Grammar: Capitalization/Title Rules – Flashcards
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Tennyson wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" six weeks after 110 British troops were killed in a mismanaged military maneuver in the Crimea
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Tennyson wrote the charge of the light brigade six weeks after 110 British troops were killed in a mismanaged military maneuver in the Crimea. (Articles (a, an and the) are capitalized when they begin the title. Titles of poems are enclosed in quotation marks.)
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Longfellow's poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" used to be memorized by every American school child.
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Longfellow's poem the midnight ride of paul revere used to be memorized by every American school child. (Prepositions are not capitalized unless they are the first word in a title.)
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Most high school anthologies include Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
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Most high school anthologies include Frost's stopping by woods on a snowy evening. (Articles and prepositions that are not the first word in a title are not capitalized.)
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In the episode "Home Is Where the Heart Stops", Rick Castle and Kate Beckett investigate a series of jewel robberies.
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In the episode home is where the heart stops, Rick Castle and Kate Beckett investigate a series of jewel robberies. (Titles of episodes in a television series are enclosed in quotation marks.)
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Tears for Fears's "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is listed as one of the best 100 songs of the 20th century.
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Tears for Fears's everybody wants to rule the world is listed as one of the best 100 songs of the 20th century. (The particle to in an infinitive is not capitalized. Song titles are enclosed in quotation marks.)
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After moving to a town in the Southwest, I discovered I was the only Caucasian living in a diverse and interesting neighborhood of Salvadorians, Guatemalans, and South Africans.
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After moving to a town in the southwest, I discovered I was the only caucasian living in a diverse and interesting neighborhood of salvadorians, guatemalans, and south africans. (Southwest is a section of the country, Caucasian is a race, and Salvadorians, Guatemalans, and South Africans are all nationalities.)
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As a man of Indian descent, Dr. Mehra probably follows Hinduism.
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As a man of indian descent, Dr. Mehra probably follows hinduism. (Indian is a nationality and Hinduism is a religion.)
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Henry graduated from a prestigious university in the East, where he studied religious philosophy, Greek, and history. He even excelled in Dr. Sanders' difficult course, Trigonometry II.
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Henry graduated from a prestigious university in the east, where he studied religious philosophy, greek, and history. He even excelled in Dr. Sanders' difficult course, trigonometry II. (In this context East refers to a section of the country. Greek is a language, and the school subject Trigonometry II is followed by a number.)
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We decided not to go to the Chinese restaurant because Lucille always complains about the servers speaking Mandarin among themselves.
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We decided not to go to the chinese restaurant because Lucille always complains about the servers speaking mandarin among themselves. (Chinese is a nationality and Mandarin is a language.)
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When you come to a fork in the road, turn southwest and continue until you arrive at a crossroad where you will need to go directly west.
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When you come to a fork in the road, turn southwest and continue until you arrive at a crossroad where you will need to go directly west. (The original sentence is correct because both southwest and west are directions, not sections of a country.)
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Nineteenth century readers looked to Hamlet for answers to the angst of their age; our present period would benefit from studying King Lear.
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Nineteenth Century readers looked to hamlet for answers to the angst of their age; our present period would benefit from studying king Lear. (Capitalize the main words in titles like Hamlet and King Lear. Do not capitalize words like year, century, week, or other time units, unless they occur in a title.)
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Of the seasons of the year, I love fall best because it seems to promise new beginnings.
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Of the Seasons of the year, I love Fall best because it seems to promise new beginnings. ("Do not capitalize the names of seasons, unless the season is part of a title.)
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Television screenwriters tend to stereotype natives of southern states as uneducated bigots.
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Television screenwriters tend to stereotype natives of Southern States as uneducated Bigots. (Do not capitalize directions or other general geographical words. Do not capitalize common nouns unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title.)
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The teenagers piled into the old Chevy and went for pizza at Pizza Hut.Do not capitalize the general names of products.
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The teenagers piled into the old chevy and went for Pizza at Pizza Hut. (Do not capitalize the general names of products. The word pizza in Pizza Hut is part of a proper noun; the other pizza refers to a general name and is not capitalized. Capitalize brand names.)
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Famous Big Ben is not a clock, but a clock bell at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London.
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Famous big ben is not a clock, but a clock bell at the north end of the palace of westminster in london. (Capitalize names, cities, and official names of buildings. Capitalize north, south, east, west, and derivative words only when they designate definite regions or are an integral part of a proper name. Do not capitalize these words when they merely indicate direction or general location.)
