MECHANICS
1. Puntuation
The purpose of punctuation is to clarify meaning and promote communication. Commas, periods, semicolons, dashes, and other punctuation marks guide the readers to the meaning just as traffic signals, double yellow lines, turning lanes, and one-way signs guide motorists to a destination. The conventions of punctuation create expectations int the reader. Punctuation can cahnge the entire meaning of a sentence. In actual conversation, pause, inflections, intonation, gestures, and facial expressions do the work of punctuation. In writing, however, punctuation must provide these clues.
Much of the confusion about punctuation occurs because connecting words often havesimiliar meanings, but they signal different punctuation conventions. A stop sign, a red light, and a blinking red light, for example, all mean that motorist must stop, but each signals a slightly different procedure.
a. Comma ( , )
The comma is the most frequently used punctuation mark within the sentence. When used effectively, it can make lengthy sentences easy to understand. When used carelessly, it can cause reader to miss the point of writing.
1) Using Commas with Conjunctions
"Con/junction" means "join together"; "coordinates" are "equals."
a) Coordinate conjunctions
A coordinate conjunction joins a equals together. The acronym "BOYFANS" will help to remember the coordinate conjunctions:
B
O
Y
F
A
N
S
but
or
yet
for
and
nor
so
Examples The children were playing football, and the adults were relaxing with the Sunday paper.
We won the volleyball game, but our best hitter broke her wrist.
b) Subordinating conjunctions
A subordinate conjunction joins a dependent or subordinate clause to an independent or main clause.
after
before
since
until
although
even if
So that
when
as
even though
than
whenever
as if
if
that
where
as though
in order that
though
whenever
because
rather than
unless
while
Subordinating conjunction change an independent clause (IC) to a dependent clause (DC).
Examples IC
Independent clause: He buys a newspaper.
Add a subordinating conjunction to create a dependent clause:
DC
If he buys a newspaper
Complete sentence:
DC IC
If he buys a newspaper, he will see the story.
c) Conjunctive adverbs
A conjunctive adverb acts like a transitional phrase. Below are the most common conjunctive adverbs.
according
however
Meanwhile
still
also
incidently
moreover
thereafter
consequently
indeed
nevertheless
therefore
furthermore
instead
otherwise
thus
hence
Likewise
similiarly
Examples Conjunctive adverbs can be moved:
- We won the game; however, our best hitter broke her wrist.
- We won the game; our best hitter broke the wrist, however.
- We won the game; our best hitter, however, broke the wrist.
Subordinating conjunctions cannot move:
- Although our best hitter broke her wrist, he won the game.
- Our best hitter, although, broke the wrist, he won tha game. [Obviously, although cannot be moved to another position in the clause.]
Coordinating conjunctions cannot be moved:
- We won the game, but our best hitter broke the wrist.
- We won the game, our best hitter, but, broke the wrist. [Moving a coordinating conjunction scrambles the sentence.]
2) Using Commas after Introductory Elements
Use commas o set off most introdictory elements; clause, phrase, or word.
a) Clause
- When the president finally began speaking, reporters listened.
- If the rain stops before noon, we can picnic in the park.
b) Phrase
- After a series of automobile accidents at the shopping mall, police installed two sets of traffic lights.
- Running strongly at the start, Bret kept pace with the leader.
- Inspired by her mother’s example, Brenda is applying to medical school.
- To develop fluency in the spoken language, students spend the winter term in Munich.
- Tongues wagging, the gossips dissected another victim.
c) Words
- Fortunately, no one at the plant was laid off during the recession.
3) Using Commas with Nonrestrictive Elements
Nonrestrictive modifiers should be separated from the sentence by commas. Always essential the phrase or clause: If it can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning.
- Coach Hall, who was invited to the party, celebrated the victory. (Nonrestrictive)
(The clause, "who was invited to the party," is incidental information. It does not restrict or specify which coach was celebrating. The two commas indicate that removing the clause from the sentence will not change the meaning: "Coach Hall celebrated the victory.")
