Capitalization and Punctuation Guide Signs for the English

Capitalization and Punctuation Guide Signs for the English Language

Capitalization Rules pt. 1 �Capitalize proper nouns and words formed from proper nouns �People, countries, continents, cities, mountains, streets �Capitalize names of particular things �Organizations, calendar days, historical events, languages, and official classes �Capitalize proper adjectives �American money, British tea

Capitalization Practice � The river jordan flows south from lebanon into the dead sea. � The falkland islands lie about three hundred miles east of the strait of magellan in the atlantic ocean. � We strolled along pennsylvania street in indianapolis, indiana. � The great barrier reef along the coast of queensland, australia is the largest coral reef in the world. � The hwang ho river empties into the gulf of chihli, and the

Capitalization Rules pt. 2 �Capitalize titles when they are used before a name �President Truman, Mayor George Freeman, Dr. Ben Jones �Titles that follow a name or that are used alone are not capitalized - i. e. Ahab the king, the senator, the president �Capitalize family relationship words when they are used before a name and when used in place of a name �We saw Uncle Anthony at the store. �What shall we buy Mother for her birthday? �Her father is a baseball player.

Capitalization Rules pt. 2 �Capitalize the titles of works like books, magazines, stories, plays, and works of art �The Man Who Would Be King, The Miami Herald �Capitalize the first word of every sentence �Capitalize the pronoun “I” and the interjection “Oh” �Oh man, I am in trouble! �Capitalize the first line in every line of poetry �For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

Capitalization Practice �each morning, the miami herald is delivered to the school. �we enjoyed the college production of the pirates of penzance. �That sculpture is a copy of the thinker by rodin. �they have several general electric appliances at their house. �A water supply reservoir for pasadena, california, is formed by morris dam on

Punctuation pt. 1 : Using End Marks �A declarative sentence ends with a period (. ) �One that makes a statement �An interrogative sentence ends with a question mark (? ) �One that asks a question �An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation point (!) �One that expresses strong feeling �An abbreviation ends with a period (. ) �Mr. Dr. Mrs. A. M. B. C.

Punctuation Practice �Who did you say that you were �Every way of a man is right in his own eyes �Watch out �Ireland has a mild climate �What are you doing here �Be strong and of a good courage �Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.

Punctuation pt. 2: Using Commas �Use a comma and a conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet) to join two independent clauses. �I looked for Bob, and he found me. �Use a single comma to separate three or more items in a list �Pride, stubbornness, and unbelief lead to ruin. �I saw men running rapidly, breathing heavily, and perspiring freely. �Use commas to separate two or more adjectives preceding a noun �Laura seems to be a kind, generous, and considerate person.

Punctuation Practice: circle the conjunctions and place the comma(s) where needed �Draw closer to your friends and they will draw closer to you. �I called you last night but you did not answer the phone. �Grandfather is planning to visit next month but he will be staying only five days. �We visited the White House the Capitol and Washington Monument when we went to Washington D. C. �Red white and blue are the colors of the American flag. �An interesting story will include humor conflict suspense and reality. �The young man worked long ate heartily and slept

Punctuation pt. 2: Using Commas � Use commas to indicate nonessential elements in a sentence. �A nonessential element is anything that can be omitted and the remaining words will still mean what they were intended to mean. �i. e. The Great Salt Lake, a large body of water, is located in Utah. � Use commas to set off appositives �An appositive is aw word or group of words that renames the noun. �i. e. The Scottish Highlands, a desolate region, has magnificent scenery. � Use commas to set off direct addresses �i. e. Mr. Smith, can you cover my class? � Use commas to set off introductory phrases.

Comma Practice �Nero an early Roman emperor persecuted the early church. �The last great Saxon king was Edward the Confessor. �The test pilot John H. Glen was the first American to orbit the earth. �Charles Dickens a Victorian novelist wrote very long pieces. �Einstein a German genius formulated theory of relativity. �Graphite one of the softest mineral is used to make pencil lead.

Punctuation pt 3: Colons and Semicolons � Semicolon � Use a semicolon instead of a comma and a conjunction. Shows a close relationship �In 1991 the music world was shaken by a tragic event; the death of Freddy Mercury. � I don't like him; not at all. � Use semicolons between items in a series if the items themselves contain commas �Within the past three years, the Smiths have lived in San Diego, California; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Jacksonville, Florida. � Colon � Use a colon before listed items �Some good vacation areas are: Yosemite, The Great Smokies, and the Florida Keys. �On our last vacation we traveled through four states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. � Use a colon between the hour and minute of a time reference � 8: 00 A. M. 12: 05 P. M. 4: 30 P. M.

Decide where a semicolon or colon should be placed in the following sentences. � 1. Ellen and Peter were pleased with the cocker spaniel puppy on the other hand, they had really wanted a beagle. � 2. He looked up and down the columns of ads for the stations on Woodland Avenue Jimmy’s Gulf, Ed’s Shell, Murphy’s Citgo. � 3. The entire family packed into the station wagon when we arrived however, we realized we had left the cat and her kittens in a box on the front porch. � 4. We knew we could get one of the neighbors to feed them for a few days there was, for example Mr. Smith next door or Mrs. Perez down the street. � 5. Mr. Monroe was mayor of the little town he was, in

Punctuation pt. 4: Using Quotation Marks �Use quotation marks to enclose the exact words of a speaker. Do not use quotations marks for a paraphrase. �Philip Henry said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions. ” �Capitalize the first word of a direct Quotation. �The quotation should be set off by a comma. �End Marks always go inside the quotation marks. �Colons and Semi-colons always go outside the quotation marks.

Quotation Practice �An ancient German proverb says speech is silvern; silence is golden �Language most shows a man Ben Jonson said. �That which we are capable of feeling said Cervantes we are capable of saying �Language was given us said Bovee that we might say pleasant things to each other.

Using Apostrophes �Use an apostrophe to form the possessive case of nouns. �To form the possessive of a singular noun, first write the nouns then add ‘s. �Man’s hat cow’s hoof Charles’s theory �To form the possessive of a plural noun, first write the plural form then add ‘s �Oxen’s yoke firemen’s fund �To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in “S”, first write the plural then add ‘ �Minks’ den gorillas cages �Use apostrophes to show that letters or number have been omitted from a word �Won’t can’t it’s ‘ 84 you’re

Apostrophe Practice Singular Friend Horse Man Tooth Deer Student Enemy Singular Possessive Plural Possessive

Apostrophe Practice �Rewrite each of the following expressions in the possessive case �The ideas of everyone �The worth of a dime �The wings of eagles �Shoes of Mark and Kelly �The paintings of Thomas Eakins