The Editing Agenda: Capitalization

Capitalization is one of those pain-in-the-butt rules of punctuation that I loathe. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I hated the thought of writing a post on it, but this is one of those topics that I knew needed to be tackled. So rather than give you laundry list of a billion different types of instances that require capitalization, for the sake of your sanity and my own, I’m going to stick with the main ones that pop up in fiction (and some nonfiction). And throw in some examples of course!

General, Nobility, and Military Titles

General Titles

General titles are only capitalized if they are used before names—unless the title is followed by a comma, in which case it remains lowercase. Titles are NOT capitalized if they come after a name or if they’re used in place of a name.

Example 1a: The president* is speaking later today.

Example 1b: The inauguration of President Obama took place on January 20, 2009.

Example 1c: The president, Barack Obama, was inaugurated on January 20.

*Note: Some writers choose to capitalize titles for those people high in government ranking out of respect, but this style is going by the wayside. Most modern style guides are in favor of lowercase with the only exception being Speaker, as in Speaker of the House.

Example 2a: The treasurer of the class, Katie Smith, raised her hand.

Example 2b: Treasurer Katie Smith took her place.

However, be aware that official titles are not the same thing as occupations. Occupations should not be capitalized before a full name.

• teacher John Smith
• author Edgar Allan Poe
• actress Sandra Bullock

Note: Sometimes style guides express different opinions. The occupations of professor and manager, for example, are sometimes accepted as titles rather than occupations. However, as a whole, most style guides are in favor of keeping things lowercase, including The Chicago Manual of Style.

Nobility Titles

When it comes to medieval terms, a lot of people mistakenly believe that words such as sir, my lady (alternative milady), my lord (alternative milord), and several other similar titles are always capitalized. However, as is the case with the other titles listed, they are generally only capitalized when used with a name.

Example 1a: King George depended on his loyal subjects.

Example 1b: The king’s favorite food was chocolate-covered strawberries.

Example 2a: Have you seen Sir Lancelot?

Example 2b: Have you seen him, my good sir?

One exception to this is when the generic elements (king, queen, prince, duke, duchess, etc.) are used with a specific location, thereby making the generic element a permanent extension of the person’s name.

Example: He received a letter from the Prince of Wales.

Military Titles

As with general titles, when used in formal or academic prose, military titles are only capitalized when they precede a person’s name.

Example 1a: General Michael Smith was recently promoted.

Example 1b: Michael Smith, the general of the unit, was recently promoted.

Degrees, Departments, and Courses

Academic degrees, as well as departments and courses, should be lowercased when they are used in general terms.

Example 1a: He received bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

Example 1b: Mary studied mechanical engineering.

Example 1c: I took calculus and statistics my first semester in college.

Example 1d: Is Mike’s major psychology or philosophy?

The name of a specific degree can be capitalized, however, when it is used as part of a title, such as on a résumé or business card.

Example 2a (résumé format):

B.A. in Professional Writing

Minors in German, Psychology

Example 2b: I obtained my B.A. in professional writing and have minors in German and psychology.

As far as courses go, they should only be capitalized when the specific course title is being named.

Example 3a: I took Physics: Electricity and Magnetism during my sophomore year.

Example 3b: I took physics during my sophomore year.

Unnecessary capitalization of these items is definitely one of the most common mistakes I see, especially in bios, so this is a big one to watch out for.

Books and Other Works

As a general rule, for titles of books, magazines, journals, websites, short stories, and many other types of publications, the standard method is to capitalize the first and last words and all other major words. This includes nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs, and some conjunctions (except and, but, for, or, and nor).

The articles a, an, and the are always lowercased. Prepositions are also lowercased, regardless of length, except when they are used adverbially or adjectivally (Fess Up, Step Down, Off Switch, Come To). However, the word to is lowercased not only as a preposition in most cases but also as part of an infinitive (to Watch, to Surrender).

A couple of additional notes:

• Part of proper names that are lowercased in text, such as de or von, should be kept as lowercase in a title.
• The second part of a species name is always lowercased, even if it’s the last word in a title.

Seasons and Time of Day

The four seasons should be lowercased unless they are used as part of the issue title of a journal or magazine.

Example 1a: December marks the start of winter.

Example 1b: The Winter 2015 issue has been published.

Abbreviations for time of day are capitalized depending on whether or not periods are used to punctuation them:

Example 2a: He left at 6:41 p.m.