- Seattle, which has a reputation as a rainy city, is actually drier than New Orleans. (Nonrestrictive)
(Remove the clause, and the meaning of the sentence is not altered. "Seatle is actually drier than New Orleans."
- Charles, the man in the gry suit, eats fried grasshoppers when no one is looking. (Nonrestrictive)
(The appositive, "the man in the gray suit," can be removed from the sentence without altering the meaning.)
- Demonstrators who hurled bricks were arrested by the police. (Restrictive)
Test: The meaning is that only those demonstrators who hurled bricks were arrested by the police. The phrase who hurled bricks cannot be removed from the sentence without changing this meaning. Do not use commas to separate restrictive elements.
- The class that was taught by Anne Perkins met at eight o’clock in the morning. (Restrictive)
Note: This sentence says that the particular class taught by Professor Perkins met at eight o’clock. Other classes met at some other time. (Use that for restrictive clauses. Do not use commas.)
4) Using Commas with Coordinate Items in a Series
a) Use commas to separate three or more coordinate items in a series:
- The volume includes poems, stories, letters, and essays. (nouns)
- The button may be hidden inside a box, under a lamp, beneath cushion, or in a fire place. (phrase)
- After the accident Fran could not remember where she was driving, what the road was like, or when she lost control of the car. (clause)
When a series includes three o more items, it need a conjunction between the last two. Use a comma before the conjunction.
- The truck skidded, slid over the edge of the road, and tumbled down the embankment.
b) Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives modifying the same noun:
- The clear, coal air was invigorating.
5) Using Commas with Dates, Addresses, Greetings, Names, and Large Numbers
a) Use commas to set off successive items in dates and addresses:
- On July 5, 1887, the Blair family encountered a Sioux war party.
- The Allyns now live at 8 Smith Street, Yarmouth, Maine.
b) Use commas to set off the name of someone directly addresed in a sentence:
- In the shipment we are sending you, Ms. Wight, you will find samples of our newest line of women’s slacks.
c) Use a comma after the greeting in a friendly or informal letter and after the closing in a letter of any kind:
- Dear Aunt Marta,
- Dear Peter,
- Sincerely,
- Yours truly,
d) Use a comma to separte the name of a person from any titles, degrees, or special designation shown after it:
- Betty Small, vice-president
- Joy Cohen, M.D.
- John S. Wilson, Jr.
e) Use a comma to eparate the parts of a proper name when the last name is given firt:
- Barringer, Francis H.,Jr.
f) Use commas to mark groups of three digits in large numbers, counting from the right as you put the commas in:
- The company owes its creditors approximately $2,500,000.
6) Use Commas to Set off Dilogue or Direct Quotation
a) Dialogue
"We’ll try it," the professor said to me, grimly, "with every adjustment of the microscope known to man."
b) Direct quotation
The author points out, "One of the effects of embalming by chemical onjection, however, has been to dispel fears of live burial."
b. THE SEMICOLON ( ; ) AND THE COLON ( : )
1) THE SEMICOLON ( ; )
a) Using the Semicolon ( ; )
1)) Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses that are clsely related in meaning:
- Some visitors thrive on activities; others seldom leave the lounge.
- We seem to lack a sense of direction; we move from one distraction to another instead of advancing steadily to a well-defined goal.
2)) Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the second begins with or includes a conjunctive adverb, such as however, for example, or in addition:
- Everyone agrees that nuclear warfare is horrible; the great powers, however, continue to manufacture nuclear weapon.
- Renfrew is creative and independent; for example, he designed his own house.
3)) Use a semicolon to separate main clauses linked by conjunction if commas appear in the clauses:
- Early in the play, Samson, tormented by his bondage to the Philistines, his blindness, and his fall from glory, laments his condition; but he is careful to attribute the reversal in fortune to himself, not to God.
4)) Use semicolon between items in aseriess when one or more of the items include commas:
- The furniture consisted of a sofa with three large, sharpeless cushions; four matching wooden chairs with upright backs; and a corner cupboard imported from Bristol, England.
b) Misusing the Semicolon ( ; )
1)) Do not use a semicolon between a phrase and the clause to which it belongs:
- We tinkered with the writing of the loudspeaker; to increase the volume.
