This tags is for questions about the use of capital letters in writing.
4
votes
2answers
732 views
Yoga terms in English and the capitalization thereof
I'm editing a manuscript in English that contains numerous yoga terms for poses, concepts etc. These are generally derived from Sanskrit, if not actual Sanskrit transliterations. My publisher requires ...
4
votes
0answers
130 views
Should you capitalise “eBay” at the beginning of a sentence? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you capitalize a proper noun such as “iPhone”?
Which is correct?
On the internet you can buy stuff. eBay is one place where you can buy stuff.
...
3
votes
8answers
16k views
Should it be “Happy Birthday!” or “Happy birthday!” when used as a two word sentence?
I've always simply written it "Happy birthday!" but my wife recently said that "Birthday" should be capitalized as well. What's grammatically correct?
3
votes
3answers
384 views
Capitalization of “Theorem 1” in mathematics papers
In many mathematics papers I read sentences like "...with an appeal to Theorem 4.5 we get...".
Is the capitalization of theorem in this case correct? If it is correct why do we capitalize the word?
3
votes
4answers
393 views
What is the correct capitalisation of the word “sonar”?
What is the correct capitalisation of the word "sonar" (and why)?
3
votes
2answers
284 views
Should “brother” be capitalized in a letter salutation?
John Smith, a member of my congregation, would be addressed as brother in face-to-face conversation. If I write a letter to him, should I capitalize this word? For example, as in:
Dear Brother ...
3
votes
4answers
337 views
Should I capitalize the “G” in “God Particle” when referring to the Higgs Boson particle?
I'm researching the Higgs Boson particle and have always preferred to call it the "god Particle" or even the "Champagne Particle". But the capitalization of the "G" has thrown me off.
I'm conflicted ...
3
votes
2answers
406 views
Is it proper to use capital letters in (e.g.) document names
If I am referring to a definite document, the name of which I have previously stated, is it proper to use a capital letter, and omit the document name?
For example, I mention some international ...
3
votes
3answers
316 views
Should I change the structure of a sentence/add filler words to make sure that the sentence always starts with a capital letter?
Here is a quote from a book on C++ ("for", "while" and "do" are keywords in many languages, and in most languages they have to be in lower case. The C++ language is one of those.):
Simply put, ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
When using complete sentences in parenthetical e.g. or i.e. situations, should the first word be capitalized?
In a bulleted list of very technical sentences, where each bulleted item has one or two parenthetical examples or restatements which are complete sentences, should the first letter of each e.g. or ...
3
votes
3answers
525 views
How should wireless technology names be hyphenated and capitalized?
How should wireless technology names be hyphenated and capitalized?
"a wireless g network"?
"a wireless-g network"?
"a wireless-G network"?
"a wireless G network"?
none of the above?
Does a formal ...
3
votes
5answers
3k views
Is incorrect capitalization considered a spelling error?
Is incorrect capitalization, such as the lowercase "i" in
can [this is not the sic you're after] i [this sic] have an if statement within a
dialog box code?
considered a spelling mistake, or ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Do you capitalize Bill as in “Senator, please support this Bill”
I was wondering if I need to capitalize it because my teacher highlighted it but without giving a reason.
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Do you capitalize a quoted word at the beginning of a sentence? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Should I change the structure of a sentence/add filler words to make sure that the sentence always starts with a capital letter?
As a concrete example, imagine that I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
343 views
Should words be capitalized for being religious terms?
While googling about whether "atheist" should be capitalized, and skimming past posts by people blogging about atheism rather than about English grammar, I came across ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Capitalization of explanation of abbreviations
I'm writing a rather tehnical report with a lot of abbreviations such as QoS (quality of service), AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code).
When should ...
3
votes
3answers
12k views
Should the words “city”/“state”/“province” be capitalized (if not followed by the name of the city)?
When referring to an entity like a government body, should it be capitalized if referring to is by classification(?).
E.g., if I write:
The City of New York requires us to get a building permit.
...
3
votes
1answer
532 views
Should names of scientific theories be capitalized?
I'd really like to safely write stuff like Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Theory of Evolution without capitals; but I don't want to regret it, whence my question.
Should the name of ...
3
votes
1answer
927 views
Do you capitalize the names of holidays?
I always thought the names of holidays were proper names, and should thus be capitalized "Christmas", "Thanksgiving", etc. However, I recently made a typo when talking about Christmas (Christmsa), and ...
3
votes
1answer
279 views
When to capitalize the name of a season
Which sentence uses the correct capitalization for the name of the season?
I will travel in the summer of 2013.
or
I will travel in the Summer of 2013.
3
votes
2answers
392 views
Capitalization of “guest of honor”
In the following sentence, should guest of honour be capitalized?
Ms. Joe Doe (DTM), the District Governor of Toastmasters International was the Guest of Honour during the charter party on March ...
3
votes
1answer
489 views
Capitalisation of “chess”
When talking about the game of chess do I capitalise or not? If not why not?
Example excerpt:
I have picked chess as it is a popular, well understood game. Even if
the programming unit doesn’t ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Should I capitalize “Chemical Engineering Curriculum”?
The introduction of this course within the chemical engineering curriculum is at this point in early stages of development.
The introduction of this course within the Chemical Engineering ...
3
votes
2answers
154 views
Why are I and O always capitalized, but a is not?
There are three single-letter words. They are the article a, the pronoun I, and the interjection O.
The pronoun I and the interjection O are always capitalized, but the article a follows normal ...
3
votes
3answers
379 views
“the” is in my business name, capitalize it or not?