Example 2b: He left at 6:41 PM.

Deities and Concepts

Names of any deity, whether part of monotheistic or polytheistic religions, are capitalized. Religious events also follow suit (the Creation, the Exodus, the Second Coming).

Terms for divine dwelling places, divine places of punishment, and other such concepts (heaven, hell, limbo, nirvana) are usually lowercased. However, they are often capitalized when used in solely religious context.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, these are the main problematic areas of capitalization that I’ve come across. But if you’re looking for an extensive resource on this topic, The Chicago Manual of Style has a hefty section dedicated to it. You can also find most of the answers to the common questions they receive in the forums on their website, part of which you can view for free if you Google “CMOS” plus the topic at hand.

The Grammar Grind: Apostrophes

Apostrophes are one of the trickiest types of punctuation to master, apart from commas. The rules are straight forward, but the exceptions are what make them tricky. Their primary function is to indicate ownership. However, they are also used to show omission of letters, and, in very rare cases, in forming plurals. The hardest thing to master is their use with irregular nouns and compound nouns, so pay particular attention to placement when dealing with those.

Possession

The Basics

The most basic types of possession, singular and plural, are shown using either ’s or just an apostrophe.

Singular: the dog’s bone Plural: the kids’ toys

Sometimes the plural part can be tricky when you’re dealing with collective nouns or irregular plurals.

Examples: the children’s coats; the women’s restroom; the group’s assignment

But the basic idea is the same. An s is always used, and the apostrophe is placed after the s if the item’s plural already has one and before it in the case of singular possession and collective/irregular nouns.

When it comes to possession in particular, the exceptions and deviations abound. The first example of this is it’s vs. its. In this particular case, the apostrophe is indicating an omission of letters (i.e. a contraction) rather than possession, so the its without the apostrophe becomes the possessive one. It also happens to fall under a category called personal pronoun possessions, none of which use an apostrophe since they inherently show ownership. The same is true for the relative pronoun who—which changes to whose—and noun plurals (with the exception of lowercase letters, which I’ll touch more on later).

For common and proper nouns already ending in s, there is actually quite a bit of dispute. Some say you should always add ’s, and others say you should stick to just the apostrophe. Others yet say to choose depending on how the word sounds when spoken. A nice middle ground—one that is widely accepted and practiced—is to use an apostrophe without the s for proper nouns (like names) and ’s for common nouns.

Example: the mistress’s gown; the Jones’ contribution

That method is my personal preference simply because it’s a better fit than solely using one or the other, and it’s more consistent than just picking one based on how the word sounds.

Note: For names in particular, make sure you’re not changing the spelling of the last name simply because of how the possessive form sounds when you say it. This is especially true for possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, such as Jones and Edwards.

If you’re attending a party hosted by Josh and Patricia Smith, for example, it would be the Smiths’ party. But if Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have a party, an –es must be added to make the name plural BEFORE possession is indicated. It would then become the Edwardses’ party. No matter how awkward the results, names already ending in s must take on the –es ending to become plural possessives.

Tip: With plural possessives, always form the plural first, then add the appropriate punctuation for possession.

Compound Nouns and Compound Possession

For singular compound nouns (mother-in-law), the standard ’s is used.

Example: his mother-in-law's house

If a plural compound noun is used, the plural of the root noun is formed (brothers-in-law), and then the ’s is added.

Example: my brothers-in-law's cars

If the same item is possessed by more than one person, the ’s is used after the second name only.

Example: George and Cassandra’s house

If a pronoun is used in place of one of the names but there is still joint ownership, use the possessive form for both.

Correct: George’s and my house Incorrect: George and my house (possession should be shown for George) Incorrect: George’s and my’s house (my is a personal pronoun possession and already shows ownership without an apostrophe)

Correct: Her and George’s house is up for sale. Incorrect: She and George’s house is up for sale. (Even though it may sound more correct to use she, the pronoun is actually showing ownership here and is not the subject of the sentence—house is—so the possessive form her must be used.)

To show separate possession of a similar item, use the possessive form for both subjects.

Example A: Mike’s and Katrina’s cars are both blue. (They each have their own car, and both cars are blue.) Example B: The cat’s and dog’s beds are in the living room. (The cat and dog each have their own bed, and the beds are located in the living room.)

Joint ownership of more than one item is expressed the same way as a single item being possessed by those people.

