If you describe an event with a proper name lizzys surprise 30th birthday bash, then its uppercase. So, if a person is from south africa, south would be capitalized since its the proper name of the country. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. The question turned out to be more complicated that i initially imagined. Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters that denote a specific place in a numbered series. Heres a complete guide to capitalizing geographical terms in english. Use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. Occasionally, regent university style will vary from ap and gregg. Serving as an authority for working journalists on grammar, capitalizations, abbreviations, spelling and so much more, the ap stylebook can be found in almost every newsroom in the country. Henry traveled to the east coast to see his mother. Capitalize official titles, including separate political entities such as east st. Because the language of culture evolves, so will the style guide.
The following topics cover some of the grammar, punctuation, and other common errors we find when editing letters prepared for the nih directors or nih deputy directors signature. Words like birthday, anniversary, reunion and gala are lowercase. Ap style says it should be capitalized while the chicago style manual says it should be lowercased. Except for languages, such as english, french and japanese, the names of academic disciplines, majors, minors, programs and courses of study are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. Ap style time zones writing explained grammar, style, and. Capitalize when referring to regions of the united states lying along such coasts.
Oct 14, 2010 although brussels the belgian city is capitalized, chicago prefers brussels sproutswhich are not necessarily from brussels see 8. Far north, northern canada, east coast, far east, western hemisphere, the west. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name. I doubt if surprising should be capitalized, but city of lights, the big apple, merrie olde england, ought to be. Its similar to why your name is always capitalized. Jul 29, 2012 several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc. They could be a title, a name, or a specific place such as the presidents residence.
Several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc. The word book is usually lowercased, and the words gospel and epistle are usually capitalized. Capitalize an article the, a, an or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title. It is about 570 miles from cape hatteras on the east coast of the united states. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples. There may be times when you end the quote with punctuation that would normally require the next word to be capitalized. The fun book of capitalization and punctuation jeff nelson on. When should you capitalize geographic regions in the.
That is the style currently recommended by the associated press. This section discusses and illustrates the basic conventions of american capitalization. In text, capitalize figure 2 and table 1 but lowercase model 1. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate. East coast trip company books vacations at reasonable. If you are referring to the part of the usa on the east coast, yes, it is known as the east coast. Capitalization is writing the first letter of a word in uppercase, with the remaining letters in lowercase. When you are referring to the region in the us and in canada, west coast is capitalized. Grammar girl sometimes directional terms are capitalized. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. Never ever capitalize cancer ever since reading the book.
English grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. However, the style manual adds that in a work in which all three terms are used with some frequency, they may all be treated alike, either lowercased or. Capitalization video grammar videos on usage jane straus. The most important guiding principle in all such matters is consistency within a document and consistency within an office or institution. Drink drank drunk a grammar show with a drinking problem. This english language quiz is called grammar conventions of standard english capitalization and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. Government printing office style manual chapter 3 capitalization rules. The general rule says that seasons should not be capitalized. Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. When youre talking about americas west coast or the middle east, the directional word is. When you are talking about the physical shoreline, its not capitalized.
Obviously, when the directional term is part of a current or historical proper name for example, north dakota and west germany, respectively capitalization is nonnegotiable. Prevent errors and restore the courtesy of capitalization in all forms of written communication by using the wide array of exercises prepared for grades one to eight in this allinclusive no prep capitalization. Jun 24, 2010 the word book is usually lowercased, and the words gospel and epistle are usually capitalized. You can now learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these short, easytofollow videos on usage. Use capitalization to indicate the end of the sentence when writing dialogue, only capitalize the first letter of a word to indicate the end of the sentence. The names given to planets and stars are capitalized, but words like planet, sun, moon. Lets first discuss how to refer to the books themselves. You also capitalize other wellknown region names like east coast, west. Northern, southern in american civil war contexts northern california, the middle east, the pacific northwest, southeast asia. Capitalize the name of a season when its the first word of a sentence or part of a proper noun. In writing about dance, would you consider the names of dances proper nouns. She got on the san diego freeway and crept south for over 50 miles. The words army, navy, air force, marine corps, and coast guard should be. Which book contains the phrase, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
We lowercase words that are considered common nounsthat is, they can be used to describe many things, such as any one of the. Part of the problem is there are times you do and times you don\t, and sometimes the difference between the two isn\t readily apparent. Likewise, president obama is capitalized, but the president is not see 8. For example, math and chemistry do not need to be capitalized, but french and spanish do need to be capitalized. However, if it was the name of something, then you would. Whether you capitalize directions like south and southwest depends on the. Capitalize the first word of the title, the last word of the title, and all principal words.
Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. There are some patterns to make the capitalization of directional words easier for your learners to remember. Capitalize directions when they designate geographical parts of the country, region or city or when used as part of proper names. Grammar girl when to capitalize food names and cocktails. Jul, 2017 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. East coast train operating company is within the scope of wikiproject yorkshire, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to yorkshire on wikipedia. When you are talking about a school subject in a general way, you do not need to capitalize it unless it is the name of a language. The guide to grammar and writing is a monument to inconsistency on this issue. Whether or not to capitalize the by in the byline, or omit it altogether, and in what contexts e. Style fills in the gray areas of grammar and usage. Whether youre thinking about pursuing a career in dentistry or you just have a curiosity as the patient in the chair, getting a grasp on the lingo can come in handy. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards.