REVISED: We tinkered with the writing of the loudspeaker to increase the volume.
- Before taking pictures in ashady area; tou should be careful to use a reliable light meter.
REVISED: Before taking pictures in ashady area, tou should be careful to use a reliable light meter.
2)) Do not use a semicolon between a subordinate clause and the main clause:
- Even htough I was exhausted; I listened to his complaints for two hour.
REVISED: Even htough I was exhausted, I listened to his complaints for two hour.
- Gourment in the area are planning to have a farewell dinner at Gingham’s Restaurant; which will close its doors for good on June 30.
REVISED: Gourment in the area are planning to have a farewell dinner at Gingham’s Restaurant, which will close its doors for good on June 30.
3)) Do not use a semicolon to intorduce a list:
- Her house has four rooms; a kitchen, aparlor, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
Instead, to use a colon:
REVISED: Her house has four rooms: a kitchen, aparlor, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
2) THE COLON ( : )
a) Using the Colon ( : )
1)) Use a colon introduce a list coming at the end of a sentence:
- The tenants broke three appliances: the washing machine, the dryer, and the electric oven.
2)) Use a colon to introduce an example or an explanation related to something just mentioned:
- The mister had only one desire: to see his gold coins.
- However much the repressive element of late industrial society may lie on us like chains, this very society is a fruit of the civilization of Europe: the civilizatio of rational theology, of the Reformation, and of the Englightenment.
3)) Use colon to introduce a quotation ( usually of more than one line ) in a essay:
- In the concluding chapter of walden, Thoreau declares: " if a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or for away."
4)) Use colon after the salutation in a formal letter:
- Dear Senator Grant :
- Dear Ms. Wipple:
- To Who It May Concern:
5)) Use colon to separate hours from minutes when the time of day is shown in numerals:
7:30 12:05 6:45
b) Misusing the Colon ( : )
1)) Do not use a colon after such as or including:
- The crafts show has a variety of items such as: pewter cancdlesticks, jewelry, paintings, and woolens.
REVISED: The crafts shop has a variety of items such as pewter cancdlesticks, jewelry, paintings, and woolens.
- All of the old gang were there, including: Mush Head, Beaver, Sparky, and Mole.
REVISED: All of the old gang were there, including Mush Head, Beaver, Sparky, and Mole.
2)) Do not use a colon directly after a form of the verb be:
- The three most popular compsers of classical music, according to the pool, are: Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.
REVISED: The three most popular compsers of classical music, according to the pool, are Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.
3)) Do not use a colon between a verbs and itsobject or between a preposotion and its object:
- By noon he had repaired: his wife’s typewriter, a child’s bicycle, and his own washing machine.
REVISED: By noon he had repaired his wife’s typewriter, a child’s bicycle, and his own washing machine.
- The tourists went to: Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec.
REVISED: The tourists went to Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec.
c. END MARKS
The punctuation marks used to end sentences arae period, te question mark, and the exclamation point. The period is also used to mark the end of some abbreviations.
1) The Period
a) Using the Period ( . )
1)) To mark the end of a declarative sentence, a mild command, or an indirect question:
DECLARATIVE SENTENCE
Synthetic fuels offer one solution to the energy crisis.
MILD COMMAND
Join us if you can.
INDIRECT QUESTION
I asked my instrutor how we could measure the speed of light.
When typing, skip two space after the period before beginning the next sentence.
2)) To mark the end of some abbreviations
Mr. Black 8:30 A.M.
Mr. Grier 350 B.C.
Mrs. Rollins 24 Seaview Ave.
Dr. Davis N.Y., N.Y.
Herbert Blough, Ph.D.
Generally, you don’t need period when you abbreviate the names of organizations or when you use acronynms (pronounceable words formed from the initials of a multiword title):
USA UK NOW
NBC SALT UN
For guidance, see an up-to dictionary.