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The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the South but not in the North.
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The emancipation proclamation freed the slaves in the south but not in the north. (Capitalize the names of official documents. Capitalize direction words when they specify a definite region.)
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Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie own Chateau Miraval, a wine-growing estate in the south of France.
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Actors brad pitt and angelina jolie own chateau miraval, a wine-growing estate in the south of france. (Do not capitalize directions that simply indicate general location.)
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A coalition of state governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general was called for by Governor Beebe of Arkansas.
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A coalition of state governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general was called for by governor beebe of arkansas. (Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name.)
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My mother's favorite charities were St. Labre Indian School and the American Cancer Society.
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My mother's favorite charities were st. labre indian school and the american cancer society. (Capitalize common nouns when they are part of a title (school, cancer, society).)
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My uncle John is a former public information officer.
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My uncle john is a former public information officer. (Words such as "Uncle" that describe familial relationships are not capitalized if they are preceded by a pronoun (the capitalization in "I greeted Uncle John" is correct), personal names are capitalized (though some publications honor the decision of certain well-known artists who choose not to capitalize their first and last names), and job titles are capitalized only when they immediately precede the name of the person who holds the title.)
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The recommendation was submitted to the Federal Trade Commission, but the commission did not accept it.
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The recommendation was submitted to the federal trade commission, but the commission did not accept it. (Names of government entities are capitalized, but when an entity is referred to generically with one or more words from the official name, as with the second reference to "commission" here, lowercase the term.)
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Spurred on by the need to replenish their supply of water, the captain sent a small scouting party to the west to search for a spring.
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Spurred on by the need to replenish their supply of water, the captain sent a small scouting party to the west to search for a spring. (This sentence was originally correct. Military ranks are capitalized only immediately before personal names, and compass directions are not capitalized. (However, references to the North or the South in content about the American Civil War or to the West or the East in regard to international culture are capitalized.))
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She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease last fall.
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She was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease last fall. (Personal names are generally capitalized (but see the note for item 1, above), including in names of medical conditions, but the noun in such terms (such as "disease," here) is not, and names of seasons are not capitalized.)
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I read about the Milky Way galaxy in my brother's science textbook.
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I read about the milky way galaxy in my brother's science textbook. (Names of astronomical bodies and groups of bodies are capitalized, but the identifying noun itself (in this case, "galaxy") is not; names of academic disciplines are not capitalized (unless, for example the word is part of the name of a department, as in "Department of Physical Science").)
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We attended a production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
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We attended a production of "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." ("Capitalization rules for words in titles vary slightly, but prepositions are generally not capitalized.)
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Toward the end of my hike, I sighted a red-tailed hawk flying overhead.
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Toward the end of my hike, I sighted a Red-Tailed Hawk flying overhead. (Species names are not capitalized; proper nouns (such as the first word in "Steller's jay") are exceptions.)
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What do you think might be the cause, Doctor?
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What do you think might be the cause, Doctor? (This sentence is correct as is, because "Doctor" is used as a direct address in place of a name.)
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She decided to lease a Lexus sedan while she is living here.
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She decided to lease a Lexus Sedan while she is living here. (Although brand names are of course capitalized, a descriptive word such as that describing a type of car is not unless it is the actual model name.)
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Flights at San Francisco International Airport are delayed.
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Flights at San Francisco international airport are delayed. (Double-check names of places and buildings and use the precise wording.)
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Our team went to the state championships last year, but we're not exactly on Easy Street.
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Our team went to the State Championships last year, but we're not exactly on Easy Street. (A description of an event, such as "the state championships" is just that—a description—and should not be capitalized unless the full, exact name of the event is used. "Easy Street," though not an actual thoroughfare, is capitalized as if it is one.)
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Even after fifty years, the Rolling Stones are going strong, and you'll see that for yourself when they play at the stadium later this year.
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Even after fifty years, the Rolling Stones are going strong, and you'll see that for yourself when they play at the Stadium later this year. (The" is almost never capitalized as part of a title, even if a band or another entity does so in its name. Exceptions are composition titles (such as those for films and books), though "the" in a newspaper title should be lowercase (and not italicized if the title itself is). A word for a building or structure is not capitalized except as part of the formal name.)
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My mother watched as I practiced curtseying for the princess.
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My Mother watched as I practiced curtseying for the princess. ("Mother" and other similar designations are capitalized only in direct address ("I'm home, Mother!") or personifications ("It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature"). "Princess" is capitalized only as a title before a name.)