Example A: Daphne and Justin’s homes are both lovely. (They jointly own more than one home.) Example B: Daphne and Justin’s dog and cat love playing outdoors. (The dog and cat belong to both Daphne and Justin.)

Amounts of time or money can be used as possessive adjectives. They are always used in the plural possessive form, requiring an apostrophe after the possessive noun.

Example A: In three days’ time, I have written ten short stories. Example B: If you want my two cents’ worth, I’d look for another house.

Note: Be aware of nouns ending in y. Changing the y to –ies does not result in a possessive, only a plural. This is a frequent mistake I run into when editing documents, particularly for businesses.

Correct: the company’s website Correct: both companies’ websites Incorrect: the companies website

Contractions and Plurals

Using Apostrophes to Omit Letters

Contractions are becoming quite common in our everyday language, and as such, most people are familiar with their use and that of the apostrophe to omit letters in word. For example, the words can’t, won’t, and aren’t are common contractions that combine the verbs can, will, and are with the word not. Most people have no problem using an apostrophe in those instances. However, when a word or number is contracted, it can be easy to accidentally use the incorrect punctuation for an apostrophe. This is mainly a problem because of the “smart quotes” feature on word processors.

Particularly in the case of fonts that use curly quotation marks for single quotes, pressing the quotation mark key to show omission of letters may result in an opening single quotation mark (‘) rather than an apostrophe (’). The key is in the curl. The curl should be in the direction of the missing letters. In other words, the tail should point down, not up.

Correct: I love rock ’n’ roll. Incorrect: I love rock ‘n’ roll.

Correct: I was born in ’64. Incorrect: I was born in ‘64.

Another thing to be careful of is the word until. Many people use 'til as the contracted form of it, but that is actually nonstandard and considered incorrect. The correct word is till, from which until was derived. Till originated around the 12th century or earlier; until didn’t pop into existence until the 13th century.

Using Apostrophes to Form Plurals

The only time an apostrophe is permitted in creating plurals is with lowercase letters. Example: Mind your p’s and q’s.

However, many grammaticians and editors don’t even use apostrophes for that purpose. So if in doubt, just don’t use them!

Any other use of an apostrophe to make a plural apart from the exception mentioned above is incorrect and deemed an “idiot’s apostrophe.” This includes writing the plurals for decades, abbreviations, and uppercase letters. While the prior practice was to add an apostrophe in these cases, it is no longer accepted as correct to do so. The only one that you could probably get away with—though the preference is still no apostrophe—is the uppercase letters.

Correct: Flared pants were popular in the 1970s and then again in the early 2000s. Incorrect: Flared pants were popular in the 1970’s and then again in the early 2000’s. Correct: Flared pants were popular in the ’70s and then again in the early 2000s. Incorrect: Flared pants were popular in the 70s and then again in the early 2000s. (An apostrophe is needed before 70s to indicate the omission of the numbers preceding it.)

Correct: How many DVDs do you own? Incorrect: How many DVD’s do you own?

Correct: I had three As and two Bs this semester! Incorrect: I had three A’s and two B’s this semester!

You should also be aware of false possessives. They often end in s but don’t indicate possession; they are simply noun-derived adjectives or adjective phrases modifying another noun.

Correct: What is your favorite Beatles song? Incorrect: What is your favorite Beatles' song?

Correct: I am not fond of New Orleans food. Incorrect: I am not fond of New Orleans’ food.

Correct: The city streets were paved with gold. Incorrect: The city’s streets were paved with gold. (This one is really tricky, but technically, inanimate objects such as a city cannot own anything; therefore, it would be incorrect to give it a possessive form.)

Also, never use an apostrophe to make a name plural. Apostrophes are only used with names to indicate possession.

Well, that wraps up The Grammar Grind series! I wanted to give special thanks to all my followers for your support on this series in particular. I’ve had a number of people come to me and say how helpful this series has been, and it’s very inspiring to know that others are finding the information useful. So thank you! I’ve really enjoyed writing this series, and I actually have a big announcement regarding this series coming up in the near future, so keep an eye out for it!

The Grammar Grind: Exclamation Marks

Exclamation marks are pretty straight forward. They are used after interjections, strong declarations, and commands to indicate intense feelings or volume. They are rarely used in formal writing but can be a great asset to fictional works when used sparingly.

