Learn on PengiElements of Language, 5th CourseChapter 12: Capitalization: Rules of Standard Usage

Lesson 2: Capitalization: Geographical Names, Heavenly Bodies, Organizations, Institutions, Businesses, Brand Names, Buildings, and Structures

In this Grade 8 grammar lesson from Elements of Language, 5th Course, students learn the rules for capitalizing geographical names such as cities, countries, bodies of water, and natural landmarks, as well as the names of planets, stars, and constellations. The lesson also covers capitalization of organizations, teams, government bodies, and institutions, including the rule that short prepositions, articles, and coordinating conjunctions within multi-word names are not capitalized. Practice exercises give students hands-on experience identifying and correcting capitalization errors in context.

Section 1

Capitalizing Geographical Names

Definition

Capitalize geographical names, including the names of towns and cities, counties, townships, provinces, states, countries, continents, islands, mountains, bodies of water, parks and forests, other natural landmarks, regions, roads, streets, highways, and other place names.

Explanation

When you're talking about a specific place on a map—like a city, country, ocean, or even a street—you need to give it a capital letter. It's like giving the place its proper name! A key thing to remember is that short connecting words like of, and, or the usually stay in lowercase unless they're the very first word of the name.

Examples

  • We visited the city of Chicago last summer. [city]
  • My friend lives on Elm Street. [street name]
  • The Strait of Gibraltar separates two continents. [The preposition of is not capitalized.]
  • We drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park on our trip.

Section 2

Capitalizing Heavenly Bodies

Definition

The names of planets, stars, constellations, and other heavenly bodies are capitalized.

Explanation

When you look up at the night sky, any specific planet, star, or star pattern you name gets a capital letter. However, be careful with the common words sun and moon—they usually don't get capitalized. The word earth is a special case: only capitalize it when you're listing it with another capitalized planet, like when comparing Mars and Earth.

Examples

  • My favorite planet to observe is Mars. [planet]
  • We learned to find the constellation Cassiopeia in our astronomy club. [constellation]
  • Is Jupiter warmer or colder than Earth? [Earth is capitalized because it is used with the name of another planet.]
  • The rocket returned to earth after its mission. [The word earth is not capitalized because it is not used with another heavenly body's name.]

Section 3

Capitalizing Organizations and Institutions

Definition

Capitalize the names of organizations, teams, institutions, and government bodies.

Explanation

Proper names for groups, clubs, schools, hospitals, and government departments should always be capitalized. Think of it as capitalizing the official, formal title of the group. Just like with place names, small connecting words like of and and that have fewer than five letters are usually left in lowercase.

Examples

  • She volunteers for the American Heart Association. [organization]
  • My uncle works for the Department of Justice. [The preposition of is not capitalized.]
  • The Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field. [team]
  • He is a professor at Harvard University. [institution]

Section 4

Capitalizing Businesses, Brands, and Buildings

Definition

Capitalize the names of businesses and the brand names of business products. Do not capitalize the name of a type of product. Capitalize the names of particular buildings and other structures. Do not capitalize the name of a type of building unless the word is part of the building's name.

Explanation

Capitalize the official name of a company, like Walmart, or a product brand, like Apple. However, you don't capitalize the general product type, like groceries or computer. The same rule applies to famous buildings and bridges—capitalize their unique names, like the Space Needle, but usually not the word the that comes before it.

Examples

  • My family shops at Home Depot every weekend. [business name]
  • I prefer Kleenex tissues over other brands. [product brand name]
  • Did you buy a new laptop? [product type]
  • We took a picture in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. [structure name]

Section 5

Capitalizing Vehicles and School Subjects

Definition

Capitalize the names of ships, trains, aircraft, spacecraft, and any other vehicles. Do not capitalize the names of school subjects, except course names that include a number and the names of language classes.

