Capitalization
Another aspect that you may be tested on is capitalization. You should be aware of when to capitalize certain words within a sentence. Of course, you may think that this is simple and that all you need to remember is to capitalize the first letter of each sentence. However, as you will see in the following list, there are a number of other rules that apply to capitalization.
When determining when to use capitalization, keep these rules in mind:
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Capitalize the first word of each sentence.
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Always capitalize the first person singular word I.
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Capitalize proper nouns including the names of specific people and organizations, places, and in certain circumstances, things.
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Relationships should be capitalized when used as proper names, as seen in the following two examples:
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Always capitalize the specific use of the word God and other religious figures.
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Geographical locations should be capitalized, as seen in the following example:
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Do not capitalize directional names when they refer to compass directions. The following examples demonstrate this:
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Capitalize the days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. Do not capitalize the seasons unless they are used in a title. Note the following three examples:
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Capitalize the names of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
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Capitalize the names of historical events. For example:
We are going to visit Grandma Mary.
I bought Dad a fishing rod for his birthday.
The last place I visited was Chicago, Illinois.
You must turn west on Highway 12 to reach your destination.
The school is three miles south of our home.
I play tennis every Monday evening.
We are planning on taking a vacation in January.
We are going on a vacation this winter.
We are studying World War I in our class.