English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
We place quotation marks around words that are spoken. The words inside of the quotation marks are always a complete sentence, and that sentence must begin with a capital letter. Mary said, “Please let me drive the car.” The words… Read more464. Using Quote Marks with Conversation
Titles of large works (books, plays, newspapers, magazines) get written with italics. We put quotation marks around the titles of smaller works. A book is large, and its title gets italicized. A short story is smaller. Put quotation marks around… Read more463. Using Quote Marks with Titles
When something is italicized, the words are written in italics – a type of font that looks like script. The titles of larger written works are always italicized. Be sure to italicize the titles of books, plays, magazines, newspapers, movies,… Read more462. Some Titles Get Italicized
A professional or personal title is part of a person’s name. All titles should be capitalized.Mrs. = Missus (used for a married woman)Miss = Mistress (used for an unmarried woman)Ms. = Missus or Mistress (used for any woman, married or… Read more457. Titles are Part of Proper Nouns
A proper noun begins with an upper-case letter and names a specific person. A common noun for a person is teacher. A proper noun for this same person is Mrs. Johnson. Here are more examples of common nouns and the… Read more447. Proper Nouns Name Specific People
A brand name is the name of a product or the product’s company. Kleenex is a brand of facial tissue.Crisco is a brand of cooking oil.Duncan Hines is a brand of baking mixes.Prairie Farms is a brand of dairy products.Spaulding… Read more459. Brand Names are Proper Nouns
Proper nouns name things. A proper noun is always capitalized. Names of the days of the week are proper nouns. Days of the week should always be capitalized. SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday I have softball practice on Thursday, and we play in a… Read more451. Proper Nouns Name Days of the Week
Common nouns can name buildings: house, school, store, restaurant, gas station Common nouns can name outdoor places: park, ocean, state, city, river, country, mountain range Common nouns can name rooms in a building: kitchen, living room, bedroom, rest room, courtroom… Read more448. Common Nouns Name Places
Books, plays, poems, stories, songs, and newspaper articles are some of the written works that have a title. Whenever we write a title, certain words in the title must be capitalized. Always capitalize the first and last word of the… Read more461. Capitalizing Words in a Title
All holiday names are proper nouns and must be capitalized.Father’s Day, Mother’s DayChristmas Day, New Year’s Day, HanukkahMemorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s DayHalloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day We have no school on Veteran’s Day.My grandparents will visit on Easter.On Halloween, my… Read more453. Names of Holidays are Proper Nouns