3)) To mark letters or numerals in vertical lists:
The report has four main headings:
1. History of the project
2. Current Operations
3. Future Plans
4. Financial Goal
If you give the onformation in a sentence, enclose the numbers or letter within parentheses and omit the periods:
The report has four main headings: (1) History of the Project, (2) Current Operations, (3) Future Plans, and (4) Financial Goals.
b) Misusing the Period ( . )
1)) In formal writing do not use a period to separate the parts of a sentence. If you do, you will create a sentence fragment:
- [Fragment] Since many employees still comute by private automobile. Trafic jams are a commonplace in the early morning and late afternoon.
REVISED: Since many employees still comute by private automobile, trafic jams are a commonplace in the early morning and late afternoon.
2)) Do not use a period after another period or other end mark:
- They have signed a contract with Reliable Movers, Inc..
REVISED: They have signed a contract with Reliable Movers, Inc.
2) The Question Mark
a) Using the Question Mark ( ? )
1)) At the end of a direct question:
Is man a rational creature?
Has the rate of inflation declined appreciably in the last six months?
2)) To indicate uncertainty within a statement:
Old-timers still talk about a storm-in 1938?-that snapped the steeples of all three churches in town.
b) Misusing Question Mark ( ? )
1)) Do not use a question mark at the end of an indirect question:
- Cotumers keep asking what the specials are?
REVISED: Cotumers keep asking what the specials are.
- No one has begun asking how the problem can be solved?
REVISED: No one has begun asking how the problem can be solved.
3) The Exclamation Mark
a) Using the Exlamation Point ( ! )
Use an exlamation point to mark the end of an exlamatory sentence, phrase, or word:
The wanton destruction of wildlife must stop!
Look out!
How beautiful!
Never!
b) Misusing the Exlamation Point ( ! )
Do not overuse exclamation points. Too many of the will dull your effect.
- Animals are not stones! They have feelings just as we do! They love their mates! their young! existance itself!! So the wanton destruction of widlife must stop!!!
REVISED: Animals are not stones. They have feelings just as we do. They love their mates, their young, existance itself. So the wanton destruction of widlife must stop!
d. QUOTATION MARKS
1) Using the Quotation Marks
a. Using Double and Single Quotation Marks
1)) Use double quotation marks to enclose the words of speakers engaged in dialogue(convrsation), and start a ne paragraph ach time the speaker changes:
"I’m tired. Can we go home now?" the child asked.
"No, we can’t. daddy is still sleeping, and you know how he hates to be woken up early," Beth replied.
2)) Use single quotation marks (‘ ‘)to enclose quotation within a quotation:
"Patrick Henry," said the teacher, "was afiery orator. It was he who declared, ‘Give me liberty, or give me death.’ "
b. Using Quotation Marks with other punctuation
To punctuate quotatios,you must often use quotation marks with other punctuations:
1)) Use a coma or a colon to introduce a quation:
Karen said, "I’m going home."
John Holt writes: "The first and worst thing we do is to make children anxious about speling."
2)) Use a comma to mark the end of a quoted sentence that is ollowed by an ientifying tag:
"I’m going home," said Karen.
"I’ll stay," said Magaret. "Phil and I haven’t finished our conversation."
Do not use the comma if the quoted sentence ends in a question mark or an exclamation point:
"What"s wrong with the engine?" she asked.
"Stop pushing!´the large woman shouted.
As these example show, even after a full stop the tag begis with a lower-case letter, not a capital.
3)) Use a pair of commas to set off a tag that interups a quorted sentence , whether spoken or written:
"In the forst place," said Carl, "the car isn’t mine."
"The first and worst thing we do," writes Holt, "is to make children anxious about spelling."
The second part of the quotation does not begin qith a capital letter because it does not begin a new sentence. It completes the sentence that was interupted by the tag.
4)) Use a period to mark th end of aquoted statement that is not followed by a tag:
Karen said, "I’m going home."
5)) When you use a comma or a period at the end of a quotation mark:
"Give me liberty, said Patrick Henry, "or give me death."