Explanation

Give a capital letter to the unique name of a specific vehicle, like the Mayflower or the Orient Express. It's like the vehicle's own proper name! In contrast, for most school subjects, you use lowercase. The main exceptions are language classes (like Spanish or English) and specific courses that include a number (like Chemistry II).

Examples

  • The most famous ship that sank in 1912 was the Titanic. [ship]
  • The president flies on Air Force One. [aircraft]
  • My favorite class this year is science. [school subject]
  • I am taking History 101 and German next year. [course with a number and a language class]

Section 6

Capitalizing Titles and Family Names

Definition

Capitalize a person’s title when the title comes before the person’s name. Capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word is used before or in place of a person’s name, unless the word is preceded by a possessive.

Explanation

When a title like President or Captain is used right before a person's name, it gets a capital letter as part of their formal name. The same goes for family names like Uncle or Grandma when used as a name. But, if you say "my grandma" or "her uncle," the word stays lowercase because the possessive word (my, her) is already doing the job.

Examples

  • We have a meeting with Principal Jones this afternoon. [title before a name]
  • Can you please ask Aunt Maria for her recipe? [family relationship as a name]
  • When is Dad coming home? [family relationship used in place of a name]
  • My aunt is a doctor. [family relationship preceded by a possessive]

Section 7

Capitalizing Titles of Works

Definition

Capitalize the first and last words and all important words in titles and subtitles.

Explanation

When writing the title of a book, song, article, or movie, you have a special rule. Always capitalize the first and last words. Then, capitalize all the "important" words in between. The words you usually don't capitalize are short prepositions (like of, in, from), articles (a, an, the), and conjunctions (and, but, for).

Examples

  • Have you read the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? [The articles the and the conjunction and are not capitalized.]
  • My favorite short story is "The Gift of the Magi." [The preposition of and the article the are not capitalized.]
  • We watched the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark last night. [The preposition of and the article the are not capitalized.]

Book overview

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Chapter 12: Capitalization: Rules of Standard Usage

  1. Lesson 1

    Lesson 1: Capitalization: First Words, Pronoun I, Proper Nouns, and Proper Adjectives

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  2. Lesson 2Current

    Lesson 2: Capitalization: Geographical Names, Heavenly Bodies, Organizations, Institutions, Businesses, Brand Names, Buildings, and Structures

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  3. Lesson 3

    Lesson 3: Capitalization: Monuments, Awards, Calendar Items, Historical Events, Nationalities, Religious Names, Transportation, School Subjects, and Titles

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Lesson overview

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Section 1

Capitalizing Geographical Names

Definition

Capitalize geographical names, including the names of towns and cities, counties, townships, provinces, states, countries, continents, islands, mountains, bodies of water, parks and forests, other natural landmarks, regions, roads, streets, highways, and other place names.

Explanation

When you're talking about a specific place on a map—like a city, country, ocean, or even a street—you need to give it a capital letter. It's like giving the place its proper name! A key thing to remember is that short connecting words like of, and, or the usually stay in lowercase unless they're the very first word of the name.

Examples

  • We visited the city of Chicago last summer. [city]
  • My friend lives on Elm Street. [street name]
  • The Strait of Gibraltar separates two continents. [The preposition of is not capitalized.]
  • We drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park on our trip.

Section 2

Capitalizing Heavenly Bodies

Definition

The names of planets, stars, constellations, and other heavenly bodies are capitalized.

Explanation

When you look up at the night sky, any specific planet, star, or star pattern you name gets a capital letter. However, be careful with the common words sun and moon—they usually don't get capitalized. The word earth is a special case: only capitalize it when you're listing it with another capitalized planet, like when comparing Mars and Earth.

Examples

  • My favorite planet to observe is Mars. [planet]
  • We learned to find the constellation Cassiopeia in our astronomy club. [constellation]
  • Is Jupiter warmer or colder than Earth? [Earth is capitalized because it is used with the name of another planet.]
  • The rocket returned to earth after its mission. [The word earth is not capitalized because it is not used with another heavenly body's name.]

