CHAPTER 3
It Starts with a Capital C
The English language has a lot of rules, especially regarding capitalizing a word. Here are some rules for capitalization:
- The first words of a sentence
- The pronoun I
- Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, and things)
- Family relationships (when used before proper names)
- The names of deities (Exception: Do not capitalize the nonspecific use of the word god.)
- Titles preceding names, but not titles that follow names
- Directions that are names (North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country)
- The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays
- The names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages
- The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote
- The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs
- Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups
- Periods and events
- Trademarks
- Words and abbreviations of specific names
Isn’t it interesting to see where our language places priority? Family relationships make sense, but how about members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups? The Philadelphia Eagles are extremely important to me, so it can make sense. We use capital letters to emphasize something that is important. The name of a business is important, so why not the Customers whom they serve?
Every word you communicate is important, whether directed to your significant other, a colleague, boss, vendor, or your own Customer. Words, and the way ...
