TALEEM: CAPITALIZATION AND PUNCTUATION

ENGLISH 10TH - Language Practice

CAPITALIZATION AND PUNCTUATION

Capitalization:
Capitalization occurs when the first letter in a word is an upper case letter. For example, the first word in this sentence contains a capital F.

Use of Punctuation and Capitalization:
Marks of punctuation and capitalization help readers understand and interpret sentences better. Some marks are required to prevent misreading and some are optional and depend on what the writer wishes to achieve.

Capitalization Rules:

Rule	Example
1. Capitalize the first word in a sentence	She is a very respectable girl
2. Capitalize proper nouns	Ahmed, Karachi, Pakistan
3. Capitalize geographic names	Sharah-e-Faisal, River Indus, Mount Everest
4. Capitalize the pronoun “I”	Jawad and I are friends.
5. Capitalize the names of days and months	Friday, July
6. Capitalize the names of national, religious and local holidays	Pakistan Day, Eid-ul-Fitr, Independence Day
7. Capitalize proper adjectives	British, French, Chinese
8. Capitalize words used as names	Do you need help, Sister?
9. Capitalize titles used with names	Major Hamid, Mrs Shamim, President Umer
10. Capitalize the first word in the greeting or closing of a letter	Dear friends, Yours truly
11. Capitalize the first, last, and all the main words in the title of a book, movie, song, magazine, play, newspaper or television show.	Gone with the Wind, The National Observer
12. Capitalize the names of organizations, associations, or teams and their members	Red Cross, Parent-Teacher Association
13. Capitalize the names of businesses and the official name of their products	Colgate toothpaste, Honda, Imtiaz Super Market, Dentonic
14. Capitalize historical events, documents, and period of time	War of Independence, Pakistan Movement, the Stone Age
15. Capitalize initials or abbreviations that stand for names and also abbreviations of titles and organizations	M. A. Jinnah, M.A. (Master of Arts), PIA, NADRA
16. Governmental assemblies, departments, and bureaus	the National Assembly, the Federal Investigation Agency
17. Capitalize all words in titles of distinction	Vice President, First Lieutenant
18. Names referring to God by any religion, and the names of sacred literature	Lord, King of Kings, Allah, the Bible, the Quran, Buddha
19. Directions north, south, east, west... are capitalized IF they are used as a noun referring to a particular area of a country	I am going to drive north. (direction as an adverb and not capitalized) We live in the Northeast. (this one is a particular area and used as a noun)

Notes:

For titles of books, magazines, journals, and plays capitalize first and last words and all the words except for the articles, prepositions, and conjunctions with less than 5 letters (a, the, for...)
Gone with the Wind, The Boston Globe, Pride and Prejudice
Centuries and decades are not capitalized.
the twenty-first century, the eighties (the '80s)
Some higher rank titles may be capitalized even without a proper name.
The President arrived yesterday.
The pronoun he, his, and him is capitalized if it’s referring to God.
The man prayed to God hoping He might save him.
Do not capitalize father, mother, uncle, aunt... unless they are used as proper names.
Uncle Sam, Mother Mary, my uncle, her mother

Punctuation Rules

Apostrophe (’):
There are three main uses of apostrophe (’):
- (i) Apostrophe marks dropped letters.
  mustn’t - must not, what’s - what is
- (ii) It shows possession:
  Adil’s money — Abdulla’s son - The car’s colour - Bicycle’s tire
- (iii) To form plurals of letters and numbers:
  I only get A’s and B’s. Number 7’s are the best.
Colon (:):

(i) Before a series or list that follows a complete sentence (do not use a colon in the middle of a sentence):
I will need the following items: scissors, paper, glue, and paint.
(ii) When introducing a quotation after a complete sentence:
Remember the words of the great Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over until it’s over”
(iii) In a salutation of a formal letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
(Salutations in less formal letters tend to have commas.)
(iv) Between hours and minutes and between minutes and seconds:
The space shuttle lifted off at exactly 11:40:29 this morning.
(v) Before an appositive, explanation, or example that follows a complete sentence:
In the history of major league baseball, two teams have played in Seattle: the Pilots (1969 only) and the Mariners (1977-present).
(vi) Between main clauses when the first signals that the second will provide an answer or definition:
Faith is like love: It cannot be forced.
(vii) In proportions:
The ratio of students to teachers was 30:2.