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I've never been to the Appalachian Mountains in the spring.
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I've never been to the Appalachian mountains in the spring. (Names of geographical features are capitalized when they are part of a name. Names of seasons are not capitalized.)
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That quote is from the Good Book, but I don't remember whether it was said by one of the apostles or a prophet.
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That quote is from the Good Book, but I don't remember whether it was said by one of the Apostles or a prophet. (An epithet, or nickname, such as "the Good Book" as another name for the Bible, is capitalized, but terms such as "apostle" or "prophet" are not capitalized in general usage, though a religious organization may choose to style such a word that way in its own literature ("so says the Prophet").)
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Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services praised the new book.
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Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services praised the new book. (A reference to a company department or division is capitalized only if it is explicitly the full, complete name, as in "The senior vice president of Apple's Internet Software and Services Division praised the new book.")
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Apparently, halfway through the Second World War, the Nazis had a secret project to build shelters for top leaders in the event of defeat.
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Apparently, halfway through the second world war, the Nazis had a secret project to build shelters for top leaders in the event of defeat. (Official names of wars are capitalized. (Also, "World War II" is preferable to "the Second World War," though the latter term is acceptable.))
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"Just as any agency or business does, BART routinely protects its name and registered trademarks," notes Jane Smith, communications department manager for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
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"Just as any agency or business does, BART routinely protects its name and registered trademarks," notes Jane Smith, Communications Department Manager for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. (A job title is not capitalized when it follows the name of the person who holds the title. (Also, such phrases often read better when the word or phrase designating the level of responsibility, such as "manager," comes first: "manager of the communications department."))
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John Smith, the top Democrat on the US Senate's Energy and Commerce Committee, refuted the claim in a statement yesterday.
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John Smith, the top Democrat on the US Senate's Energy and Commerce committee, refuted the claim in a statement yesterday. (In titles of committees, the word "committee" is capitalized unless the title is an informal one and the body is actually a board or a council or has some other official designation.)
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"Time" magazine was first published in 1923, featuring a cover illustration of Joseph G. Cannon, former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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"Time Magazine" was first published in 1923, featuring a cover illustration of Joseph G. Cannon, former Speaker of the House of Representatives. ("Magazine" should not be treated as part of a publication's title unless it is so, which is rare. "Speaker," when referring to the leader of the US House of Representatives, is always capitalized, even when standing on its own without the office holder's name.)
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My uncle John claims that his new house is haunted.
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My Uncle John claims that his new house is haunted. (Terms of relationship such as "uncle," when used before a name and preceded by a possessive pronoun or a noun, are considered descriptions, not titles, so such words are not capitalized. However, when the term is used without a preceding possessive pronoun or a noun, it is considered a title: "We took a tour of Uncle John's new house, which he claims is haunted.")
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The foundation announced that it will award grants to several local service organizations.
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The Foundation announced that it will award grants to several local service organizations (Organizations often capitalize generic descriptive words when referring to themselves ("the Society," "the Company"), but such words should be capitalized only as part of the organization's full official name ("the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation").)
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The fall semester begins on Thursday, August 27.
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The fall semester begins on Thursday, August 27. (This sentence is correct as is; names of seasons are not capitalized.)
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The Supremes Court will issue a ruling that could affect as many as one-third of congressional districts.
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The Supremes Court will issue a ruling that could affect as many as one-third of Congressional districts.''' ("Congressional" is capitalized only as part of a proper name (for example, "the Congressional Research Service").)
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They yearned, perhaps, for a new Age of Enlightenment.
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They yearned, perhaps, for a new Age of Enlightenment. (This sentence is correct as is. The reference is to a specific historical era, so the term should be capitalized.)
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John congratulated Jane on her promotion to sergeant in Centerville's police department.
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John congratulated Jane on her promotion to Sergeant in Centerville's police department. (Military and similar ranks are capitalized only when appearing immediately before a name as a title (for example, "Sergeant Jane Smith").)
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He wrote in a style that can be described only as Homeric.
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He wrote in a style that can be described only as homeric. (Adjectives derived from personal names are always capitalized (for example, to indicate the four suffix forms, "Sartrean," "Lincolnesque," "Freudian," and "Napoleonic"). But units of measurement (such as "watt"), and other nouns (such as "molotov cocktail"), taken from personal names are styled in lowercase.)
