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Help!

franknbea

Help!

Hello to All!

Could anyone please recommend a good book on the rules

of capitalization?

The internet has surprisingly little to offer on the subject, or maybe I didn �t

look hard enough.

Thanks in advance

Frank

18 Aug 2010

Jayho

Hi Frank

I refer my young adult students to http://www.grammar-monster.com/ and http://www.ncistudent.net/StudySkills/WritingSkills/Punctuation.htm . There�s a bit on capitalisation.

For students intending to go to Uni I also refer them to this: Punctuating with capital letters. It�s very good for advanced students and an ideal reference for teachers.

There�s an online Capital Letters Quiz here.

Cheers

Jayho

18 Aug 2010

aftab57

Frank,

These may be of some help.

http://www.nald.ca/clr/academic/english/grammar/punctuat/module7.pdf

http://nedpc.net/resources/Capitalization.pdf

http://www.sfsu.edu/~etc/?q=system/files/Capitalization_Rules.pdf

http://jonsenglishsite.info/Proofreading%20Folder%20(Word)/Capitalization.doc

http://www.sinclair.edu/centers/tlc/pub/handouts_worksheets/grammar_punctuation_writing/capitalization_rules.pdf

http://faculty.mdc.edu/jgarcia/1341LdocDone/capitalization%20folder/CapitalizationRules.doc

http://www.howellschools.com/webpages/rveilleux/files/Capitalization%20Rules.doc

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/assets/downloads/Punctuation-exercises.doc

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/publish/sp7084.pdf

http://edic.glam.ac.uk/media/files/documents/2008-07-08/Quick_Guide_to_Grammar_and_Punctuation.pdf

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/puct.pdf

http://www.booksites.net/pearsoned.co.uk/blundel/0273685694_language.pdf

http://www.ebooksdownloadfree.com/Languages-and-Culture/English-Simplified-Grammar-Punctuation-Mechanics-Spell-BI10446.html

http://dns1.spc.int/pdffilesandpubs/style%20guide.pdf

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Fresh_Punctuation.pdf

http://www.brand.uottawa.ca/documents/style-guide.pdf

18 Aug 2010

franknbea

Thanks very much for your help.

I have found a lot of stuff that I can use.

The question which answer �s still eludes me though is this;

WHY do we always capitalize the pronoun I?

I vaguely remember being taught this a loooooooooooong time ago, but I can �t find any reference to it in any of the boks that I have or online even.

They all say we must capitalize the I but none of them tell me why.

I have some theories but if anyone out there has a concrete answer I would love it if you could share it.

Once again, my thanks in anticipation....

18 Aug 2010

lshorton99

Try this:

http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhyisi.html

Hope it helps!

Lindsey

18 Aug 2010

franknbea

BINGO!

Thanks very much, dear lady with the large sword (Sorry, but it is an attention grabber, especially for cheeky fellows)

Lindsey, that is EXACTLY what I was looking for. You are a gem!

18 Aug 2010

lshorton99

Aww - thanks! I �m here all week!

18 Aug 2010

almaz

from Lindsey �s link:

In the south of England, where Old English ic early shifted in pronunciation to ich (by palatalization), the form I did not become established until the 1700 �s

Sorry, but I can �t swallow this whole (a bit like your sword)! I find it hard to believe that �I � printed in upper case (as first person singular nominative) wasn �t common in the south of England until the early 18th century. Even a quick glance at the Shakespeare First Folios (I just happen to have one here in my pocket...) should throw this into doubt.

Mind you, the link quoted above seems to refer to the spoken form - in which case any discussion about the printed word becomes redundant.

My own theory (possibly half-baked, possibly half-remembered from an ancient English lesson) is that medieval printers used the cap to distinguish it from the Roman numeral for �1 �. Might one be correct?

18 Aug 2010

franknbea

Hi Alex,

I �m going to miss the thistle.

Your half remembered idea/lesson is similar to one of my theories (to avoid confusion with numbers and/or typos(or should one say printos in this case?).

I �m sure somewhere between Lindsey �s post and yours we have the actual fact. As for me, I have what I needed, so thanks very much.

18 Aug 2010