When to Use Them

Exclamation points are used to express anger, excitement, nervousness, and other intense emotions. It’s pretty easy to spot when they’re necessary, and few of us have difficulties placing them. So why a whole article about them? Overuse.

In fiction writing, it’s easy to sometimes get a bit overzealous with these guys, especially when it comes to scenes with conflict and a lot of dialogue. While most people believe that exclamation marks create tension, I tend to argue otherwise. A large quantity can actually detract from the tension and hide some of the underlying emotions that really make a scene intense. It can also hinder your writing abilities. Your best bet is to use a mixture of stylizing for emphasis with dialogue and couple that with a strong narrative. It kind of goes back to the old “show rather than tell” advice.

Here’s an example of overuse:

“You came all this way just to tell me that?! How dare you!” Cynthia screamed.

“Well, excuse me for being honest!” Tom spat. “I thought we were in this relationship together, but I was wrong!”

With that, Tom stormed out of the room and left Cynthia fuming.

“Ugh! That man!” Cynthia said to thin air. “I don’t know what I ever saw in him!”

While this is clearly a tense scene and there are some heightened emotions behind the dialogue, the writing is pretty flat, and the multitude of exclamation marks come across as rather amateurish, leaving the whole scene to be less effective than desired. So let’s try cutting out some exclamation marks, stylizing a few words that we want to emphasize, and letting the actions of the characters express more of their emotions:

“You came all this way just to me that? How dare you!” Cynthia’s voice shook as she spoke.

Salty droplets splattered down her new Chanel sweater. It was a beautiful shade of green that made her blue eyes shimmer even more as they welled up with fresh tears.

Tom’s face slackened as Cynthia’s eyes dropped to the floor. She quickly crossed her arms and snapped her head up long enough to shoot him a rather nasty look.

His brow immediately furrowed. He spat some as he spoke: “Well, excuse me for being honest! I thought we were in this relationship together.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I guess I was wrong.”

Cynthia uncrossed her arms and wiped her tear-streaked face. Her mouth opened then closed, but no words came out. After a second failed attempt, Tom stormed out of the room.

Cynthia clenched her fists, her whole body shaking. “UGH! That man…” she said to thin air. “I don’t know what I ever saw in him.”

Now the emotions clearly have some depth to them. The dialogue conveys anger, betrayal, confusion, and pain, all without excessive use of exclamation marks. The stronger narrative also adds quite a bit to the quality of the writing, providing extra imagery, reducing the amount of “talking heads,” and using body language to convey what the characters are feeling from moment to moment.

Another common issue with exclamation marks is inappropriate use. This deals with using them in places where they seldom belong, such as formal writing, and places where a period or other punctuation would suffice.

For example, an exclamation mark can be used after a word and placed in parenthesis in order to emphasize it; however, this is often overkill.

We got a huge (!) tax return this year.

The word “huge” is indicative enough. An exclamation mark is completely unnecessary and just looks contrived.

We got our tax return (yay!) and plan to buy a new TV with it.

The combination of the parenthesis and exclamatory word technically work, but there’s a better way of writing the sentence that isn’t quite so informal.

Yay! We got our tax return and plan to buy a new TV with it.

Or simply,

We got our tax return and plan to buy a new TV with it.

After all, everyone can gather the excitement of the situation based on the content of the sentence.

Exclamation marks can also accompany onomatopoeias, but again, there is usually a better way to write the sentence.

Example: Thud! He plopped the heavy book on the table in front of him. Rewrite: The heavy book landed with a thud as he plopped it on the table in front of him.

Stylization and Other Punctuation

When stating the title of a work, punctuation marks should only be italicized if they are part of the title itself.

I loved the latest episode of Mythbusters!      NOT   I loved the latest episode of Mythbusters!

Sometimes statements beginning with interrogative words can correctly and effectively use exclamation marks.

Why, I never!

Intense questions sometimes use them as well, though I prefer the combination of an exclamation mark and a question mark in those cases, better known as an interrobang.

Are you serious?!        OR      Are you serious‽

When using exclamation points with dialogue, the context will determine whether they should lie inside or outside the quotation marks. If the exclamation mark is part of the dialogue itself, it belongs inside the quotation marks. If it is part of the statement about the dialogue, it belongs outside.

He warned me to “be careful about that!”     VS.      He warned me to “be careful about that”!

(Emphasis is on the warning in the first sentence and on the statement as a whole in the second.)