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The US Central Command has stated that the Iraqi president's regime is no longer in power.
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The US central command has stated that the Iraqi president's regime is no longer in power. (Specific names of organizational entities such as military commands are capitalized.)
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John Smith, the Bike Coalition's executive director, is pictured riding his bicycle along a newly striped bike lane on Market Street.
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John Smith, the Bike Coalition's Executive Director, is pictured riding his bicycle along a newly striped bike lane on Market Street. (Job titles are not capitalized when they appear in descriptive phrases after the name of the job holder. (Also, as mentioned in the comment for the first item in this quiz, the title is also not capitalized when it is preceded by an adjective—"Bike Coalition," in this case—because it becomes part of the description: "Bike Coalition executive director John Smith . . . ."))
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The secretary of state approached the podium during the interruption.
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The Secretary of State approached the podium during the interruption. ((Many organizations, and some publications, capitalize such titles for high-ranking executives or officials, but most publishers observe the lowercase style.))
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Harry Selfridge was a self-made man who left school at 14 and lived to amass an enormous fortune in London.
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Harry Selfridge was a Self-Made Man who left school at 14 and lived to amass an enormous Fortune in london. (The words "self-made man" and "fortune" are not capitalized because they are common nouns; "London," like all city names, is a proper noun and therefore capitalized.)
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At the age of 20, Selfridge went to work at Marshall Field and Company in Chicago where he rose from stock boy to junior partner.
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At the age of 20, Selfridge went to work at Marshall Field and company in Chicago where he rose from Stock Boy to Junior Partner. ("Company" is part of the store name and therefore capitalized. The nouns "stock boy" and "junior partner" are common nouns.)
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"The customer is always right" is a marketing motto Selfridge is often credited with inventing.
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"The Customer is always right" is a marketing Motto Selfridge is often credited with inventing. (Both "customer" and "motto" are common nouns, therefore not capitalized.)
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After 25 years at Field's, Selfridge went to London where he founded the famous store in Oxford Street that still bears his name.
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After 25 years at Field's, Selfridge went to London where he founded the famous store in Oxford street that still bears his Name. (As part of the name "Oxford Street," the word street is capitalized. When not the name of a specific street, the word is not capitalized: "I'll meet you in the next street.")
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The store prospered well during World War I and up to the Great Depression, but Harry's fortunes declined after the mid-1930s.
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The store prospered well during World War I and up to the Great Depression, but Harry's fortunes declined after the mid-1930s. (The word "store" is a common noun. The names of wars are capitalized, as are the names of major historical periods like the Great Depression.)
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During the Spring 2009 semester I took a course in entomology.
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(Do capitalize seasons if they are part of a title. "Spring 2009" is a title. Entomology is a common noun so it is not capitalized.)
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In the photograph above, Mary Jones (right), executive director of the Athletic Scholars Advancement Program, hands John Smith (left), a scholarship application.
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In the photograph above, Mary Jones (right), executive director of Athletic Scholars Advancement Program, hands John Smith (left), a scholarship application. (Organizational names generally should be preceded by the article "the.")
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Initial reports indicated that three of the plane's tires got stuck in the mud, said Eric Apolonio, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
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Initial reports indicated that three of the plane's tires got stuck in the mud, said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio.
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"I think we're one generation away in our solar system, whether it's on an icy moon or on Mars, and one generation away on a planet around a nearby star," said another panelist, John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
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"I think we're one generation away in our solar system, whether it's on an icy moon or on Mars, and one generation away on a planet around a nearby star," said another panelist and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate John Grunsfeld.
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Max de Mesa, chairman of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, noted that the Confederate battle flag continued to fly over the state even as it mourned.
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Chairman of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates Max de Mesa noted that the Confederate battle flag continued to fly over the state even as it mourned.
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It might seem even more bizarre for famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of New York City's Hayden Planetarium, to be talking about it.
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It might seem even more bizarre for famous astrophysicist and director of New York City's Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson to be talking about it.
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"Do not associate the cowardly actions of a racist with the Confederate flag," Leland Summers, South Carolina commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said in a statement.
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"Do not associate the cowardly actions of a racist with the Confederate flag," South Carolina Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Leland Summers said in a statement.
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"Do you know Sandburg's poem 'Fog'?" she asked.
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Do you know Sandburgs poem Fog she asked. "Fog" has single quotations because it is within a direct quotation. Because the quotation is a question, there's no place for a comma before the "she asked." Question marks trump commas.