Do we capitalize school subjects such as math, biology, and. For example, the near east, the south, southern california, the midatlantic states. North, south, east, west when is capitalization best. The book is admirably terse, factually impeccable, and covers in good detail a considerable portion of the paradise of the west coast of florida. But there are a few exceptions that call for capitalization. Grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Should waltz, tango, foxtrot always be capitalized or no. Do you capitalize the word grammar when using it in a. I always capitalize the names of swing dances, east coast, west coast, lindy hop, but sometimes find myself inclined to. Grammar is the way in which language is structured, the rules that are the foundation of that structure and the study of those rules. We originally based the style guide on the historical documents of the university and blended it carefully with the associated press ap stylebook and libel manual and the gregg reference manual. Popularly accepted designations are often capitalized, but putting quotation marks around such designations only goes to suggest that there is something peculiar about using such designations. Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper.
For example, the associated press stylebook ap style recommends capitalization. But it would be lowercase in a sentence such as this. Its lowercase when you write, i hope you have a happy birthday. When it comes to the question of directions, there\s often quite a bit of confusion as to whether or not you should capitalize the directions north, south, east and west. Writing stack exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, nonfiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing. Head east until you get to the southeast end of georgia, then turn north. They are capitalized when they refer to specific areas of the country. This article was originally published january 4, 2012, and updated june 9, 2017.
The directions north, east, south, and west should not be given capital letters unless they form part of a name like west ham, the north pole, and south africa. Grammar girl explains when you should capitalize region names such as. When to capitalize peoples titles grammar and punctuation. Capitalize the titles of highranking government officials when used with or before their names.
When you are talking about the name of a specific class or course, such as math 241 or chemistry 100. When should you capitalize cocktail and food names. And, just as you would expect, english has a boatload of rules. Different cities may have their own name for guido. Quick and dirty tips whether you capitalize directions like south and southwest depends on the context. For instance, according to the grammar girl, the directional terms that describe people differ, depending on the style book. This quiz presents various grammar rules regarding capitalization in order to challenge your knowledge. However, in the case of the east coast, you should capitalize the e because the word east is part of the noun phrase.
Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. When youre using it as a general description of a place, its not capitalized. I was going to rearrange the sentence for you so you dont use the semicolon, but the more i read your sentence, i realized that your semicolon is correct. Also, happy birthday is capitalized if you write, happy birthday, zack. Capitalize the principle words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters, in the names of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, radio and television programs, works of art, etc. Arctic circle, eastern hemisphere, continental divide, middle east, far north, gulf states, east coast, the north, the south shore. Grammar and style guide for publishing in our journals agu. This is not true in apa reference lists where we capitalize only the first word, nor is it necessarily true for titles in other languages. To capitalize or not to capitalize, that may be your question. Cohosts morgan obidowski and linda huss break down current language and communication issues while drinking multiple bottles of wine. But many lesserknown geographical designations arent as obvious. Grammar girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar. Guido is especially used of italianamericans living in new jersey or new york city. Even if nothing more than your imagination leaves the living room, you still need to know the rules for capitalizing the names of places, languages, geographical features, regions, and directions.
If grammar girl, throwing shade and drunk history had a 3way baby it would be this podcast. Do not capitalize when referring to smaller regions. The regent university editorial style guide is a living document. The most confusing grammar rules in english readers digest. To sum up, use lowercase when referring to directions on a compass. Out on the west coast, we have to drive to get to a season. The clear prose is peppered with ms reileys reactions to people, places, and things, some which she clearly enjoyed, others of which failed to meet her mark. Andrea forcelli, the customer care specialist for our development and research department, announced a new antiviral tissue. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating.
Jun 29, 2017 to sum it up, if a directional term is the name of a region, capitalize it. In english, we capitalize words that are proper nouns that is, they describe a specific thing or entity. Books are a great way to travel, to experience different cultures, and to explore other. Quote from a grammar girl post about this topic capitalize the first word of the title, the last word of the title, and all principal words. The names of books of the bible are not italicized. The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general called for a special task force. When to capitalize directional words blog esl library. The words north, south, east, and west are not capitalized when they refer to directions.
Microsoft words grammar checker is, like all similar machine solutions, primitive. If youre unsure, check a dictionary or style guide. Capitalize regional terms when they refer to a commonly accepted proper name of an area. No, generally, you would not capitalize any word in east coast trip. For the best answers, search on this site i have a degree in english literature. Check your style guide, there is no agreement on this point. Capitalization rules the blue book of grammar and punctuation. C this article has been rated as cclass on the project. Thats why its important for us to understand the rules. To sum it up, if a directional term is the name of a region, capitalize it. Mar 10, 2015 this is only the tip of the capitalization iceberg. Good book synonym for bible book 1, i, etc but book 1. Usage describes the way a language is used by native speakers, it is the application of grammar rules at a local level.
If the season is being personified, you can capitalize it then, too. Jun, 2016 as soon as you start using directions as part of a proper name, they get capitalized. Always refer to the style guide in your specific field, as many vary on their formatting. Marketers for the group called american pork growers inundated cities along the east coast and in the desert southwest with recipes featuring pork for holiday meals. For example, red bull has a different meaning from red bull. Capitalize a kinship name when it immediately precedes a personal name or is used alone, in place of a personal name.
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