Chapter Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the Class In This Chapter • Get the capital idea • Learn to abbrev. the rgt. wds. The next time you're in Rome, stop by an ancient building or two and check out the inscriptions. You might notice that on the oldest of the old buildings, every letter is capitalized. Eventually, however, the scribes real- ized that they could fit more on a building (or a page) if the letters were smaller. Their realization became the basis for our capital/lowercase letter system of writing. So we have the ancient Romans to thank for this chapter. Capitalization: A Capital Idea In addition to enabling us to fit more letters on a page, a system of capital and lowercase letters serves a far more important purpose: It allows writers to point out specific words within a sentence (such as proper nouns) and to signal the start of a new sentence. 22*1 Part <»: Tools of the Trade Capital Punishment How much do you already know about capital letters? I'll bet it's a lot more than you suspect. Take the following simple quiz to see where you stand. On the lines provided, write the words that should be capitalized. Some lines will have one word or more than one word; other lines won't have any words. (1) There was an orioles fan with really lousy seats (2) at camden yards for the recent playoffs. Looking with (3) his binoculars, he spotted an empty seat right behind (4) the orioles' dugout, thinking to himself, "what a (5) waste," he made his way down to the empty seat. (6) when he arrived at the seat, he asked the man (7) sitting next to it, "is this seat taken?" the man replied, (8) "this was my wife's seat, she passed away, she was a big (9) orioles fan." (10) the other man replied, "i'm sorry to hear of your (11) loss, may i ask why you didn't give the ticket to a (12) friend or a relative?" (13) the man replied, "they're all at the funeral." Answers (i) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) Answers 1. Orioles 2. Camden Yards Chapter 17: Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the (lass 225 3. none 4. Orioles, Thinking, What 5. none 6. When 7. Is, The 8. This, She, She 9. Orioles 10. The, I'm 11. May, I 12. none 13. The, They're Danger, Will Robinson When you quote a fragment of dialogue, don't capi- talize it, as this example shows: The boss told us the stock per- formed "like gangbusters." Rules to Capitalize By Time to review the rules for clear capitalization. The envelope, please. • Capitalize the first word of: • A sentence: It rains on the Spanish plain. • A complete sentence after a colon: The fans all realized the same astonish- ing fact: No NFL team that plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won a Super Bowl. • A quotation, if it is a complete sentence: The child said, "Blood circulates through the body by flowing up one leg and down the other." But: "Blood," the child said, "circulates through the body by flowing up one leg and down the other." • A line of poetry: I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree • The greeting of a letter: Dear Ms. Ramirez: • The first word in the complimentary close of a letter: Sincerely yours, Yours very truly, 226 Partit: Tools of the Trade • Capitalize the first word of each item in an outline: I. Introduction A. Topic sentence B. First major point C. Second major point • Capitalize the titles of books, plays, newspapers, and magazines: • A book title: The Complete Idiots Guide to Grammar and Style, Second Edition • A play: If Pigs Could Fly • A newspaper: The New York Times • A magazine: The Atlantic Monthly • Capitalize titles before a person's name: Dr. Frankenstein, Ms. Steinem Take My Word for It When should you capitalize compass points such as north, south, east, and west? Here's the scoop. Capitalize a com- pass point when it identifies a specific area of the country, as in this example: "We live in the South." Don't capitalize a com- pass point when it refers to direc- tion: "The breeze comes from the east." Strictly Speaking Should you always capitalize the names of countries and lan- guages? Should it be french fries or French fries? Spanish omelet or Spanish omelet? Dictionaries vary; no one's in agreement. Here's your rule of thumb: Pick one style and stick with it. Capitalize abbreviations that appear after a per- son's name: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D. Capitalize titles used in direct address: Doctor, I have a pain in my side. Capitalize titles of parents and relatives not pre- ceded by a possessive word: We saw Mother kissing Santa Claus. I saw my father with my mother. Capitalize geographical places and sections of the country: Europe, Asia, United States of America, Lake Erie, Mars, the South Capitalize the names of specific historical events, eras, and documents: The Civil War, the Renaissance, the Magna Carta Capitalize the names of languages, nationalities, countries, and races: Languages: French, German, Russian Nationalities: American, Japanese Countries: America, England Races: African American, Asian Chapter 17: Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the Class 227 Capitalize religions and references to the Supreme Being, including the pro- nouns referring to the Supreme Being: Religions: Judaism, Catholicism References: the Creator, Him, He, Heaven, His name • Capitalize each part of a person's name: William Jefferson Clinton, Barbra Streisand • Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives: Proper nouns: Shakespeare, Mexico Proper adjectives: Shakespearean, Mexican In a hyphenated proper adjective, capi- talize only the adjective: French-speaking residents • Capitalize brand names and trademarks: Jell-O pudding, Kleenex tissues • Capitalize the names of organizations, institutions, courses, and famous build- ings: Organizations: The Girl Scouts of America Institutions: The United Nations Courses: French 101, Mathematics 203 (but not mathematics) Buildings: The Empire State Building • Capitalize days, months, and holidays: Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Months: February, March, April Holidays: Thanksgiving Danger, Will Robinson Don't capitalize the pre- fix attached to a proper adjective unless the prefix refers to a nationality. For example: ail- American, Anglo-Saxon. Danger, Will Robinson Don't capitalize the words god or goddess when they refer to ancient mythology, as these examples show: "the goddess Athena, the god Poseidon." <J )X^_Jy Quoth the Maven L«V If a last name begins with Mc, O', or St., capitalize the next letter as well: McAAannus, O'Neill, St. Claire. If the name begins with la, le, Mac, van, von, de, or D', the capitalization varies: le Blanc and Le Blanc are both correct, for example. Ask the person with that name for clarification. 