Capitalization and Abbreviation

CAPITALIZATION
&
ABBREVIATION
Grammar Rules
Capitalization
01
CAPITALIZE THE
FIRST WORD OF A
SENTENCE
This one’s easy. Always
capitalize the first word of
a sentence.
Examples
The cat is sleeping.
Where did I put that

book?
Hey! It’s great to see you!

How have you been?
02
CAPITALIZE NAMES &
OTHER PROPER
PRONOUNS
You should always
capitalize people’s names.
Examples
My favorite author is Jane
Austen.
Tom and Diane met at

Judy’s house.
Have you met my dog,

Boomer?
You should also capitalize words
Names are like mom and grandpa when
proper nouns. they are used as a form of
address.
We experienced some Just wait until Mom
beautiful Southern sees this!
California weather last fall
when we attended a Catholic Vs.
wedding in San Diego.
My mom is not going
to like this.
03
DON’T CAPITALIZE
AFTER A COLON
In most cases, you don’t
need to capitalize after a
colon.
Examples
I have one true
passion: wombat
racing.
Exceptions
When the words following
When the word
the colon form one or more
following the colon is a
proper noun.
complete sentences.
There is only one place I Maggie wears a brimmed cap at

all times for these two reasons:
want to visit: New York Strong light often gives her a
City. headache. She also likes the way
it looks.
04
CAPITALIZE THE
FIRST WORD OF A
QUOTE
Capitalize the first word
of a quote when the quote
is a complete sentence.
Example Don’t capitalize the first
word of partial quotes.
Mario asked, “What is

everyone doing this Gretchen said she was “way too
busy” to join the gym.
weekend?”
Mr. Thompson described the
Stacy answered, “My sister rules as “extremely difficult to
and I are going to the water understand if you don’t have a
park.” law degree.”
05
CAPITALIZE DAYS,
MONTHS, & HOLIDAYS,
BUT NOT SEASONS
They are proper pronouns,
so you should capitalize
them.
The names of seasons,
Example however, are not proper
nouns, so there’s no need
to capitalize them.
I hate Mondays!
I hate winter!
Tom’s birthday is in June. Having a summer
birthday is the best.
Oh no! I forgot about
Valentine’s Day!
06
CAPITALIZE MOST
WORDS IN TITLES
The capitalization rules
for titles of books,
movies, and other works
vary a little between style
guides.
In general, you should capitalize the
first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short Sense
and
ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper better t Sensibility i
han Pr s
nouns. That means you should lowercase Pre
ide and
articles, conjunctions, and prepositions— The fir judice.
s
series i t movie of th
s Harry e
however, some style guides say to the Sor
cerer ’s
Potter
an d
Stone.
capitalize conjunctions and prepositions
that are longer than five letters.
07
CAPITALIZE CITIES,
COUNTRIES,
NATIONALITIES, &
lANGUAGES
They are proper pronouns,
so you should capitalize
them.
Examples
English is made up of many
languages, including Latin,
German, and French.
My mother is British, and my

father is Dutch.
The capital of Botswana is

Gaborone.
08
CAPITALIZE TIME
PERIODS AND EVENTS
(SOMETIMES)
Specific periods, eras, and
historical events that have
proper names should be
capitalized.
Example However, centuries—and the
numbers before them—are
Most of the World War I veterans not capitalized.
are now deceased.
In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene In the sixteenth and

was partly responsible for the
seventeenth centuries,
spreading of bubonic plague.
England blossomed into an
Middle school students often empire.
enjoy studying the social changes
that took place during the
Roaring Twenties.
Abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation, simply put, is a shortened form of a

word. In writing, abbreviations are useful when you need
to squeeze a lot of writing into a small space. You can also
use them in place of long or cumbersome phrases to make
your sentences easier to read.
Acronyms
An acronym is pronounced as a single word,

rather than as a series of letters.
Examples
NASA - National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
Scuba - self contained underwater breathing

apparatus
Laser - light amplification by stimulated

emission of radiation, respectively).
Initialisms
Initialisms are similar to acronyms in that they are also