6)) When you use a semicolon or a collon atb the end of a quotation, put it outside the clossing quotation mark:
The manager said that my cahnce of getting a raise was "slight"; nevertheless, I decided to stay on the job.
Explaining the company balance sheet, the treasurer cited "major setback": a prolonged strike, the loss of a million-dollar lawsuit, and and explosion at one of the pants.
7)) When you use a question mark or an exclamation point at the end of a quotation, put it inside the closing quotation mark only if it belongs to the uotation ; other wise put is outside:
He asked me, "Where areyou going?"
"Help!" she cried.
What does the president mean when he speals of the "trully needed"?
Whenever you put the question mark or the exclamation point, do not use a period with it:
He asked me, "Where areyou going?".
REVISED: He asked me, "Where areyou going?"
8)) When that introduces a quotation, use no comma after it and no capital to start the quotation unless it begns with a proper name:
Emerson writes that "all men live by truth and stand in need of expression."
c. Using quotation marks with titles
1)) Use double quotation marks to set of the titles of short works, such as essay , short story , poem, songs, segment of TV shows, and chapter of books:
"Shelters on the Plains" [magazine article]
"Big Boy Leaves Home" [short stiry]
"Trees" [short poem]
"Home on the Rang" [song]
"The Pageant of Fireflies" [a chapter in My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durell]
As the last example shows, the titles of larger works must be underlined.
2)) Use singgle quotation mark to enclose a title requiring quotation marks when it is part of another title requiring quotation marks or when it is mentioned within a quotation:
"Problems of Belief in Emerson’s ‘Experience’ "
"Thurber’s whimsical way of laughing at himself," said Profesor Parker, "is richly evident in ‘University Day.’ "
3)) Don’t use quotation marks in the titles of your paper s exept when you name an eassy,poem, song, or other short work:
- "The Challenge of Democracy"
REVISED: The Challenge of Democracy
- "The Use of Irony in Conrad’s ‘Youth’ "
REVISED: The Use of Irony in Conrad’s "Youth’ "
2) Misusing the Quotation Marks
a. Do not use quotation marks in direct discurse
- The conductor stated that "his mucissian were distracted by the commotion caused by late arrivals."
REVISED: the conductor stated that has musscission were distracted by the commotion caused by late arrivals.
- Someone invariably asks "why the London police seldom carry sidearms."
REVISED: Someone invariably asks why the London police seldom carry sidearms.
b. Do not use quotation marks in emphasis. Quotation marks can actually weaken a statement.
- She spoke with "glowing" enthusiasm. [TRANSLATION: She was putting on an act.]
c. Do not use quotation marks to set of the titles of your essays on the title page.
e. OTHER PUNCTUATION MARK
1) Dash
a) Using the Dash
1)) Use a dash to introduce a word, phrase, or clause that summarizes the words preceding it:
The film showed grizzlies, wolves, caribou, and bighorn sheep-all animals threatened by a man.
2)) Use apair of dishes to set off an interruption that is closely relevant to asentence but not grammatically part of it:
Her hatred of the old school building-she has been ridiculed by her classmates-led her to leave the neighborhood as soon as she could.
Less relevant interruptions may be set off by parentheses.
3)) Use a dash or a pair of dashes to set off a series of items in apposition to a preceding noun:
Four of the animals-a panda, a white rhinoceros, a giraffe, and a penguin-are new to the zoo.
4)) Use a dash in dialogue to indicate an unfinished remark:
"But, Reginald," Virginia gasped, "I thought you-"
"Would be in Chicago?" he sneered. "Well, I;m here." He moved toward her, fists clenched.
"But Ican explain what-"She could not finish.
When a dash indicates an unfinished remark, it should be followed only by quotation marks, not by a comma or period.
5)) The dashes set off a parenthetical question or an the question mark or the exclamation point before the second dash:
In the closing moments of the game, Larry Bird-is he always a hero?-scored three points.
