Capitalization and Punctuations

•Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence

He is a very respectable boy.
How can you jump so high?
Captain of the ship is having lunch with us.


•For titles of books, magazines, journals, plays capitalize first and last words and all the words except for the articles, prepositions, conjunctions with less than 5 letters.(a, the, for...)

Gone with the Wind
The Boston Globe
I Am America
Pride and Prejudice


•Proper nouns, including the names of racial and ethnic groups; countries, nationalities, their languages, religious, etc. are capitalized.

Robin Williams
English
Orthodox
Romanticism
Mr. Perkins

Proper Adjectives

Italian-style pasta
a British accent


•Capitalize the names of specific places, regions, parks, mountains, streets...

Sun Valley Road
Elm Street
the West Coast
Wyoming
Mount Everest


•Names of the weeks, months, holidays

Friday, July, Veterans Day...

Note: Centuries and decades are not capitalized.

the twenty-first century, the eighties (the '80s)


•Governmental assemblies, departments and bureaus

the United States Congress
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
the Department of Homeland Security

Note: Articles, conjunctions and prepositions shorter than 5 letters are not capitalized.


•Titles of rank when they precede a specific name

Governor Schwarzenegger, Mr. Duncan, Mayor Edwin
governor of California, mayor of San Francisco

Note: Some higher rank titles may be capitalized even without a proper name.

The President arrived yesterday.


•Titles and abbreviations of titles that follow a name when addressing the person

Edgar Davids, Esq.
Maxim Smith, Editor


•Names referring to God by any religions and the names of sacred literature

Lord, King of Kings, Allah, the Bible, the Koran, Buddha

Note: The pronoun he, his, him is capitalized if it's referring to God.

The man prayed to God hopping He might save him.


•Historical events, periods, documents

the Vietnam War
the Stone Age
the Declaration of Independence


•The Pronouns "I"

I am a student.
Jerry and I are building a castle.
Why do I have to go?


•Proper nouns, brand names (shampoo, automobiles, ships, people, monuments, mountains...)

John, Colgate tooth paste, BMW, Ford, the Gateway Arch Memorial, University of Berkeley


•Capitalize all words in titles of distinction

Vice President
First Lieutenant


•Capitalize abbreviations of capitalized words

NATO, U.S.A, FBI, CIA, EU


•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 adverb and not capitalized)
We live in the Northeast. (this one is a particular area and used as a noun)


•Do not capitalize father, mother, uncle, aunt... unless they are used as proper names

Uncle Sam, Mother Mary
my uncle, her mother

Exercises

1. robert bruce the king of Scotland was defeated at a war and failed to regain his country’s freedom several times naturally he was in a very dejected mood sitting in his hideout he lost himself in deep though

2. bangladesh is a small country with a population of about sixteen crores she can hardly make headway so we should work hard to keep pace with the rest of the world

3. why are you going to barisal said father i want to buy some important books said saad do you need money yes father don’t go alone as time is not going well

4. once my mother said to me who came to you my friend rafiq mom she asked what did he want i said his mother is ill he needs some money i have given him five hundred taka my mother said wonderful   

5. the man said to me where are you going i am going to school said i did you go to school yesterday no i replied why didn’t you go i was very busy said i        

6. the teacher said to the boy where are you going now i am going to school said the boy did you go to school yesterday no the boy replied why did you not go i was suffering from fever said the boy

7.  is there anybody here who has ever crossed a river by a boat i have teacher i clearly remember what happened in that journey said jamal   

8. the king said what harm did I do then that you should seek to take my life with your own hand you killed my father and my two brothers the young man replied     

9. the lion roared how dare you wake me up ill kill you the mouse cried please let me go i didn't mean to wake you up            

10. after supper when i began to set out lucky trembled in fear and said alfred dear are you quite sure that the letter really came from your chief i laughed told her not to be afraid and hurried out of the room  and walked down the street

11. give me a few grains of corns i am dying of hunger said the grasshopper but what did you do in the  summer didn't you store any grain the ant remarked i was too busy in singing

12. my dear mother your letter is just to hand it seems to me that you are anxious for me why you need not think about me         

13. did people use stamps in those days asked rafiq yes answered mr jamal the first stamps were used in 1840 are they easy to get now asked rafiq they are very difficult to get his uncle replied

14. are you ill he said coldly no i said then why are you sitting when all others are workfng go out at once and give them a hand

15. i was born in a village near tangail a small river flows beside'the village the villagers bathe in the river and catch fish how happy they are what they want is peace          

