Capitalization and

Punctuation
English I
Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence

 The cat is sleeping.

 Where did I put that book?
 Hey! It’s great to see you! How have you been?
 Capitalize Names and Other Proper
Nouns
 My favorite author is Jane Austen.
 Tom and Diana met at Judy’s house.
 Have you met my dog, Boomer?

Names are proper nouns. The names of cities, countries, companies, religions, and
political parties are also proper nouns, so you should capitalize them, too.

 We experienced some beautiful Southern California weather last fall when we

attended a Catholic wedding in San Diego.
Don’t Capitalize After a Colon
 I have one true passion: wombat racing.

There are a couple of common exceptions. One is when the word following the colon
is a proper noun.

 There is only one place I want to visit: New York City.

The other exception is when the words following the colon form one or more
complete sentences.

 Maggie wears a brimmed cap at all times for these two reasons: Strong light often
gives her a headache. She also likes the way it looks.
Capitalize the First Word of a Quote

Capitalize the first word of a quote when the quote is a complete sentence.

 Mario asked, “What is everyone doing this weekend?”

 Stacy answered, “My sister and I are going to the water park.”

Don’t capitalize the first word of partial quotes.

 Mr. Thompson described the rules as “extremely difficult to understand if you

don’t have a law degree.”
Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays,
But Not Seasons
 I hate Mondays!
 Tom’s birthday is in June.
 Oh no! I forgot about Valentine’s Day!

The names of seasons however, are not proper nouns, so there’s no need to

capitalize them.

 I hate winter!
 Having a summer birthday is the best.
Capitalize Most Words in Titles

Capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all
adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles,
conjunctions, and prepositions— however, some style guides say to capitalize
conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters.

 Sense and Sensibility is better than Pride and Prejudice.

 The first movie of the series is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
  Capitalize Cities, Countries,
Nationalities, and Languages

 English is made up of many languages, including Latin, German, and French.

 My mother is British, and my father is Dutch

 The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad
Capitalize Time Periods and Events

Specific periods, eras, and historical events that have proper names should be
capitalized.

 Most of the World War I veterans are now deceased.

 In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene was partly responsible for the spreading of
bubonic plague.
Punctuation
Comma Rules
 Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more
items.
Example: We had coffee, cheese and crackers and grapes.

 Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the order of the adjectives is
interchangeable.
Example: He is a strong, healthy man.
We could also say healthy, strong man.

 In sentences where two independent clauses are joined by connectors such as and, or,
but, etc., put a comma at the end of the first clause.
Example: He walked all the way home, and he shut the door.

 When starting a sentence with a dependent clause, use a comma after it.

Example: Having finally arrived in town, we went shopping.
Comma Rules
 Use commas to set off nonessential words, clauses, description and phrases
Example: The man, knowing it was late, hurried home

 Use a comma after certain words that introduce a sentence, such as well, yes, why,
hello, hey, etc.
Example: No, you can't have a dollar.

 Use commas to set off expressions that interrupt the sentence flow (nevertheless,
after all, by the way, on the other hand, however, etc.).
Example: I am, by the way, very nervous about this.

 Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year, and—what most
people forget!—always put one after the year, also. (No comma is necessary for just
the month and year.)
Example: It was in the Sun's June 5, 2003, edition.
It was in a June 2003 article.
Comma Rules
 Use a comma to separate a city from its state, and remember to put one after the
state, also.
Example: I am from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

 Use commas to introduce or interrupt direct quotations.

Example: He said, "I don't care.”

 If the quotation comes before he said, she wrote, they reported, Dana insisted, or a
similar attribution, end the quoted material with a comma, even if it is only one word.
Example: "I don't care," he said.

 Use a comma to separate a statement from a question.

Example: I can go, can't I?

 Use a comma to separate contrasting parts of a sentence.

Example: That is my money, not yours.
Apostrophe
 Use the apostrophe to show possession.
Example: a woman's hat

 To show plural possession, simply put an apostrophe after the s.

Example: guys' night out

 Write out the entire irregular plural noun before adding an apostrophe or an
apostrophe + s.
Example: the teeth's roots

 With a singular compound noun (for example, mother-in-law), show

possession with an apostrophe + s at the end of the word.
Example: my mother-in-law's hat
Apostrophe
 If two people possess the same item, put the apostrophe + s after the second
name only.
Example: Cesar and Maribel's home is constructed of redwood.

 In cases of separate rather than joint possession, use the possessive form for
both.
Examples: Cesar's and Maribel's homes are both lovely.

 Use an apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is placed where a

letter or letters have been removed.
Example: doesn't, matter
Question Marks

 Use a question mark only after a direct question.

Example: Will you go with me?

 Use a question mark when a sentence is half statement and half question.
Example: You do care, don't you?

 If a question is within the quoted material, a question mark should be placed

inside the quotation marks.
Example: She asked, "Will you still be my friend?”
Quotation Marks
 Use double quotation marks to set off a direct (word-for-word) quotation.
Example: "I hope you will be here," he said.

 Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks.

Example: The sign said, "Walk." Then it said, "Don't Walk," then, "Walk," all within
thirty seconds.

 Use single quotation marks for quotations within quotations.

Example: Dan said: "In a town outside Brisbane, I saw 'Tourists go home' written on
a wall. But then someone told me, 'Pay it no mind, lad.’”

 Quotation marks are often used with technical terms, terms used in an unusual way,
or other expressions that vary from standard usage.
Examples: It's an oil-extraction method known as "fracking."
He did some "experimenting" in his college days.
Exclamation Mark

 Use an exclamation mark to show emotion, emphasis, or surprise.

Examples:
I'm truly shocked by your behavior!
Yay! We won!