Appendix B

Capitalization Rules

(Adapted from Interactions I)

 

First Words

1. Capitalize the first word of every sentence.

They live in the Mekong Delta. What is your name?

 

2. Capitalize the first word of a quotation.

He said, "I'm from New York." She asked, "Have you always lived here?"

Personal Names

3. Capitalize the names of people. Initials and titles of address are also capitalized.

Mohandas Gandhi Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. Thomas R. Milford

 

4. Capitalize family words if they appear alone or followed by a name.

Where's Grandma? Let's go home, Dad. We had Thanksgiving at Uncle Bill's.

 

5. Don't capitalize family words if they appear with a possesive pronoun or article.

Where's our grandmother? my father an aunt

 

6. Capitalize the pronoun I.

I love you.

 

7. Capitalize names of God.

God Allah Buddha Jesus Christ Mohammad

 

8. Capitalize the names of nationalities, races, peoples, and religions.

Vietnamese Americans African-Americans Asian Buddhist

 

9. Generally, don't capitalize occupations.

I am a teacher. She wants to be a doctor.

 

Place Names

10. Capitalize the names of countries, states, provinces, and cities.

Ho Chi Minh City Washington, D. C. An Giang Province California

Manitoba Ottawa United States Vietnam

 

11. Capitalize the names of oceans, lakes, rivers, islands, and mountains.

Pacific Ocean Mekong River the Delta

Hawaiian Islands Pikes Peak Mediterranean Sea

 

12. Capitalize the names of geographical areas.

the North the West Coast Southeast Asia the Midwest

 

13. Don't capitalize directions if they aren't names of geographical areas.

He lives east of Ho Chi Minh City. The road turned north.

 

14. Capitalize names of schools, partks, buildings, and streets.

Stanford University Hoa Binh Park the Empire State Building

Main Street

 

15. Capitialize the names of days and months

Monday January

 

16. Capitalize names of holidays and historical events.

New Years Day Tet Holiday Liberation Day World War I

 

17. Don't capitalize the names of seasons.

spring summer winterfall

 

Titles

18. Capitalize the first word and all important words of titles of books, magazines, newspaper articles, and articles.

 

Bending Bamboo The New York Times Great Expectations

"What's in a Name?" "The Sounds of Silence"

 

19. Capitalize the first word and all important words of names of movies,

plays, radio programs, and television programs.

"Toy Story" " Seasame Street" "All Things Considered"

 

20. Don't capitalize articles (a, an,, the) , conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (of, with, in, on, for) unless they are the first word of a title.

A Guide to Drawing The Wizard of Oz "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

 

Names of Organizations

21. Capitalize the names of organizations, government groups, and businesses.

United Nations Peoples Committee Ministry of Education

Congress Mennonite Central Committee Nike

 

22.Capitalize trade names, but do not capitalize the name of the product.

Honda motorcycle Sony CD player

 

Other

23. Capitalize the names of languages.

Vietnamese English Thai Chinese Khmer

 

24. Don't capitalize school subjects unless they are the names of languages or are followed by a course number.

English math Language and Culture 101 history