formed using the first letter of each word in a longer
phrase. Unlike acronyms, however, initialisms are
pronounced as a series of letters.
Examples
NBA - National Basketball
Association
(en-bi-ey)
Abbreviations for Courtesy
Titles and Academic Degrees
Titles such as mister, miss, and doctor, as well as the
names of academic degrees such as bachelor of arts and
doctor of philosophy are almost always abbreviated. In
American English, title abbreviations are followed by
a period; in British English, the period is omitted.
The most common title
abbreviations include:
Mr. = Mister Mrs. = Mistress (pronounced “missus”) Ms.
= (pronounced “miss” or “miz”) Sr. = Senior Jr. = Junior
Dr. = Doctor
Mr. Green asked Ms. Grey if she had met

Dr. Jekyl. (American style)
Mr Green asked Ms Grey if she had met Dr

Jekyl. (British style)
The most common
academic degree
abbreviations include:
B.S. = Bachelor of science
B.A. = Bachelor of Arts
M.A. = Master of Arts
M.B.A. = Master of Business Administration
Ph.D. = Doctor of Philosophy

When an academic degree is used
like a title, it follows a person’s
name and is set off by commas:
Molly Beagle, Ph.D., runs the

canine cognition lab at
Stanford University.
Latin Abbreviations
There is a small handful of abbreviations for Latin

terms that are used (and misused) frequently in
English writing. Use periods with these abbreviations.
Examples
e.g.: exempli gratia It means “for example.” Use e.g. when you want to provide specific examples of a
generalization.
We expect volunteers from many surrounding cities, (e.g., Springfield, Oakdale, Hogsmeade.)
i.e.: id est It means “that is.” Use i.e. when you want to provide more specific information about
something you mentioned.
After a reasonable amount of time has passed—i.e. two business days—please report the missing shipment to
our customer service department.
etc.: et cetera It means “and so forth.” Use it when you’re providing a partial list of details.
You should see the doctor when you have flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, etc.)
Other Common
Abbreviations
Remember that abbreviations are not always completely
standardized. One style guide may advise you to abbreviate
Thursday as Thurs. while another may argue for Thu. Likewise,
some style guides allow you to omit the periods with these
abbreviations, but it’s never wrong to include periods. So if you
aren’t sure whether to use the periods, err on the side of leaving
them in.
Times and dates Places
a.m. (ante meridiem) = before noon U.S. (United States) U.K. (United Kingdom) E.U.
p.m. (post meridiem) = after noon (European Union) U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates)
The mall opens at 10 a.m. and closes at The U.S. highway system seems enormous to visitors
8 p.m. from the U.K.
Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Units of Measurement

Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.
in. (inches) ft. (feet) lbs. (pounds)
I was born on Nov. 6, 1980.
mm. (millimeters) cm. (centimeters) m. (meters)
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat,.
Sun. mg. (milligram) g. (gram) kg. (kilogram)
The class will run Mon.-Fri. next week. My cat weighs 10 lbs., which is about 4.5 kg.
Thank You
for
Listening
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Resources
● https://www.grammarly.com/blog/capitalization-rules/
● https://www.grammarly.com/blog/abbreviations/

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CAPITALIZATION

Where did I put that

Hey! It’s great to see you!

Tom and Diane met at

Have you met my dog,

There is only one place I Maggie wears a brimmed cap at

Mario asked, “What is

My mother is British, and my

The capital of Botswana is

In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene In the sixteenth and

An abbreviation, simply put, is a shortened form of a

An acronym is pronounced as a single word,

Scuba - self contained underwater breathing

Laser - light amplification by stimulated

Initialisms are similar to acronyms in that they are also

Mr. Green asked Ms. Grey if she had met

Mr Green asked Ms Grey if she had met Dr

B.A. = Bachelor of Arts

M.A. = Master of Arts

M.B.A. = Master of Business Administration

Ph.D. = Doctor of Philosophy

Molly Beagle, Ph.D., runs the

There is a small handful of abbreviations for Latin

Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Units of Measurement

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