Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

Basically I want to say 'from my head teacher', but his occupation is not really that, should it still be capitalized?

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

No, don't capitalize. Even if it was his occupation, it's not really correct. Here's an informal but comprehensive list of capitalization rules which I regard as sensible. See especially rule 3:

Rule 3
Capitalize a person's title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name.

Examples:

Chairperson Petrov
Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon.

share|improve this answer
But if, for example I would say 'Community Manager' in a middle of a sentence, should it be capitalized? – Saras Mar 8 '12 at 18:31
Titles shouldn't be capitalized when they replace a person's name. They should only be capitalized if they immediately precede a name, such as (in the example) Chairperson Petrov. – Daniel δ Mar 8 '12 at 18:45
3  
@Daniel: that's a dangerous rule, since it assumes titles are in fact descriptive. "The community manager will address us at noon" refers to the person who does in fact manage the community (whether or not there is a job title), while "The Community Manager will address us" refers to the person holding that job title (whatever the person actually does). If you think they are the same, you probably haven't worked in a bureaucracy :) – TimLymington Mar 9 '12 at 9:41

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.