why we capitalize
can you imagine a world without capitalization? imagine having to search for leo or percy or annabeth's name or the place where the argo ii landed or the state that they're in. imagine seeing signs that say the florida-georgia border. imagine your music album titled like this - "high school musical, animals by maroon 5, playhouse disney, help by the beatles" and having to look for that word. CAN YOU IMAGINE A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE SHOUTING OR IS IN A YOUTUBE ARGUMENT? CAN YOU SEE THE WORLD WHERE EVERYONE IS ANGRY AND TRYING TO GET THEIR POINT ACROSS?
That, my friends, is a perfect example of bad capitalization and If You Type Like This You Need Serious Help. Even If You Think This Looks Cool It Does Not.
aLsO dOIng CraZy thINGS LiKE THis Is nOT aPpReCIatED.
That, my friends, is a perfect example of bad capitalization and If You Type Like This You Need Serious Help. Even If You Think This Looks Cool It Does Not.
aLsO dOIng CraZy thINGS LiKE THis Is nOT aPpReCIatED.
Congrats! You just learned some of the don'ts of capitalization. It should be known that you should not under any circumstances in a paper have no capitalization whatsoever. You should also never use all caps unless the situation permits- your college essay won't. If you capitalize the first letter of every word you ever type, you need to head back to the first grade. Please, for the sake of your future and your happiness while on blogs or YouTube, learn to capitalize! If you look like you mistook the 'a' key for the caps lock, and was turning it off and on, everyone will think you're a fool.
Also, Jaden Smith, your humor is not appreciated.
Also, Jaden Smith, your humor is not appreciated.
So here are some unchangeable rules of capitalization.
-capitalize street names, city names, county names, states, countries, and continents.
I lived on Maple Street in the city of Gotham, New Jersey, on the North American continent.
-capitalize anything with a name.
Marlene was her name, Joseph was mine.
-the planets are all capitalized.
My favorite planet will eternally be Pluto!
-regardless of what word it is, capitalize the first word of every sentence.
Alligators are the best creature. Unicorns come second to them.
-use them for proper nouns indicating a specific noun (Uncle George, uncle)
I prefer Aunt Rosemary over all of my other aunts.
-use them to indicate positions of importance (President Barack Obama)
Representative Frizzle came to see our school today.
-some titles are so important that they don't have to be followed by a name to be capitalized. (President)
The President came to see our play today.
-capitalize titles of books, plays, songs, and movies.
I quite liked The Great Gatsby as the movie.
-capitalize names of religions, religious books, and religious figures.
We should not judge people on their religion, whether it be Judaism, Buddhist, or Nerdfighter.
-relative to a country, cardinal directions shall be named
I live in Southwest America.
-relative to a place, telling a direction, it shall not be named
My state is south of Hawaii.
-days of the week and the names of the months
It was the last Friday in October.
-seasons in specific shall be capitalized
In Summer 2001, a small child was born.
-countries, languages, nationalities should all be capitalized
I am of Chinese descent, and speak Chinese and English, but I am of American citizenship.
-specific eras or periods of time (Age of Enlighment)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after the fathers of the Renaissance.
-brand names, group names, the beginning of a dialouge. (John said, "May I go to the restroom?"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles liked to drink Coca-Cola and say to their master, "Hello, Master Splinter."
-always capitalize I.
I like to eat what I think was hamburger.
-first words in poems
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, (The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe)
-capitalization should be formal, in correct format, and not used without caution.
-capitalize street names, city names, county names, states, countries, and continents.
I lived on Maple Street in the city of Gotham, New Jersey, on the North American continent.
-capitalize anything with a name.
Marlene was her name, Joseph was mine.
-the planets are all capitalized.
My favorite planet will eternally be Pluto!
-regardless of what word it is, capitalize the first word of every sentence.
Alligators are the best creature. Unicorns come second to them.
-use them for proper nouns indicating a specific noun (Uncle George, uncle)
I prefer Aunt Rosemary over all of my other aunts.
-use them to indicate positions of importance (President Barack Obama)
Representative Frizzle came to see our school today.
-some titles are so important that they don't have to be followed by a name to be capitalized. (President)
The President came to see our play today.
-capitalize titles of books, plays, songs, and movies.
I quite liked The Great Gatsby as the movie.
-capitalize names of religions, religious books, and religious figures.
