cities	Costello was born in Paterson.
States	New Jersey is a state of mind.
Countries	Hail Freedonia!

GEOGRAPHICAL PLACES:
Rivers	We sailed the Hudson River.
Oceans	The Atlantic isn't romantic.
Mountains	That car climbed Mt. Washington.
Lakes	How deep is Seneca Lake?

PLACES:
Buildings	The Chrysler Building has style.
Hotels	We stayed at the Plaza.
Railroad Terminals	We met at Grand Central Station.
Airports	The plane left from Newark Airport.
Streets	They danced on Forty-Second Street.
Parks	They found Central Park.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Political Parties	The Democrats lost the election.
Government Bodies	The Labor Department was alerted.
Departments	The Federal Trade Commission is fun.
Companies	The Ford Motor Company prospered.
Clubs	The Dwight Debate Club hosted the event.
Societies	The Elks sponsored the race.
Fraternities	Sigma Delta was suspended.
Religious bodies	The Baptist Missionary League met.
Schools	The Peddie School open its doors.
Institutions	The Pew Trust offered its aid.

RELATIVES:
When the relative is named	My Uncle Bill is great.
Not when not named	He met my uncle.

TITLES:
Titles before names	He spoke with Senator Jones.
Titles substituting for specific names	I met the President.
Titles in addresses	Fred Mertz, Master of Ceremonies

TIME:
Days of the week	The book was due on Monday.
Months of the year	I got wet during the April showers.
Holidays	We will go during Thanksgiving.
Special Events	They celebrated Fresh Fruit Month.
NOT seasons	I like spring.

ADJECTIVES:
Adjectives made from specific nouns	That was a Draconian response.

DIRECTION:
Compass points that denote a region	It was popular in the East.
NOT direction only	They headed east.

HISTORY:
Important Documents	The Declaration of Independence was lost.
Events	We won the Battle of the Bulge.
Periods	He wrote during the Middle Ages.
NOT centuries	She lived in the nineteenth century.

PUBLICATIONS:
Important Words of Written Works	We saw Gone with the Wind last Wednesday.
Whole works underlined or italicized.	The group read Betrayal.
Parts of larger works quoted.	She wrote "My Beliefs" in the Times.

MEDIA:
Movies	He hated Dune.
Radio Programs	We listened to The Green Hornet.
Television Programs	I was on Howdy Doody.
Pictures	We looked for Starry Night.
Statues	We saw The Thinker.
Musical Compositions	He hated Rhapsody in Blue.
Specific Academic Courses	She loved Modern Art 101.

OBJECTS:
Trains, Ships, Planes	He took the Titanic to America.
Trade Names of Commercial Products	Colgate toothpaste is nice.

ABBREVIATIONS:
B.C., A.D.	The work was written in 200 B.C..
Jr., Sr.	Robert Rose Jr. was present.
A.M. and P.M.	We met at 3:00 P.M..

DEITIES:
Names of Deities	The Greeks worshipped Zeus.
Religious Writings	We read the Sermon on the Mount.
Pronouns	We heard what He preached.

Quiz

1. Which do we capitalize: directions or regions?
A. Directions.
B. Regions.

2. Of days, months, and seasons, which one is not capitalized?
A. Days.
A. Months.
B. Seasons.

3. "After arriving at Kennedy Airport, Jim headed north for Hoboken. His first impression of the North was not favorable."
A. This sentence is correct.
B. This sentence has a capitalization error.

4. "J. S. Bach jr. was not sure if Wednesday marked the the beginning of Save the Whales month."
A. This sentence is correct.
B. This has a capitalization error.

5. "The Secretary of State made an official visit to Rome to hear the Pope read from genesis and to swim the Tiber."
A. This sentence is correct.
B. This has a capitalization error.

6. Find the error: For his birthday, Sam got an L. L. Bean sweater^a and a hammer from the J. C.^b Penny Department Store^c west^d of town. No Error^e
A. B. C. D. E.

7. Which option is best: "My Columbus Day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the West who kept asking me who "El Senior" was."
A. My Columbus Day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the West
B. My Columbus day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the West
C.My Columbus Day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the west
D. My Columbus Day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the West
E. My Columbus day trip to see Hamlet was ruined by tourists from the west

8. Find the error: The voters gave councilwoman^a Jones a mandate^b to dredge Tisbury Pond^c and to pave the hurricane evacuation road.^dNo Error^e
A. B. C. D. E.

9. "That year I had my English and History classes in Umpleby."
A. This sentence is correct.
B.This has a capitalization error.

10. "After cramming all night for her history test, Jane was not sure whether Charlemagne was a medieval king or a twelfth century French dynasty."
A. This sentence is correct.
B. This is has a capitalization error.

of ten right