16. have you heard the name of george bernard shaw this great man was born in dublin in 1856 his fathers family had been small land owners he was awarded nobel prize on literature in november 1925 arms and the man is a creation of bernard shaw here he says romantic lovers are like colourful butterfly what a great man he was

17. we would like to go on an excursion can we have your permission sir said the students yes you can arrange it after the examination is over and you should choose a historical place for that replied the headmaster thank you sir

18. where are you going said the merchant i was coming to see you what do you want to earn my bread by the labour of my hands do you really want work said the merchant yes if you have any then follow me and carry a box from a shop to my house i do not see how i can do that said the youth

19. will you come to my house tomorrow i asked the boy we can discuss the terms and conditions then i said it shall be very happy to meet you, at your house thank you so much he replied

20. once i asked a sweet little girl what is your mothers name she replied cleverly i know my mothers name but i wont tell you that i said what a clever girl you are i dont tell my mothers name to anybody whom i dont know she spoke with an air of confidence

21. alexander the great was a king of macedonia he was the son of phillip a mighty king of sparta he invaded india about 327 years before the birth of christ on the way he defeated porus and marched towards the punjab

22. the old man said can you give me some food i have been starving for two days the maid said why you beg cant you work

23. language plays a very important role in our life we use language to express our ideas thoughts find feelings language is ever present in our activities it is only a human trait

24. what is time by your watch he said its half past nine i replied i want to go to school he said would you accompany me please no i am sorry

25. the scientist shouted that he had done it addressing the scientist as sir the assistant congratulated him  on what he had done the scientist replied that he had done something new

26. we live in bangladesh almost all of us speak in bangla most of the people of the country are muslims besides hindus buddhists and Christians also live here about 80 per cent people live in the villages

27. the traveller said can you tell me the way to the nearest inn yes said the peasant do you want one in which you can spend the night no replied the traveller i only want a meal

28. thomas alva edison a great scientist was bom in 1847 in ohio america as a little boy he was very inquisitive he always wanted to know how things were done very early in life he showed that he was full of curiosity a quality which is so important to inventors

29. you look a little bit like my mother he said but you were only four jerry when you came here do  you remember her face all these years my mother lives in mannville have you seen her lately said she

30. bangladesh our homeland is mainly an agricultural country she has a large population most of the  people live in villages though they are poor they are hospitable we feel proud of our hospitality

31. george bernard shaw was born in dublin in 1856 his fathers family had been small landowners  in ireland since the late seventeenth century he was awarded nobel prize for literature in november 1950

32. mount everest which is in the himalayan mountains of india between tibet and nepal is the highest mountain in the world it is over 29,000 feet above sea level it was named after an english man george everest who was the first to survey the himalayas in 1841

33. what can i teach you asked nasiruddin we dont know replied the students you are students but you do not know anything so i cant teach you anything said nasiruddin

34. once upon a time there was a little boy called paulo one day he saw a beautiful blue bird in his garden the bird had a bean in its claw the bird said to paulo take this bean and plant it in your garden

35. my father'looked at me in anger and said where have you been so long and why are you wasting your time after a moment he said will you not appear in the final examination i replied i went to my friends house to borrow an essential book but he was not at home so i had to wait for him

36. he said i can chop some wood today i said but i have a boy coming from the orphanage im the boy you but you are small size does not matter chopping wood he said

37. where do you like to go sir said the ticket officer to the passenger i want to go to Chittagong said  the passenger how many tickets do you need i need five tickets here are the tickets they will cost one thousand taka said the officer

38. hold your tongues he muttered glaring fiercely in their faces have you not read the warning on the door we pray for allah's pardon cried the dervishes our lives are at your mercy

39. will you go to school today the mother said to her son no mother our classes are suspended then  go to market and bring some vegetables let me be ready and give me money

40. the teacher said to nasim why are you talking in the classroom you should behave yourself nasim replied sir i am soriy i am asking rabiul to lend me his pen my pen has run out

41. ts eliot was born on September 26 1888 in st louis missouri after studying at harvard       and sorborne he emigrated to england in 1914

42. will you buy my hair asked della i buy hair said madame take off your hat lets have a sight of it

43. my friend said to me why are you sitting alone in your room don't you see the rains stopped and i the sky is clear lets go for a walk in the open field i said angrily leave me alone

44. i never eat anything for luncheon she said oh dont say that i answered generously i never eat more than one thing she said i think people eat far too much now a days

