Capitilization & Punctuation Rules

The following items should always be Capitalized:

•the first word in a sentence
examples:
The girl went to the store. When does the movie begin? Shut the door, please.

•proper nouns holidays, weekdays, months special days
cities, countries, states, counties names, titles, initials
streets, boulevards, buildings, parks
examples: Florida, Dr. J. L. Washington, Main Street

•the pronoun I
example: Should I bring a sweater?

•the greeting and closing of a friendly letter
examples:
Dear John, Your friend, Sincerely,

•titles of books, magazines, newspapers, poems and songs
examples:
Charlotte's Web, Ranger Rick

•abbreviations
examples: P.T.A. M.D. Ph.D.

The following is a guide on when to use Punctuation.

1.Use a period at the end of delcarative sentences (statements) and imperative sentences (commands).
Examples: I like ice cream. Bring me a spoon

2.Use a period after each part of an abbreviation or a person's initials.
Examples: Mr. Pierson C. A. Weaver

3.Use a question mark at the end of interrogative sentences (questions).
Example: Where is the office?

4.Use an exclamation point to express strong feeling or emotion.
Example: Stop that! Watch out!

5.Use quotation marks to show a direct quote.
Example: Chris said, "I am going to play golf tomorrow."

6.Use quotation marks to show titles of short poems, stories, or songs.
Example: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

7.Use an apostrophe to show omission of letters in contractions.
Examples: can't shouldn't didn't

8.Use an apostrophe to show possession.
Example: Crystal's purse is on the table.

9.Use a comma to separate items in a date or an address.
Examples: February 17, 1960 Tampa, Florida

10.Use a comma after a greeting or closing of a letter.
Examples: Dear Mike, Sincerely,

11.Use a comma to separate words in a series.
Example: He found rocks, shells, and feathers.

12.Use a comma with nouns of direct address.
Example: Robert, where are you going?

13.Underline the titles of books, plays, magazines, movies, television shows, long poems, and visual works of art.