Capitalization - Red River College
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Transcript Capitalization - Red River College
Using Capital
Letters
Les Hanson 2002
Overview
This presentation reviews the rules you
(should) already know as well as some of
the tricky aspects of capitalization
It deals with the following topics:
Sentences
Lists
Titles
Names
In general, specific names require
capitals
Lake
Superior, Fred, Great Depression
General names do not require capitals
the
prairies, my uncle, a recession
Sentences
Capitalize the first word of a sentence
And the first word of a quoted sentence
She
said, “You are stupid.”
Don’t capitalize the second part of a
fragmented quotation
“You
are stupid,” she said, “and your
mother dresses you funny.”
Don’t capitalize partial quotes
He
talked of the “plausible deniability” of
the scheme.
Lists
Capitalize sentences that follow a colon
Remember
this: Grammar is boring.
Capitalize the first word of each item in
a vertical list
These
punctuation marks are confusing:
Colons
Semicolons
Dashes
Don’t capitalize words in horizontal lists
Language
is made up of numerous parts
of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Titles of books, articles, and
songs
Capitalize the first, last, and all
important words in a title
Don’t capitalize short articles,
prepositions, and conjunctions
As You Like It
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Love’s Labours Lost
Taming of the Shrew
The Merchant of Venice
Names and Titles
Capitalize the specific names of people,
places, and institutions
Stockwell Day, Alberta, Canadian Alliance
But not general references
party leader,
communist, fascist, right wing
Capitalize titles that precede names
Prime Minister Chretien,
Aunt Polly
But not when used alone, or after names
The minister was demoted to the back benches
Bill, my uncle, sat beside Gary Doer, premier of
Manitoba
Names of Groups
Capitalize races, religions, and languages
Bosnian,
Buddhism, French, Cree
Do not capitalize general references
aboriginal,
white, black, fundamentalist
Some words vary according to usage
A
native speaker of English
A Native from the Yukon (used as a
substitute for “Indian”
Australian Aborigines have certain
aboriginal rights
Product Names
Capitalize brand names and trademarks
Coke,
Kleenix, Roller Blades, Popsicle
Do not capitalize generic product names
cola,
tissues, inline skates, flavoured ice
Capitalize words derived from proper
nouns
Freudian slip, Swiss cheese, English
muffin
Eventually such words lose their capitals
pasteurize,
scotch
french fry, panama hat,
Dates and Directions
Capitalize days of the week, months,
holidays
Monday,
June, Thanksgiving
summer,
fall, winter
But not seasons
Don’t capitalize directions
I
drove north for two blocks
Unless it refers to a specific location
Fighting broke out in the Middle
Winter roads are common in the
East
North
Course Names
Capitalize specific names of courses
History
101, Intermediate Basketweaving, a Bachelor of Arts degree
But not general references to courses
geography,
communication, accounting
He is studying engineering
Interactive Exercise
Click on the buttons below or key in
the links to do interactive exercises
on capitalization (and to receive a
dose of Winnipeg trivia)
http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat
o/Capitalization_1.htm
http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat
o/Capitalization_2.htm
Capitalization 1
Capitalization 2