45. that cant be replied the nightingale i cant have any nest in the palace i love to live in the green wood i fly around to the poor fishermen to the peasants huts to the people who live far away from the palace

46. death is inevitable everybody knows it yet everybody forgets it for the necessity of life again someone becomes immortal by welcoming the death with a smiling face someone dies many times before death

47. i have got gpa-5 in the ssc exam said rafiq congratulations said i what do you intend to do now i want to study in a imputed college and will try to get admission in rajuk college rafiq replied

48. i came to dhaka this morning i sent you a telegram before starting for home he said did you receive it in time he asked no i replied

49. rifa said to tasfika how are you i went to your house yesterday but did not find you where did  you go i went to the station said tasfika i had to receive my maternal uncle

50. william shakespeare the monarch of world literature was born on 23 april 1564 in Stratford on avon his mother was mary arden and his father was john shakespeare he was not much educated he had little knowledge of grammar

51. what kind of stories did aesop tell said anwar fables replied mrs amin do you know what fables are no replied anwar well continued mrs amin fables are stories with a message or a moral

52. summer the first season of bangla year consists of baishakh and jaishta fruits of different items  are seen available in the summer season when strong wind blows the children and girls come out  under the trees to pick up mangoes it is risky to go out because it might cause an accident

53. the buckingham palace is in england it was originally built for the duke of buckingham in 1703 and was called buckingham house king george iii bought it in 1761 it was remodelled and enlarged by a famous architect john nash

54. why dont you attend classes regularly the teacher said to the students you cant expect good results  unless you attend classes as i tell you i am sorry sir i have offended you said the student

55. mother is an unending sweet name she loves her children never neglects her duties to them when i think if my mother will leave and embrace the eternity i am at a loss how we can bear this separation

56. porter you may go said the mistress of the house laughing you have gained your freedom by allah  he replied i wont leave the house until ive heard the stories of my companions

57. newspaper contains news and views of life social and economic literary and cultural national and international political and religious daily newspaper contains features of various sorts including science

fiction

58. dhaka the capital of bangladesh has its own attractions it is especially famous for its mosques once its name was jahangirnagar and it was famous for muslin cloth

59. rabindranath tagore is my favourite author he was born at jorasanko in calcutta on the 7th may 1861  my brother loves him very much

60. where are you from said the teacher i am from nepal said the student how did you find dhaka when  you first arrived said the teacher well i like it i think the city very beautiful said the student

61. how much do you want said the mayor a thousand guilders said pied piper all right said the mayor  we will pay you thousand guilders when will you set to work now replied the pied piper

62. why are you putting up the food in your pocket sir why don't you eat asked the nobleman i am  doing the right thing my dress deserves these rich dishes replied sheikh saadi. i don't understand  that you mean to say said the nobleman and i'm sorry

63. are you brothers the mistress of the house said turning to the dervishes no by-allah they said  were poor wanderers who met by mere chance we pray for allahs pardon

64. do not woriy about a few mistakes said the teacher you can learn a lot through your mistakes  do we learn from our mistakes asked the boy yes we learn

65. zaman can you tell me what i am teaching the teacher asked im sorry sir i cant follow replied  zaman you cant because you are not attentive the teacher said.

66. why did you not go to school yesterday said the mother i was ill mum the girl replied how are you today the mother asked again well said the girl

67. did people use. stamps in those days asked rafiq yes answered mr jamal the first stamps were used in 1840 are they easy to get now asked rafiq they are very difficult to get his uncle replied.

68. whats your programme after the examination asked sadia joya said i’ve not yet decided can you suggest any lets go on a picnic said sadia what an excellent idea i shall certainly join you said joya

69. follow my example she said as we shook hands and never eat more than one thing for luncheon ill do better  than that i retorted ill eat nothing for dinner tonight humorist she cried gaily jumping into a cab

70. i have one word to say to you said the lawyer either take my advice or walk out of my chamber thank you said the client i am leaving your chamber

71. will you go to college today the father said to her son no father our classes are suspended then go to market  and bring some vegetables let me be ready and give me money

72. overhearing their whispers the caliph said to the dervishes are you not of this house then no they replied we  have never been in this place before

73. dear how can you disbelieve me i have done everything yes in the true sense everything for you it is time  i am sure to learn about everything you question

74. oh my lord please dont kill the child said the woman let her have him the king said now everything is clear to me pointing to the woman he said to the servant give her the child ,

75. who are jolly those who have sound health are jolly sound mind lies in sound body minds become jolly when our life is filled with pleasure