Grammar Conventions Notes
Capitalization
 Proper nouns, proper adjectives, and the Deity
o Joe Smith, Paris, United States, Ms. Laughlin, Dr. Jones, Aunt May, the
President of the U.S.
o Spanish, Californian
o the Lord, God, the Bible, He (referring to God)
 Geographical Names
o Africa, Long Island Sound, The Himalayas, Route 80, the South
 Names relating to organizations, history, and time (not seasons)
o Adams Middle School, GHS, the Civil War, Prohibition, December, New
Year‟s Day, Monday
 Languages, peoples, courses, transportation, and abbreviations
o German, Jewish, World History I (not social studies), the Titanic, B.C., A.M.
 First words (of sentences, quotes with new sentences, letters, titles, outlines)
Commas
 To separate ideas
o Pete joined us, but he was late.
o Jon arrived at last, and we started the search.
 In a series
o Jill, Marie, and Meg went skiing.
o Sam jumped, barked, and yelped with joy.
o She was a proud, dignified woman.
 After introductory elements
o Yes, I will be there for dinner.
o After circling around the block, we found the house.
 With interrupters
o The report, however, was inaccurate.
o Nick, nevertheless, wanted to tell his boring story.
 Nouns of direct address
o On your way out, James, grab my dirty laundry.
o That was a great game, Coach Hereford
 Appositives (group of words used directly after another word to explain it)
o Mrs. Montanero, our math teacher, is waiting for us.
 With quotations
o Mark Twain said, “When in doubt, tell the truth.”
o “I want to go to the store,” said Biff, “while it‟s still early.”
 Dates, addresses, letters
o July 4, 2008
o The letter wasn‟t delivered until July 2006, although the postmark was
March 1, 2005, from Clinton.
o Miami, Florida
Berlin, Germany
o Please forward our mail to 724 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield, Vermont
02102, until the end of next year.
o Dear John,
Yours truly,
Semicolon
 Separate the parts of a compound sentence without a conjunction
o Directions are included; they are not complete.
 Before a conjunctive adverb that joins the clauses of a comp. sent.
o The classes were filled; however, room was made for me.
 Separate items in a series (special circumstances)
o I have been to Hartford, New Haven, and Guilford, CT; Springfield and
Worcester, MA; and Rochelle, NY.
Colon
 Introduce a list of items (never after a prep. or verb)
o We needed the following items: a knife, a banana, and carrots.
 Greeting of business letter
o Dear Mr. Walker:
 Between numerals in time
o 9:00 P.M.
Hyphen
 Compound numbers (21-99)
o twenty-three
forty-seven
 Compound nouns
o Commander-in-chief
great-grandfather
 Compound adjectives with a noun after them
o up-to-date magazine (not “a magazine that is up to date”)
Apostrophe
 Form possessive of a singular noun
o boss‟s desk
o Nate‟s apple
 Form possessive of a plural noun that doesn‟t end in s
o women‟s
children‟s
 Form possessive of plural noun that ends in s
o drivers‟ cars
pilots‟ planes
 Form possessive of indefinite pronouns (never use with possessive)
o someone‟s
anyone‟s
o yours
hers
theirs
 Form plurals of letters, figures, and words
o two m‟s
four 6‟s
no if‟s, and‟s, or but‟s
 Forming contractions
o he is= he‟s
are not= aren‟t
I am= I‟m
 Show part of date that is omitted
o „80= 1980
„08=2008