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Using Capital Letters #5, by Dennis Oliver
Using Capital Letters
(#4)
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Capital
(or upper-case) letters
are important in
English,
and
there are many
situations when you
should use
them.
We've already reviewed
several basic situations
when
capital letters are needed. Here
are four
more
very common ones:
| 1. |
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Capitalize the first letter
of the names
of
continents and
other
divisions of
the
world
or a country.
Examples:
Europe / Africa / Australia
/ Oceania
the Eastern Hemisphere /
the Southern Hemisphere
the Middle East / Central
Europe
the Pacific Coast / the Arctic
Circle
New England / the Midwest
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| 2. |
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Capitalize the names of
states, provinces,
and other
political divisions:
Arkansas / New Jersey / Idaho
Alberta / Saskatchewan / British
Columbia
Sonora / Sinaloa / Chiapas
Gifu Prefecture / Minas Gerais
/ Valais
Maricopa County / Lafayette
Parish
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| 3. |
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Capitalize the first letter
of geographic
features
(such as rivers, lakes, mountains,
etc.) when
they have a name.
Examples:
Mt. Everest / Mt. Fuji / Mt.
Rainier
the Arctic Ocean / the Indian
Ocean
the Gulf of Mexico / the Persian
Gulf
the Mississippi River / the
Amazon
River
Lake Michigan / Lake Baikal
the Everglades / the Okefinokee
Swamp
the Gobi Desert
the Isthmus of Panama
the Indonesian Archipelago
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| 4. |
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Capitalize city when it is part of a name:
New York City, New
York
Kansas City, Kansas
Mexico City, Mexico
Kuwait City, Kuwait
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Special Notes:
| 1. |
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Do not capitalize continent and other
geographical divisions when they are
used without a
name:
Examples:
Africa is a continent.
The earth is often divided
into
two hemispheres.
After many days at sea, the
sailors were
happy when they finally sighted the
coast.
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| 2. |
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Do not capitalize state, province, and
other political
divisions when these words
are used generally:
I lived in five other states
before I moved
to Arizona.
Which Canadian province is
near the
state of Washington?
What's the largest prefecture
in Japan?
Most U.S. states are divided
into
counties,
but Louisiana is divided into
parishes.
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| 3. |
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Do not capitalize river, mountain, and
other geographic
features when they are
used generally:
Examples:
The mountains along Oregon's
northern
coast are
covered with evergreen
forests.
In the 19th century, steamboats
traveled
along many U.S. rivers.
Minnesota is known for its
many lakes.
Phoenix, Arizona is a subtropical
desert.
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| 4. |
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Do not capitalize city when it used in
a general
way.
Flagstaff is a small city
in northern
Arizona.
What's the largest city in
Brazil?
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