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Learn to Write English Clearly and Correctly
Set 4 - Lesson 20 ( Go to the Answer Key )
Lesson 20, Capitalization: Using Upper Case letters for Names, Titles, Proper Nouns
Capital or upper case letters are everywhere. Already on this page we have used eleven of them and we are just getting started. What good are they? Why do we have to use them? When do we have to use them?
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Rule 1: All sentences must begin with a capital letter.
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Rule 2: The pronoun I , referring to yourself or to the speaker in a direct quotation, must always be capitalized .
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Rule 3: Use capital letters to begin the names of specific, particular persons, places or things.
man (any one) |
Herbert (a particular man) |
automobile (any one) | Ford (a particular car) |
girl (any one) | Lucy (a particular girl) |
city (any one) | Chicago (a particular city) |
woman (any one) | Mrs. Hollis (a particular woman) |
holiday (any one) | Easter (a particular holiday) |
ocean (any one) | Pacific (a particular ocean) |
country (any one) | France (a particular country) |
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Rule 4: Begin the first word and all important words in titles of books, movies, plays, poems, articles, etc. and the names of companies, agencies and organizations with a capital letter.
Ode to a Grecian Urn | American Telephone and Telegraph |
Gone with the Wind | United States Postal Service |
The Phantom of the Opera | United Airlines |
The Yellow Submarine | International Order of Odd Fellows |
The Cat in the Hat | National Education Association |
The Reader's Digest | March of Dimes |
Into the Looking Glass | American Cancer Society |
International Garment Workers' Union | General Motors |
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Rule 5: Use capital letters to begin personal titles or military ranks when they are used with the person's name or when they are used in place of or as the name.
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Rule 6: Use capital letters as or to begin abbreviations of particular organizations or locations
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Rule 7: Capitalize abbreviated titles when they are used with names.
Mr. Parsons, Mrs. Snyder, Miss Johnson, Sgt. Holden, Lt. Smith, Rev. Williams, Gov. Ridge, Sen. Caldwell |
Rule 8: Capitalize initials - first letters of persons' names.
O. J. Simpson, T. J. Lawrence, E. A. Poe, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, L. B. J. |
Rule 9: Capitalize the names of specific brand names of products.
Cheerios, Nintendo, Barbie, Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, Oscar Mayer Wieners, Hewlet Packard Deskjet, Tide, Decca Records, Kleenex Facial Tissue, Lipton Tea, Microsoft Front Page |
Rule 10: Capitalize the first word of the greeting and the salutation in a letter.
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There may be a few odd circumstances we have not mentioned in which a capital letter would be used, but if you remember the ones we listed, you will be correct at least 95% of the time.
Exercise A: Put an X across the letters that should not have been capitalized.
1. Here comes Jim's Mother with a cart. | 6. Carla had to go to the Library to get Cook Books. |
2. The crowd at the game could not hear the P.A. system. | 7. Jerry went to the Metro Library to get "Cooking Is Fun". |
3. I read "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" last week. | 8. The crowd booed the Ump. when he made a bad call. |
4. I like Florida State, but I live in another State. | 9. Did my Father call while I was out? |
5. The State Police in Iowa stop a lot of speeders. | 10. Polly added Cereal, Milk, Crackers and Salt to the list. |
Exercise B: Put capital letters where they should be in the following terms.
1. b. f. goodrich | 3. lon chaney, jr. | 5. the pepsi spirit | 7. a.c.l.u. | 9. the pa lottery is o.k. |
2. the wall street journal | 4. empire state building | 6. good to the last drop. | 8. i started an ira. | 10. alberta, can. has snow already. |
Examination: All capital letters have been left out of this letter. Put them where they belong.
october 12, 1995 t. j. tucker, chairman the crawford building, suite 8623 3345 west broad street franklin, tn 43235 loyal stockholders, i'm taking this opportunity to thank each of you for your continued moral support in the on-going struggle with namaguchi industries for control of preston paper and notepads, inc. since may 18 of last year, we have seen profits decline by 38 percent. morgan and morgan, our accountants, tell me that projected profits for this quarter have dropped to $567,000. We have had to close out pulp mill in fayette, ar, because of higher labor costs and lowered production. the ftc is investigating namaguchi for possible stock manipulation, but we cannot depend on a favorable resolution of that matter to solve our overall problem -- a shrinking customer base. what we need is a new product -- something innovative, something profitable, something to grab the public's imagination. since you are all part of the pp&n family, i am asking that you think long and hard on this matter and submit your ideas and suggestions regardless of how outlandish they may seem. we will meet next week, october 19, to see what you have come up with. until then, think hard and may the force be with you. faithfully yours, jacob r. preston, sr.
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