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Editing for Mechanics
What's Ahead
Capitalization
Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives |
Capitalize all proper nouns and proper adjectives. A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea. A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun. Proper Nouns:Beverly Cleary Golden Gate Bridge Boston Celtics Thanksgiving Proper Adjectives:American citizen Chicago skyline New Jersey shore |
Names of People |
Capitalize the names of people and also the initials or abbreviations that stand for those names. C. S. Lewis Sacagawea George H. W. Bush Harriet Tubman |
Words Used as Names |
Capitalize words such as mother, father, aunt, and uncle when these words are used as names. Ask Mother what we’re having for lunch. (Mother is used as a name; you could use her first name in its place.) Ask my mother what we’re having for lunch. (In this sentence, mother describes someone but is not used as a name.) |
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Capitalization (Continued)
Geographic Names |
Capitalize geographic names that are either proper nouns or proper adjectives. Heavenly BodiesEarth Jupiter Milky Way ContinentsEurope Asia South America Australia Africa CountriesChad Haiti Greece Chile Jordan StatesNew Mexico Michigan West Virginia Delaware Iowa ProvincesAlberta British Columbia Québec Ontario CitiesMontreal Portland CountiesWayne County Dade County Bodies of WaterHudson Bay North Sea Lake Superior Saskatchewan River LandformsAppalachian Mountains Bitterroot Range Capitol Reef Public AreasVietnam Memorial Sequoia National Forest Roads and HighwaysNew Jersey Turnpike Interstate 80 Central Avenue BuildingsPentagon Space Needle Empire State Building |
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Titles Used with Names |
Capitalize titles used with names of persons. President Biden Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton Tip Do not capitalize titles when they are used alone: the president, the doctor, the mayor. |
Historical Events |
Capitalize the names of historical events, documents, and periods of time. Boston Tea Party Stone Age Emancipation Proclamation |
Abbreviations |
Capitalize abbreviations of titles and organizations. MD (doctor of medicine) ADA (American Dental Association) |
Organizations |
Capitalize the name of an organization, an association, or a team and its members. Chicago Bulls the Democratic Party Republicans Doctors Without Borders |
Titles |
Capitalize the first word of a title, the last word, and every word in between except articles (a, an, the), short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. MagazineNational Geographic Kids Song“The Star-Spangled Banner” MovieInside the Mind of a Cat BookIn My Pocket Tip Don’t lowercase every short word in a title. Even though my is a short word, it is not an article, a preposition, or a coordinating conjunction. |
First Words |
Capitalize the first word of every sentence. Our first basketball game is on Saturday. Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation. Jamir shouted, “Keep that ball moving!” |
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Capitalization (continued)
Days and Months |
Capitalize the names of days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. Wednesday March Easter Arbor Day Passover Memorial Day Tip Do not capitalize the seasons.winter fall (or autumn) |
Names of Religions, Nationalities, Languages |
Capitalize the names of religions, nationalities, and languages. ReligionsChristianity Hinduism Islam NationalitiesAustralian Somalian Chinese LanguagesEnglish Spanish Hebrew |
Official Names |
Capitalize the names of businesses and the official names of their products. (These are called trade names.) Budget Mart Crispy Crunch cereal Choconut candy Smile toothpaste Tip Do not, however capitalize a general descriptive word like toothpaste when it follows the product name. |
Capitalize |
Do Not Capitalize |
January, March |
winter, spring |
Grandpa (as a name) |
my grandpa (describing him) |
Mayor Bewley |
Ms. Bewley, the mayor |
President Washington |
George Washington, our first president |
Ida B. Wells Elementary School |
the local elementary school |
Lake Ontario |
the lake area |
the South (section of the country) |
south (a direction) |
planet Earth |
the earth we live on |
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Numbers
Numbers 1 to 9 |
Numbers from one to nine are usually written as words; all numbers 10 and over are usually written as numerals. one three 10 115 2,000 Except Numbers being compared should be kept in the same style. Students from 8 to 11 years old are invited. Students from eight to eleven years old are invited. |
Very Large Numbers |
You may use a combination of numbers and words for very large numbers. 15 million 1.2 billion You may spell out large numbers that can be written as two words. three million seven thousand If you need more than two words to spell out a number, write it as a numeral. 3,275,100 7,418 |
Sentence Beginnings |
Use words, not numerals, to begin a sentence. Fourteen new students joined the chess club. |
Numerals Only |