Comma (,):
(i) To separate three or more items in a series or list:
Remember to buy milk, butter, eggs, bread, and juice.
(ii) To separate adjectives that modify the same noun:
The loud, beeping buzzer woke me up.
(iii) Between a city and a state or province etc.:
Sehwan, Sindh
(iv) Between elements in locations, dates, or addresses:
My father was born on December 31, 1953, in the morning.
(Do not use commas if the date is inverted—17 March 2004—or if it does not include the day.)
(v) After the greeting and closing of a friendly letter:
Dear Adnan, Yours truly,
(vi) After a conjunction that joins the independent clauses in compound sentences:
I tried to call u on Saturday afternoon, but your line was busy.
(vii) After the dependent clause at the beginning of a complex sentence:
When it began to rain, I knew our picnic would be cancelled.
(viii) After introductory words or mild interjections at the beginning of a sentence:
Yes, you can borrow my book.
Oh, I didn’t know that the test was today.
Unfortunately, I only had 49 marks last semester.
(ix) After names in a direct address:
Jawad, will you please pass the butter?
(x) To set off appositives (a word or phrase that renames or defines a preceding noun):
Mrs Tahira, my math teacher, won the teaching award.
(xi) Around a thrown-in interrupting expression (However, I think, After all, of course, therefore, etc.):
Mr Kamran is, in my opinion, a terrible role model.
(xii) In front of a short, direct quotation in the middle of a sentence:
Samina asked, “Is that your uncle sitting over there?”
(xiii) At the end of a direct quotation that is a statement when it comes at the beginning of a sentence:
“Mrs Ahmed is giving a lunch today,” explained Mom.
(xiv) Before "such as" when it is followed by an example of a list:
Read a good book, such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
(xv) After introductory verbal or verbal phrases:
Sleeping soundly, Sara did not wake up when the earthquake hit.
4. Dash (--):
(i) Use it to separate elements that deserve emphasis:
The cafeteria — and no other room — may be used for school lunches.
(ii) Use after an interrupted or unfinished statement of thought or to introduce a list of items:
You’ll need three things — a pencil, an eraser, and a ruler.
(iii) Use after an introductory list:
Toys, hairbrushes, chewing gum — these items must be left at home.
(iv) To indicate hesitation or other awkwardness in speech:
After losing the game, one of the players stammered, “I just—just cannot believe it. We tried so hard.”
5. Ellipsis (...):
Three dots in a row. It is used to replace words that have been left out.
Shahid, Shahid...how does your garden grow?
6. Exclamation (!):
Use it after strong interjections, exclamatory sentences, and strong imperative sentences:
Sara! Get off that desk immediately!
7. Hyphen (-):
(i) In the middle of compound words:
My great-grandfather’s name was Abdullah.
Two-year-olds often get into trouble.
(ii) Between two words functioning as a single adjective before a noun:
Mr Haroon was not a well-known political figure before 2015.
The game-show contestant missed an obvious question.
(iii) In the middle of compound numbers and fractions:
He claims that he caught twenty-four fish while fishing in one day.
One-third of my paycheck goes to pay for my rent.
(iv) With some prefixes and suffixes:
Maria is a self-motivated woman.
Many cultures believe in an all-knowing deity.
8. Parentheses ( ):
Use to give the reader added information. Also, use before and after an abbreviation or an acronym of a company or organization once its full name has been written:
Read the first lesson (pages 5 — 9) tonight.
A representative from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will visit our school.
9. Period (.):
Use it at the end of declarative sentences, at the end of an imperative sentence that doesn’t require an exclamation point, and after most initials and abbreviations. Also, use it as a decimal point.
Dr M. A. Zahid will visit the clinic today.
10. Quotation Marks (“”):
(i) Around the exact words of a speaker:
The teacher said, “We will have an exam next Tuesday.”
(ii) Around titles of songs, short articles or essays, stories, and poems:
Rashid quoted from the article “Lost Heroes” in his research paper.
(iii) When using quotation marks within a quotation, use single quotation marks:
Sajid asked Rashid, “Can I read ‘Lost heroes’ when you are finished using it?”
11. Semicolons (;):
(i) In place of a comma and a conjunction to join independent clauses:
I’m not hungry; he wants to eat a big lunch.
(ii) Before a conjunctive adverb (like however or therefore):
He cooked a huge dinner; therefore, he invited the neighbours over.
(iii) To separate a series of items when one or more of the items include commas:
The art supplies we need for class are paintbrushes; red, yellow, and blue paint; a sketch pad; a charcoal pencil; and a calligraphy pen.
12. Question Marks (?):
Use it at the end of interrogative sentences, after a direct question, at the end of an incomplete question, and when a statement is intended as a question:
What is your name? Really? When? No kidding?
Your name is Hasan?

TALEEM

Pages

CAPITALIZATION AND PUNCTUATION

No comments:

Post a Comment