In typing, make a dash with two hypens (--) and leave no space on either side.
b) Misusing the Dash
Do not overuse dashes. Too many can make your writing seem breathless or fragmented:
- According to psycologists-not to mention other observers of the human comedy-allof us-you too., dear reader-tend to laugh when we feel superior or others-stronger, brighter, in control. Take the case of the man who slips on a banana peel-why is ti never an orange peel?-and falls to the pavement before us. We laught-come now, admitit!-not just because his movemnts-arms flying, legs crumbling-look funny, not because-and now we get to the heart of things-we are safe-safe from bodily harm and-most important of all-safe from blow to our self-esteem.
REVISED: According to psycologists and other observers of the human comedy, all of us tend to laugh when we feel superior or others-stronger, brighter, in control. Take the familiar case of the man who slips on a banana peel and falls to the pavement before us. We laught not just because he looks funny with his arm flying and his legs crumbling, because we are safe from bodily harm and-most important of all-safe from blow to our self-esteem.
2) Using Parentheses ( )
a) Use parentheses to enclose words, phrase, or complete sentences that offer a side comment or help to clarify:
Joe DiMagio’s hitting streak (he batted safely in fifty-six consecutive games) may never be supassed.
A parenthesized sentence that appears within another sentence does not need a capital or a period. Otherwise it needs both:
Early in the play, Samson bewails his loss of sight. (The playwright himself was blind when he wrote Samson Agonistes.) The loss, he says, has denied him the beauties of nature and the solace of princeless light.
The insertion of parenthses within a sentence does not change the punctuation of the sentence itself. If acoma is required, be sure to include it, as in the following example:
When police questioned a third witness (Frank Matthews), they git a totally different description of the accident.
b) Use parentheses to enclose numerals or ltters introducing the items of alist:
The essay has three main sections: (a) an introduction summarizing the history of industrial strife in the mine, (b) an analysis of present working conditions, and (c) a proposal fo mayor reforms.
c) Use parentheses to enclose numeral clarifying or confirming a spelled-out number:
The rent is eighty-five di=ollars ($85.00) a week.
3) Using Brackets [ ]
a) Use bracket to insert a clarifying detail, comment, or correction of your own into a passage writen by someone else:
According to he author, "The cause of the war can be traced to the jealously of Aphrodite [the godness of love], for she would tolerate no rivals."
If you wish to call attention to amisspelling in the quoted material, use the Latin word sic ("thus"), or give the correct spelling within the brackets:
"On the other hand, Aphrodite coul be generous with the mrtils [sic] that woshiped her." [or] "On the other hand, Aphrodite could be gnrous with the mortils [moratal] that worshiped her."
Typewriters do not normally include keys for brackets. You may either put the brackets in by hand or construct them by using the slash and underlining keys: [ ]
b) Do not use brackets when inserting comments into your own writing. Use parentheses or dashes.
4) Using Ellipsis Dot …
a) Use three spaced dot-
1)) To signal the omission of a word or words from the middle or a quoted sentence:
"No high-minded man . . . can complete the lumbering and slovenly kying of the present day without grieving to see a noble art so prostituted." -Mark Twain
2)) To signal hesitation or halting speech in dialogue:
"But . . . you can’t leave us," she gasped.
In typing, leave a space before the first dot, between each pair of dots, and after the last one.
b) Use four space dot-
1)) To show that you are omitting the end of a quoted sentence:
"No fact is more firmly established than that lying a necessity of our cicumtances. . . ." -Mark Twain
2)) To show that you have omitted one or more whole sentences:
"The trend of our epoch up to this time hes been consistently towards specialism and profesionalism. . . . Now, if this world of ours were realy that is called reasonabele, I do not know that there would be any fault to find with this." -Author unknown
c) Use an entire line of spaced dots to signal that aline (or more) of poetry has been omitted:
As it fell out on a long summer’s day,
Two lovers they sat on a hill;
……………………………….
And could not talk their fill.