Use numerals for numbers in the following forms: money $3.97 decimals 25.5 percentages 6 percent chapters chapter 8 pages pages 17–20 addresses 445 E. Acorn Dr. dates June 19 times 1:30 p.m. statistics a vote of 5 to 2 identification Highway 50 |
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Plurals
Nouns Ending in a Consonant |
Form the plurals of most nouns by adding s. balloon → balloons shoe → shoes Form the plurals of nouns ending in sh, ch, x, s, and z by adding es to the singular. brush → brushes bunch → bunches box → boxes dress → dresses buzz → buzzes |
Nouns Ending in o |
Form the plurals of most words ending in o by adding just s. patio → patios rodeo → rodeos Form the plurals of most nouns ending in o (if they have a consonant letter just before the o) by adding es. echo → echoes hero → heroes Except Musical terms and words of Spanish origin form plurals by adding s; check your dictionary for other words of this type. piano → pianos solo → solos taco → tacos burrito → burritos |
Nouns Ending in ful |
Form the plurals of nouns that end with ful by adding an s at the end of the word. two spoonfuls three tankfuls four bowlfuls five cupfuls |
Nouns Ending in f or fe |
Form the plurals of nouns that end in f or fe in one of two ways. 1. If the final f is still heard in the plural form of the word, simply add s. goof → goofs chief → chiefs safe → safes 2. If the final f has the sound of v in the plural form, change the f to v and add es. life → lives loaf → loaves knife → knives |
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Nouns Ending in y |
Form the plurals of common nouns that end in y (if there is a consonant letter just before the y) by changing the y to i and adding es. sky → skies diary → diaries story → stories musky → muskies Form the plurals of nouns that end in y (if there is a vowel before the y) by adding only s. donkey → donkeys boy → boys key → keys day → days Form the plurals of proper nouns that end in y by adding only s. There are two Judys in our class. |
Compound Nouns |
Form the plurals of most compound nouns by adding s or es to the important word in the compound. sisters-in-law maids of honor secretaries of state life jackets |
Irregular Spelling |
Some nouns form plurals by taking on an irregular spelling. child → children goose → geese man → men woman → women foot → feet tooth → teeth ox → oxen crisis → crises cactus → cacti or cactuses |
Adding an ’s |
The plurals of symbols, letters, and words discussed as words are formed by adding an apostrophe and s. two ?’s and two !’s x’s and o’s a’s and an’s Tip For more information on forming plurals and plural possessives, see page 439. |
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Abbreviations
An abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase.
Common Abbreviations |
Most abbreviations begin with a capital letter and end with a period, though some use no periods. Tip The following abbreviations are always acceptable in both formal and informal writing:Mr. Mrs. Ms. Dr. Jr. MD BC ECE a.m. p.m. A.M. P.M. In formal writing, do not abbreviate the names of states, countries, months, days, or units of measure. Also do not use signs or symbols (%, &) in place of words. |
Acronyms |
An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of words in a phrase. Acronyms do not include periods. SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) CARE (Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere) PIN (personal identification number) radar (radio detecting and ranging) |
Initialisms |
An initialism is like an acronym except the letters that form the abbreviation are pronounced individually. TV (television) FYI (for your information) PSA (public service announcement) CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) ASAP (as soon as possible) |
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State Abbreviations
Alabama AL
Alaska AK
Arizona AZ
Arkansas AR
California CA
Colorado CO
Connecticut CT
Delaware DE
District of Columbia DC
Florida FL
Georgia GA
Hawaii HI
Idaho ID
Illinois IL
Indiana IN
Iowa IA
Kansas KS
Kentucky KY
Louisiana LA
Maine ME
Maryland MD
Massachusetts MA
Michigan MI
Minnesota MN
Mississippi MS
Missouri MO
Montana MT
Nebraska NE
Nevada NV
New Hampshire NH
New Jersey NJ
New Mexico NM
New York NY
North Carolina NC
North Dakota ND
Ohio OH
Oklahoma OK
Oregon OR
Pennsylvania PA
Rhode Island RI
South Carolina SC
South Dakota SD
Tennessee TN
Texas TX
Utah UT
Vermont VT
Virginia VA
Washington WA
West Virginia WV
Wisconsin WI
Wyoming WY
Address Abbreviations
Avenue AVE
Boulevard BLVD
Court CT
Drive DR
East E
Expressway EXPY
Heights HTS
Highway HWY
Lake LK
Lane LN
North N
Park PK
Parkway PKY
Place PL
Plaza PLZ
Road RD
Rural R
South S
Square SQ
Station STA
Street ST
Terrace TER
Turnpike TPKE
West W
Common Abbreviations
AC alternating current
a.m. ante meridiem
BCE before the common era
CE the common era
COD cash on delivery
DA district attorney
DC direct current
etc. and so forth
FM frequency modulation
kg kilogram
km kilometer
kw kilowatt
lb. pound
MD doctor of medicine
mpg miles per gallon
mph miles per hour
oz. ounce
pd. paid
pg. page (or p.)
p.m. post meridiem
qt. quart
RSVP please reply
vs. versus
yd. yard