228 Part*: ïools of the Trade • Capitalize abbreviations for time: 6 A.M., 6 P.M. • Capitalize the words "I" and "O": Quickly, I turned around. O! Did you see that? Capital Investment Now that you've learned the rules, take a few minutes to apply them to the following sentences. On the lines provided, write all the words that need to be capitalized. Correct the words that have been incorrectly capitalized. 1. how many dolly clones does it take to screw in a Lightbulb? as many as you'd like, as many as you'd like. 2. how many microsoft Executives does it take to screw in a lightbulb? none—bill gates will just redefine darkness as the Industry Standard. 3. how many Baby Boomers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? ten—six to talk about how great it is that they've all come together to do this, one to screw it in, one to film it for the News, one to plan a Marketing Strategy based on it, and one to reminisce about the mass naked bulb-screwing of the '60s. 4. how many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? fish 5. how many communists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? one, But it takes him about 30 years to realize that the old one has burned out. 6. how many Ukrainians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? they don't need light bulbs—they glow in the Dark. 7. the graduate with a Science degree asks, "why does it work?" Quoth the Maven , Capitalize the names of spe- cific animals: Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, Morris the Cat. Chapter 17: Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the (lass 229 8. the graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "how does it work?" 9. the graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "how much will it cost?" 10. the graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "do you want fries with that?" Answers 1. How, lightbulb As, As 2. How, Microsoft, executives, None, Bill, Gates, industry standard 3. How, baby, boomers, Ten, news, marketing, strategy 4. How, Surrealists, Fish 5. How, Communists, One, but 6. How, Ukrainians, They, dark 7. The, science, Why 8. The, engineering, How 9. The, accounting, How 10. The, liberal, arts, Do Abbreviations: Good Things Come in Small Packages An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Abbreviations start with a capital letter and end with a period. They're a handy way to save time and space when you're writing, but only if you use commonly accepted abbreviations. Otherwise, you'll just confuse your readers. Here's how to use abbreviations correctly. • Abbreviate social titles and titles of rank, both before and after a person's name: Mr.; Mrs.; Ms.; Dr. Laurie Rozakis, EI11JB1& You Could Look It Up Ph.D. fsmmmmm^ • Abbreviate academic degrees: Ramon Torres, B.A. (Bachelor of Arts); Hester Lewis, M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. 2 JO ParU: Tools of the Trade The following list shows some of the most commonly abbreviated degrees. Abbreviations for Academic Degrees Degree Abbreviation Bachelor of Science B.S. Bachelor of Arts B.A. Bachelor of Business Administration B.B.A. Master of Arts M.A. or A.M. Master of Science M.S. or S.M. Master of Business Administration M.B.A. Medical Doctor M.D. Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D. Doctor of Divinity D.D. Doctor of Dental Surgery D.D.S. Registered Nurse R.N. Abbreviate time: A.M. or a.m. (before noon; ante meridian); P.M. or p.m. (after noon; post meridian) Note: These abbreviations are acceptable with and without periods. Danger, Will Robinson Never combine the abbreviations Mr., Mrs., or Ms. with an abbreviation for a profes- sional or academic title. For example: Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D., not Ms. Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D. Take My Word for It Because of their Latin roots, abbreviations for many degrees can be written in either direc- tion: M.A. or A.M. for Masters of Arts, for instance. • Abbreviate some historical periods. In most— but not all—cases, the abbreviation is placed after the date: Ancient times (2,000 years in the past) B.C. (before the birth of Christ) B.C.E. (before the Common Era) Modern times (within the last 2,000 years) CE. (Common Era) A.D. (Anno Domini, "in the year of the Lord," an abbreviation that comes before the date) Here's how these abbreviations are used: Emperor Augustus lived from 63 B.C. (or B.C.E.) to A.D. 14 (or CE.). Chapter 17: Capitalization and Abbreviations: Go to the Head of the Class 231 Danger, Will Robinson The ZIP Code abbrevia- tions for states are not followed by periods. There's a list of all 50 abbreviations in your tele- phone book. • Abbreviate words associated with addresses or location: I live on Sunset Ave. • Abbreviate states. Use the official U.S. Postal Service (that's the official name of the good oP "Post Office") ZIP Code abbreviations: NY (New York), CA (California) • Abbreviate some Latin expressions: e.g. (for example), et al. (and others) • Abbreviate measurements: in. (inches), ft. (feet) The following list shows some of the most common abbreviations for measurements: Abbreviations for Measurements Item yards miles teaspoon tablespoon ounce pound pint quart Fahrenheit Celsius grams kilograms millimeters liters centimeters meters kilometers Abbreviation yd. mi. tsp. or t TB., Tbsp., or T oz. lb. pt. qt. F C g kg mm L cm m km 232 ParU: Tools of the Trade Danger, Will Robinson Metric abbreviations are not followed by a period. You Could Look It Up An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letter of each word in the title. Abbreviate the titles of some organizations and things. These abbreviations are not followed by a period: UN (United Nations); FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Use acronyms to abbreviate some organizations. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letter of each word in the title. Because acronyms are used as words, they never take periods: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organi- zation); NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) The Least You Need to Know • Capital letters help determine meaning. • Most abbreviations start with a capital letter and end with a period. Use only commonly accepted abbreviations. . through the body by flowing up one leg and down the other." But: "Blood," the child said, "circulates through the body by flowing up one leg and down the other.". review the rules for clear capitalization. The envelope, please. • Capitalize the first word of: • A sentence: It rains on the Spanish plain. • A complete sentence after a colon: The fans. to the Head of the (lass 225 3. none 4. Orioles, Thinking, What 5. none 6. When 7. Is, The 8. This, She, She 9. Orioles 10. The, I'm 11. May, I 12. none 13. The,