I'm starting a new business and recently decided on a name. The problem is that the name has the word "the" stuck right in the middle, like so:
__ the __, LLC
My question, should the "the" be ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Should broader types capitalized?
I'm seeing that I get a red squiggle under the word asian and with european. When I right-click either it wants to capitalize the word. I wouldn't think a general type of thing gets capitalized, such ...
3
votes
1answer
294 views
Why Start Each Word in a Title with an Uppercase Letter? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Which words in a title should be capitalized?
I'm not a native speaker of English, and I've asked myself a lot why on many (most?) blogs, all words in an article’s ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Why is “I” capitalized in the English language, but not “me” or “you”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why should the first person pronoun 'I' always be capitalized?
I realize that at one time a lot of nouns in English were capitalized, but I can't understand the ...
3
votes
2answers
452 views
Is the word “Americana” capitalized?
...in the sentence "Here's a list of great Americana books."
It looks SO weird lowercase: "Here's a list of great americana books."
3
votes
1answer
206 views
Capitalization of the words Fourth Quarter
In the sentence
Our profits are down for Fourth Quarter 2011.
is Fourth Quarter capitalized?
2
votes
6answers
477 views
Email Capitalization: “Hi Michael, please bring…” or “Hi Michael, Please bring…”
In an email, if I don't put a new line after the heading, how am I supposed to capitalize the next word?
With a new line, it's straightforward:
Hi Michael,
Please bring the books.
But ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
Why is god, a common noun, capitalized? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When should the word “God” be capitalized?
I thought god is a common noun, but many people capitalize it when it is not the first letter of a sentence or a ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Usage of “Hi” and “hi” in a letter/mail
In the beginning of a letter (or mail) , which is the correct method to address a person/friend..say for example which would be more perfect "Hi XYZ" or "hi XYZ" ?
__Kanu
2
votes
1answer
314 views
Title Capitalization of Keywords in Programming Languages [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Capitalising a sentence whose first word is explicitly lowercase
Should I change the structure of a sentence/add filler words to make sure that the sentence always starts ...
2
votes
4answers
274 views
Should “romaji” be capitalized?
Should, "romaji", a loanword from Japanese, be capitalized because it is ultimately related to "Rome", which is a proper noun?
I came across Should capitalization be preserved in loanwords? , but ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
How to tell the difference between proper nouns and regular nouns (in certain ambiguous cases)?
"In the Eden story, The Snake engages Eve in dialog."
IN this sentence, should the word "Snake" be capitalized? Should the word "The" be capitalized?
I assume that only if "The Snake" is a proper ...
2
votes
2answers
974 views
…Capital letter after period(s)?
Excuse my terrible English knowledge, but I have been wondering this for some time already:
What is correct for the next phrase?:
And he was there. alone. sad. and crying...
or
And he was ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
“The Midwest of the U.S.”
The New Oxford American Dictionary reports the following definition for Middle America:
Middle America |ˈˌmɪdl əˈmɛrəkə|
noun
1 the middle class in the U.S., esp. when regarded as a ...
2
votes
1answer
203 views
Should “culture” in “Somali culture” be capitalized?
Should I capitalize culture in the following sentence?
I am proud to share Somali culture with the community.
I know that proper nouns should be capitalized, but culture seems to be a generic ...
2
votes
1answer
384 views
When should I capitalise eucalyptus or other genuses?
I'm reasonably familiar with the capitalisation and italicisation rules that govern scientific names, but am a bit confused about capitalising, or not, the name of a genus, e.g. Eucalyptus when used ...
2
votes
2answers
263 views
How does one deal with one word in parenthesis at the start of a sentence? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
(I'm not sure) how to capitalize this sentence
How does one deal with capitalization in a situation like this:
Correlation does not not imply causation. (Link) ...
2
votes
1answer
926 views
Capitalize first words in a list? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Capitalization for a bullet list
When using a list, like this:
first item
second item
third item
should the first word in each item be capitalized? I.e., is this ...
2
votes
2answers
650 views
Capitalising a sentence whose first word is explicitly lowercase [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Capitalization of names that begin lowercased, at the beginning of a sentence
Let's say that you have a word that should be typed with leading lowercase letter. Perhaps ...
2
votes
2answers
225 views
Is it “GPL License” or “GPL license”?
Every time I write GPL license the spelling checker of my Mac OS X keeps to underline license in green; if I write GPL License, the spelling checker doesn't underline License.
When I hover the mouse ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
Should words be capitalized because they're loanwords?
In the English language Wikipedia article on noh theatre, "Noh" is frequently capitalized even when it's in the middle of a sentence. The only reason I could see someone doing that deliberately is ...
2
votes
1answer
967 views
In the English language, should the “d” be capitalized when writing “American Dollar”?
When writing "American Dollar," should the d in dollar be capitalized?
2
votes
2answers
631 views
Case of USD — “United States Dollar” or “United States dollar”
What is correct, United States dollar or United States Dollar?
In the examples below the emphasis is mine.
Example 1 (context)
The United States dollar (sign: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$) ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Capitalising Words in Parentheses?
Should the words inside a set of parentheses be capitalised?
For example:
... usually read for personal
enjoyment (Recreation) or ...
or
... usually read for personal
enjoyment ...
2
votes
4answers
406 views
Capitalizing a lower case screen name at the beginning of a sentence
When starting a sentence with a lower case pseudonym, such as a screen name of a user account on a website, should it be capitalized? Or are there different cases where it would and would not be ...
2
votes
1answer
237 views
When to spell out non-alphanumeric characters?
If a term contains non-alphanumeric characters, when (if ever) should these characters be spelled out? For example:
C++ written as C Plus Plus
...
