1. Capitalization
7th Grade

3. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 1: Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
optical illusions amaze me.
many artists enjoy creating illusions
da vinci was a master illusionist.

4. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 2: Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation.
mr. swatek said, “did you see that illusion?”
“the dots disappeared,” the students replied.

5. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 3: When a “” is interrupted by explanatory words, don’t capitalize the second part of the sentence!
“do you,” mr. swatek said, “see that?”
“jim and jon,” said riley, “are late!”

6. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 3 (continued)
“the day is over,” the teacher said. “let’s go home.”
“try to forget,” he said. “it will be better tomorrow.

7. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 4: Do not capitalize an indirect quotation! It is often introduced by the word that.
John said that he didn’t care about the test.
Mary read that there were twelve people missing that day.

8. Sentences, Quotes, Letter Parts
Rule 5:Capitalize the first word in the salutation and closing of a letter.
dear mr. swatek,
yours truly,

9. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 1: Capitalize names and initials.
dan swatek
william f gates
j.r.r. tolkien
c.s. lewis

10. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 2: Capitalize a title or abbreviation of a title used before or instead of a name.
mr. swatek
general lee
senator tim johnson
Did coach say run five more minutes?

11. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 2 (cont): Don’t capitalize a title that is after a name or used as a common noun.
clark was promoted to captain.
bush, the president, is almost out of office.
the doctor pinched my nerve.

12. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 3: Capitalize academic degrees that follow a person’s name.
Vicki Walker, m.d.
Jerry Sweeny, ph.d.
Jimmy John Jones, esq.

13. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 3 (cont): Don’t forget Jr. & Sr.!
bobby turner jr.
luke duke sr.

14. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 4: Words that show family relationships.
Used as titles
Substitutes a person’s name.
In 1982 father and mother moved to the dakotas.
They moved to be closer to grandma.
uncle gary lived in montana.
Aunt dorothy was still in oregon with her husband.

15. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 4 (cont): Don’t capitalize family relationship words when after a possessive noun or pronoun.
my cousin anna lives in georgia.
does your uncle live around here?
what about your aunt?

17. Capitalizing Names and Titles
Rule 5: Capitalize I !!!
i rule.
i am the greatest.
i don’t smell bad.
No one is greater than i.
And gosh darnit. People like me.

18. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 1: Capitalize names of cities, counties, states, countries, and continents.
Chicago
Mexico
Cook County
South Dakota

19. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 2: Capitalize names of bodies of water and other geographical features.
Atlantic Ocean
Hudson Bay

20. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 3: Capitalize the names of sections of the country.
Midwest
the Southwest
New England

21. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 4: Capitalize compass points when they refer to a specific section of the country.
the East Coast
the South
the Northeast

22. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 4 (cont): Do not capitalize compass points when they are used to give direction.
Mexico is south of San Diego.
Elk Point is north of Sioux City.

23. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 5: Capitalize the names of streets and highways.
Main Street
Hollywood Freeway

24. Capitalizing Names of Places
Rule 6: Capitalize the names of specific buildings, bridges, and monuments.
Washington Monument
Empire State Building
Mount Rushmore

25. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 1: Capitalize all important words in the name of clubs, organizations, businesses, institutions, and political parties.
Girl Scouts
University of South Dakota
Dairy Queen

26. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 2: Capitalize brand names but not the nouns following them.
Townhouse crackers
Snicker bar

27. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 3: Capitalize all important words in the names of important historical events, periods of time, and documents.
Constitution
World War II

28. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 4: Capitalize the names of days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. Do NOT capitalize names of the seasons.
Monday
August
Christmas
spring

29. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 5: Always capitalize the first and last words of the titles of songs, films, television series, magazines, and newspapers.
Beauty and the Beast
Time magazine

30. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 6: Capitalize the names of ethnic groups, nationalities, and languages.
Native American
Canadian
Spanish

31. Capitalizing Other Proper Nouns and Adjectives
Rule 7: Capitalize all proper adjectives, including those formed from names of ethnic groups and nationalities.
Native American crafts
Mexican art

32. Examples
1. mr. lopez asked, “when do we celebrate the birthday of martin luther king jr.?”
2. “i hope that i am elected treasurer,” said clarice, “so that i can help this organization save money.”
3. “most big cities grew because they were close to water or railroads,” explained ms.bailey. “for example, St. Louis grew because of its proximity to the Mississippi River.”

33. Examples
4. The speaker said that john muir, the famous conservationist, moved to the Sierras as a young man.
5. “we will use our new computer program to create a newsletter,” said ali.
6. aunt alana and uncle martin helped father plant a garden this spring.
7. president john q. adams was the son of the second president, john adams.