We should not judge people on their religion, whether it be Judaism, Buddhist, or Nerdfighter.
-relative to a country, cardinal directions shall be named
I live in Southwest America.
-relative to a place, telling a direction, it shall not be named
My state is south of Hawaii.
-days of the week and the names of the months
It was the last Friday in October.
-seasons in specific shall be capitalized
In Summer 2001, a small child was born.
-countries, languages, nationalities should all be capitalized
I am of Chinese descent, and speak Chinese and English, but I am of American citizenship.
-specific eras or periods of time (Age of Enlighment)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after the fathers of the Renaissance.
-brand names, group names, the beginning of a dialouge. (John said, "May I go to the restroom?"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles liked to drink Coca-Cola and say to their master, "Hello, Master Splinter."
-always capitalize I.
I like to eat what I think was hamburger.
-first words in poems
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, (The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe)
-capitalization should be formal, in correct format, and not used without caution.
practice
I hope you read all of that, based on what you know now, take this practice:
Correct the capitalization errors:
1. i never really liked justin beiber.
2. he lived north of america, in a strange land named canada.
3. on march 1st, 1994, this fateful child was born.
4. the president considered deporting him for his crimes against american law.
5. his first hit single was baby feat. ludacris.
6. however, the controversy he has sparked since that decisive day have wrecked havoc on his image.
7. did you know he is related to carly rae jepsen?
8. i don't know if that is actually true.
9. do you like one direction?
10. four of them are british, while niall is irish.
11. they used to call the famous music producer simon "uncle simon"
12. i liked them for a while, but then they got old.
13. all the directioners then immediatly left the page.
14. they had discovered that the extremely talented writer of the website lost devotion to one direction.
15. but how the tides have changed,
what i had is now what i yearn.… (Knight in Shining Armor, Margery Wang)
Correct the capitalization errors:
1. i never really liked justin beiber.
2. he lived north of america, in a strange land named canada.
3. on march 1st, 1994, this fateful child was born.
4. the president considered deporting him for his crimes against american law.
5. his first hit single was baby feat. ludacris.
6. however, the controversy he has sparked since that decisive day have wrecked havoc on his image.
7. did you know he is related to carly rae jepsen?
8. i don't know if that is actually true.
9. do you like one direction?
10. four of them are british, while niall is irish.
11. they used to call the famous music producer simon "uncle simon"
12. i liked them for a while, but then they got old.
13. all the directioners then immediatly left the page.
14. they had discovered that the extremely talented writer of the website lost devotion to one direction.
15. but how the tides have changed,
what i had is now what i yearn.… (Knight in Shining Armor, Margery Wang)
answers
1. I never really like Justin Beiber.
2. He lived north of America, in a strange land named Canada.
3. On March 1st, 1994, this fateful child was born.
4. The President considered deporting him for his crimes against American law.
5. His first hit single was 'Baby' feat. Ludacris.
6. However, the controversy he sparked since that decisive day have wrecked havoc on his image.
7. Did you know he is related to Carly Rae Jepsen?
8. I don't know if that is actually true.
9. Do you like One Direction?
10. Four of them are British, while Niall is Irish.
11. They used to call the famous music producer Simon 'Uncle Simon'.
12. I liked them for a while, but then they got old.
13. All the Directioners then immediately left the page.
14. They had discovered that the extremely talented writer of the website lost devotion to One Direction.
15. But now the tides have changed,
What I had is now what I yearn.... (Knight in Shining Armor, Margery Wang)
2. He lived north of America, in a strange land named Canada.
3. On March 1st, 1994, this fateful child was born.
4. The President considered deporting him for his crimes against American law.
5. His first hit single was 'Baby' feat. Ludacris.
6. However, the controversy he sparked since that decisive day have wrecked havoc on his image.
7. Did you know he is related to Carly Rae Jepsen?
8. I don't know if that is actually true.
9. Do you like One Direction?
10. Four of them are British, while Niall is Irish.
11. They used to call the famous music producer Simon 'Uncle Simon'.
12. I liked them for a while, but then they got old.
13. All the Directioners then immediately left the page.
14. They had discovered that the extremely talented writer of the website lost devotion to One Direction.
15. But now the tides have changed,
What I had is now what I yearn.... (Knight in Shining Armor, Margery Wang)