5) Using Slash
a) Use a slash, or virgule, to indicate alternative words:
Every number of the committee should bring hi/her report to the meeting.
b) Use a slash to mark off lines of poetry when you run them on as if they were prose:
Frost ends the poem "What Fifty Said" with a couplet: "I strain at lessons fit to start a suture. / I go to school to youth to learn the future."
c) Use a slash in typing a fraction that is not on one of your typewriter keys:
5 7/8 15/16
2. Capitalization
a. Capitalize the first word of a sentence
The specialty of the house is a fish chowder.
When did the geese migrate?
Please enclose payment with your order.
BUT
"Do you think," asked Charles, "that we’ll have time to do them next week?" [Note: "that" is not capitalized since it is a continuation of the direct quotation beginning with "Do you thing…]
b. Traditonally, the first word in each line of poetry is capitalizes. In modern poetry, while this observance is still common, it is not a hard and fast rule.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree ……
c. Capitalize proper nouns
1) Capitalize the name of persons
Miles Davies Mr. Mc Donald
Picasso Mrs. MacDuff
Hamlet John O’Brien
Charles Dicken
2) Capitalize geographical names
a) Cities, counties, states, countries, continents
Atlantic City New Jersey
Boulder County Canada
Europe
b) Bodies of water
Atlantic Ocean Black Sea
Lake Michigan Mississippi River
Beaver Pond Chipmunk Creek
c) Islands, peninsulas, straits, canals, beaches, mountains
Hawai Florida Peninsula
Strait of Gibraltar Panama Canal
Daytona Beach Grand Tetons
Longs Peak
d) Streets, specific buildings
Broadway Main Street
Birch Moulevard Fifty-ninth Street
Highway 119 Sears Tower
White House Conrad Hilton Hotel
e) Parks, forests, dams, canyons, valleys
Yellowstone National Park
Pike National Forest
Hoover Dam
Poudre Canyon
Beaver Valley
f) Recognized parts of the country of world
the North
the Middle East
NOTE
The words north, south, east, and west are not capitalized when they refer to directions, but are capitalizes when they refer to sections of the country.
Drive east from Colorado for 1,000 miles and you will be in the Middle West.
3) Capitalize the names of ships, boats, planes, trains, awards, and monuments.
S.S. Titanic the Lucille (name of boat)
the Blue Angels Olympic Gold Medal
the Statue of Liberty
4) Capitalize the brand names of consumer products
Seven-Up Jay’s potato chip
IBM typewriter Butternut bread
Volkswagon Rabit Sunkist orange
5) Capitalize the names of specific rooms and other nouns followed by a numeral or letter
Room 607 School District 12
Chapter 8 Diagram B
6) Capitalize the names of school classes
7)
8)
d. and proper adjectives. Unlike common nouns, which name classes of objects and people, proper nouns name particular persons, places, things, and events. Proper adjectives are based on common nouns.
COMMON NOUNS
PROPER NOUNS
PROPER
ADJECTIVES
state
province
nation
philosopher
river
lake
corporation
officials
resort
holiday
activist
east (direction)
political party
Indiana
Quebec
France
Marx
Akansas River
Lake Louise
General Motors
Board of Selectmen
Palm Springs
Patriot’s Day
Susan B. Anthony
East (particular region)
The Republican Party
Indianian
French
Marxist
Do not capitalize a and the when use with proper nouns; and do not capitalize the names of the seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer) , even though you should capitalize days of week (Monday) and months of the year (July).
e. Capitlize a personal title when it is used before a name or when it denotes a particular person of very high rank
LOWER CASE
CAPITALS
the president
the prime minister
a bishop
the mayor
Precident Woodrow Wilson
the Prime Minister of Canada
Bishop Brady
the Pope
Mayor Young
f. Capitalize a term denoting kinship only when you use it before a name
LOWER CASE
CAPITALS
my aunt
your uncle
our cousin
my mother
her father
My Aunt Helen
Your Uncle Mark
Our Cousin Poly
g. Capitalize the pronoun / whereever you use it
I have not said I would take the job.
Do I need to have another interview?jh
h.
3. Spelling
C.
