Capitalization

"Grandma Nelly," "Uncle Rob" and "I" are capitalized because they are names, which are proper nouns. Make sure to capitalize "grandma" or "uncle" if they come before a name. But if you just say, "I love my grandma," you don't need to capitalize it.

In which of the following sentences should the word "aunt" be capitalized?

• I visited my aunt Kenzie last summer.

• I visited my aunt last summer.

• David and his aunt love paddleboarding together.

• No one has a better aunt than Michele.

Answer explanation

"Aunt should be capitalized in this sentence because it comes before the specific name "Kenzie." "Aunt Kenzie" is a proper noun.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

"New York City" is capitalized because it is a specific city, or proper noun. But if you said, "I live in a city," it wouldn't be capitalized because it is more general. You should capitalize the name of towns, boroughs, states and countries. But you don’t capitalize the words "town," "state," "borough" and "country."

Which of the following sentences uses capitalization correctly?

• When I was a little girl, I moved from the city to a Town.

• I love the lights and sights of downtown Tokyo.

• The teacher made a lot of sacrifices for her City.

• They’re the best fried oreos in new jersey.

Answer explanation

"Tokyo: is a proper noun. It's a specific city, so it should be capitalized.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

"July" is capitalized because it is the name of a specific month, or a proper noun. The season "summer," though, is not capitalized. Similarly, always capitalize the days of the week, like "Friday," "Saturday" or "Sunday." But you don't need to capitalize "week."

Which of the following sentences uses capitalization correctly?

• The best season for harvesting maple syrup is the Fall.

• I don’t work the entire month of July because I have to celebrate my birthday month.

• She left enough fish food to last her piranha the Week.

• This is the Day that we celebrate the invention of the saxophone.

Answer explanation

"July" is the name of a specific monht, so it should be capitalized.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

"JetBlue" is the name of a specific airline. So, it is a proper noun, and you capitalize it. But if you just flew on an "airplane," that wouldn't be capitalized. You should always capitalize specific brands. For example, you should capitalize "Subaru" because that is the name of a car company. But you don’t have to capitalize the word "car." And you should capitalize "Coca-Cola" and "Coke." But you shouldn’t capitalize "soda."

Which sentence uses capitalization correctly?

• I made a pizza by my favorite brand, DiGiorno's.

• I think I’m the only person who doesn’t like Pizza.

• Sera’s Computer broke before she could take it back to the store.

• The baby refuses to eat any fruit except for Grapes.

Answer explanation

"DiGiorno's" is a specific brand, so it should be capitalizes.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

"JFK" is the name of an airport, so we capitalize it. It is also named after the president, John F. Kennedy. When you write a person's initials, you always use capital letters.

What is the correct way to capitalize Martin Luther King, Jr.’s initials?

• MLK, Jr.

• MlK, Jr.

• mlk, Jr.

• mlK, Jr.

Answer explanation

The "M," "L," and "K" are all capitalized because they are initials.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2B

CCSS.L.5.2

"The Met" is a shortened version of "The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Even when we shorten a name, we still capitalize it. If you say, "I like museums," though, "museum" wouldn't get capitalized. Similarly, "The Mets" are a New York baseball team. You always capitalize the names of teams. But you don't capitalize the word "baseball" or "team."

Which sentence uses capitalization correctly?

• My favorite team is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

• I can’t believe my sister likes watching Golf.

• The Brazilian Swim team is very impressive.

• Kristy has been studying Dance since kindergarten.

Answer explanation

The "Cleveland Cavaliers" are a specific basketball team, so their name is capitalized.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

In addition to capitalizing Barack Obama's name, always capitalize people's positions when they come before their names. So, "President" gets capitalized when it comes before "Barack Obama." The same is true for "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor." But if you're just saying, "The president is the leader of the United States," "president" stays lowercase.

Which of the following sentences uses capitalization correctly?

• Queen Lililuokalani ruled for 14 years.

• Dick Cheney used to be the Vice President.

• The Mayor was elected in a landslide.

• Humza dreams of becoming the President.

Answer explanation

"Queen" Should be capitalized because it comes before Lililuokalani first name.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

Always capitalize the titles of TV shows, movies and books, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. You only need to capitalize little words like "and" or "the" when they are at the beginning of a title, like The Hunger Games. But when they fall in the middle of a title, you can leave them lowercase.

Which of the following titles uses capitalization correctly?

• Beauty And The Beast

• The Little Prince

• A Tale Of Two Cities

• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Answer explanation

The word "the" is capitalized because it is at the start of the title.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

Always capitalize official holidays like "Independence Day," but don't capitalize the word "holiday."

Which of the following sentences uses capitalization correctly?

• I decided to make a tofu turkey for Thanksgiving.

• I plan to go camping on labor day.

• Reiko loved celebrating the Holiday season.

• Tanisha traveled to the woods to work on her cabin on memorial day.

Answer explanation

In this sentience, the official holiday of "Thanksgiving" is capitalized.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A

Capitalize names of languages.

Which of the following sentences uses capitalization correctly?

• "Kedu" means "hello" in the Igbo language.

• I’d love to travel to the Cape Verde Islands, but I don’t speak portuguese.

• Ivan studied yiddish so that he could read the books that he wanted.

• Patty taught spanish to her mother and father.

Answer explanation

"Igbo" is the name of a language, so it is capitalized.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.2A

CCSS.L.2.2A

CCSS.L.3.2A

CCSS.L.4.2A

CCSS.L.K.2A