In very informal writing, multiple exclamation points can be used together. However, it’s recommended to keep that to personal emails and Facebook posts and the like.

Exclamation marks are useful tools in creative writing. They can enhance dialogue when used sparingly and mingle with question marks to create some pretty cool punctuation. Just make sure they don’t become a crutch!

The Grammar Grind: Question Marks

This post has been a long time coming, but I appreciate everyone's patience during my maternity leave! Question marks are one of the most common basic types of punctuation. However, they are one of the easiest to misuse, so I wanted to include them in this series to clarify the rules, exceptions, and conflicting style choices.

There are exactly four situations in which a question mark should be used: after a direct question, after a sentence that includes both a statement and a question, after a rhetorical question, and with interrogative dialogue. Never use a question mark after an indirect question.

Direct vs. Indirect Questions

Direct questions are interrogative sentences that directly ask the reader (or another character) something and demand a direct answer. They typically start with why, when, how, what, where, could, should, would, if, or will.

Example A: Why did you come home so late? Example B: When was the last time she talked to you?

Indirect questions are statements and should end with a period. They simply express a thought and don’t require a direct answer. You’ll know that a sentence is an indirect question by the placement of the interrogative key words; rather than starting the sentence, they will be found in the middle.

Example A: I wonder where my shoes are. Example B: I asked John what he had eaten for lunch. Example C: Suzy wanted to know if I had time to look over her paper.

Be careful to distinguish between an indirect question and an embedded question, which does require a question mark at the end.

Example: I wonder: what would he say if I asked him out?

…which is different from…

I wonder what he would say if I asked him out.

They key is in the placement of the two words “would” and “he.” When the key interrogative word comes first, the sentence becomes a question. When the subject/pronoun comes first, the sentence becomes a statement/indirect question.

Statement/Question Sentences

Sentences that include both a statement and a question—mixed sentences—should also end with a question mark. The emphasis is placed on the interrogative predicate in those cases, which means that the overall sentence becomes interrogative itself. And following the punctuation hierarchy, a question mark overrides a period in every case.

Example: It’s going to rain soon, isn’t it?

Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical questions are those requiring no answer. They are often asked with a sarcastic tone or in order to express a feeling. And while some sources argue that these types of questions should end in periods since there isn’t really an expected response, I strongly disagree and insist that they end with a question mark. Here’s why.

This type of sentence still presents a question, and using period to end the sentence could cause potential confusion for the reader as far as interpreting the correct meaning of the sentence.

Incorrect: What do I have to do to get noticed around here. (Even Microsoft Word flags the punctuation as incorrect, by the way.) The person asking the question isn’t looking for a direct answer so much as they are expressing their frustration.

However, apart from even looking incorrect, this sentence is still a question and should be punctuated as such.

Correct: What do I have to do to get noticed around here?

If you still need convincing that a question mark is the more appropriate punctuation, look at the historical account of the question mark. The standard use of the punctuation with this type of sentence actually derived from a specific punctuation mark that was the reverse image of the standard one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_mark#Stylistic_variants. Its use just died out sometime in the 17^th century.

Question Marks and Quotation Marks

As mentioned in a previous article of mine about quotation marks, question marks should be placed logically within the sentence. If the overall statement is a question, the question mark should fall outside the parenthesis. If only the quoted material is interrogative, the question mark should go inside the quotation marks. And as with any other sentence, the question mark always overrides a period.

Example A: What do you mean when you say, “We’ll see”? Example B: I asked Sarah, “When do you think you’ll be finished?”

(Notice that the question mark is the only ending punctuation in both cases.)

Other Stylistic Differences

Lastly, there can be some stylistic differences that truly depend on the type of piece you are writing. For instance, if you are writing a work of fiction, you might choose to keep the first letter of a series of questions lowercase.

Example: Where are you going? the mall? the movies? to a restaurant?

That is perfectly acceptable with an informal piece. However, because they are considered new sentences whereby the question mark is replacing a period, my personal preference (and the style you should probably use if you are writing a more formal piece) is to capitalize the beginning of each question:

Where are you going? The mall? The movies? To a restaurant?

Word also flags the lowercase punctuation here as incorrect, just as it did with the period at the end of a rhetorical question.

Overall, question marks are pretty simple and straight forward. Just take a logical approach, and you’ll have the hang of them in no time.