1. Using Capital Letters  Les Hanson 2002

2. Overview wThis presentation reviews the rules you (should) already know as well as some of the tricky aspects of capitalization wIt deals with the following topics:  Titles  Names  Sentences  Lists wIn general, specific names require capitals  Lake Superior, Fred, Great Depression wGeneral names do not require capitals  the prairies, my uncle, a recession

3. Sentences wCapitalize the first word of a sentence wAnd the first word of a quoted sentence  She said, “You are stupid.” wDon’t capitalize the second part of a fragmented quotation  “You are stupid,” she said, “and your mother dresses you funny.” wDon’t capitalize partial quotes  He talked of the “plausible deniability” of the scheme.

4. Lists wCapitalize sentences that follow a colon  Remember this: Grammar is boring. wCapitalize the first word of each item in a vertical list  These punctuation marks are confusing:  C olons  S emicolons  D ashes wDon’t capitalize words in horizontal lists  Language is made up of numerous parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.

5. Titles of books, articles, and songs wCapitalize the first, last, and all important words in a title wDon’t capitalize short articles, prepositions, and conjunctions  As You Like It  The Merry Wives of Windsor  Love’s Labours Lost  Taming of the Shrew  The Merchant of Venice

6. Names and Titles wCapitalize the specific names of people, places, and institutions  Stockwell Day, Alberta, Canadian Alliance wBut not general references  party leader, communist, fascist, right wing wCapitalize titles that precede names  Prime Minister Chretien, Aunt Polly wBut not when used alone, or after names  The minister was demoted to the back benches  Bill, my uncle, sat beside Gary Doer, premier of Manitoba

7. Names of Groups wCapitalize races, religions, and languages  Bosnian, Buddhism, French, Cree wDo not capitalize general references  aboriginal, white, black, fundamentalist wSome words vary according to usage  A native speaker of English  A Native from the Yukon (used as a substitute for “Indian”  Australian Aborigines have certain aboriginal rights

8. Product Names wCapitalize brand names and trademarks  Coke, Kleenix, Roller Blades, Popsicle wDo not capitalize generic product names  cola, tissues, inline skates, flavoured ice wCapitalize words derived from proper nouns  Freudian slip, Swiss cheese, E nglish muffin wEventually such words lose their capitals  pasteurize, french fry, panama hat, scotch

9. Dates and Directions wCapitalize days of the week, months, holidays  Monday, June, Thanksgiving wBut not seasons  summer, fall, winter wDon’t capitalize directions  I drove north for two blocks wUnless it refers to a specific location  Fighting broke out in the Middle East  Winter roads are common in the North

10. Course Names wCapitalize specific names of courses  History 101, Intermediate Basket- weaving, a Bachelor of Arts degree wBut not general references to courses  geography, communication, accounting  He is studying engineering

11. Interactive Exercise wClick on the buttons below or key in the links to do interactive exercises on capitalization (and to receive a dose of Winnipeg trivia)  http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_1.htm http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_1.htm  http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_2.htm http://xnet.rrc.mb.ca/leshanson/Hot_Potat o/Capitalization_2.htm Capitalization 1Capitalization 2