Section 3

Capitalizing Organizations and Institutions

Definition

Capitalize the names of organizations, teams, institutions, and government bodies.

Explanation

Proper names for groups, clubs, schools, hospitals, and government departments should always be capitalized. Think of it as capitalizing the official, formal title of the group. Just like with place names, small connecting words like of and and that have fewer than five letters are usually left in lowercase.

Examples

  • She volunteers for the American Heart Association. [organization]
  • My uncle works for the Department of Justice. [The preposition of is not capitalized.]
  • The Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field. [team]
  • He is a professor at Harvard University. [institution]

Section 4

Capitalizing Businesses, Brands, and Buildings

Definition

Capitalize the names of businesses and the brand names of business products. Do not capitalize the name of a type of product. Capitalize the names of particular buildings and other structures. Do not capitalize the name of a type of building unless the word is part of the building's name.

Explanation

Capitalize the official name of a company, like Walmart, or a product brand, like Apple. However, you don't capitalize the general product type, like groceries or computer. The same rule applies to famous buildings and bridges—capitalize their unique names, like the Space Needle, but usually not the word the that comes before it.

Examples

  • My family shops at Home Depot every weekend. [business name]
  • I prefer Kleenex tissues over other brands. [product brand name]
  • Did you buy a new laptop? [product type]
  • We took a picture in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. [structure name]

Section 5

Capitalizing Vehicles and School Subjects

Definition

Capitalize the names of ships, trains, aircraft, spacecraft, and any other vehicles. Do not capitalize the names of school subjects, except course names that include a number and the names of language classes.

Explanation

Give a capital letter to the unique name of a specific vehicle, like the Mayflower or the Orient Express. It's like the vehicle's own proper name! In contrast, for most school subjects, you use lowercase. The main exceptions are language classes (like Spanish or English) and specific courses that include a number (like Chemistry II).

Examples

  • The most famous ship that sank in 1912 was the Titanic. [ship]
  • The president flies on Air Force One. [aircraft]
  • My favorite class this year is science. [school subject]
  • I am taking History 101 and German next year. [course with a number and a language class]

Section 6

Capitalizing Titles and Family Names

Definition

Capitalize a person’s title when the title comes before the person’s name. Capitalize a word showing a family relationship when the word is used before or in place of a person’s name, unless the word is preceded by a possessive.

Explanation

When a title like President or Captain is used right before a person's name, it gets a capital letter as part of their formal name. The same goes for family names like Uncle or Grandma when used as a name. But, if you say "my grandma" or "her uncle," the word stays lowercase because the possessive word (my, her) is already doing the job.

Examples

  • We have a meeting with Principal Jones this afternoon. [title before a name]
  • Can you please ask Aunt Maria for her recipe? [family relationship as a name]
  • When is Dad coming home? [family relationship used in place of a name]
  • My aunt is a doctor. [family relationship preceded by a possessive]

Section 7

Capitalizing Titles of Works

Definition

Capitalize the first and last words and all important words in titles and subtitles.

Explanation

When writing the title of a book, song, article, or movie, you have a special rule. Always capitalize the first and last words. Then, capitalize all the "important" words in between. The words you usually don't capitalize are short prepositions (like of, in, from), articles (a, an, the), and conjunctions (and, but, for).

Examples

  • Have you read the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? [The articles the and the conjunction and are not capitalized.]
  • My favorite short story is "The Gift of the Magi." [The preposition of and the article the are not capitalized.]
  • We watched the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark last night. [The preposition of and the article the are not capitalized.]

Book overview

Jump across lessons in the current chapter without opening the full course modal.

Continue this chapter

Chapter 12: Capitalization: Rules of Standard Usage

  1. Lesson 1

    Lesson 1: Capitalization: First Words, Pronoun I, Proper Nouns, and Proper Adjectives

    LearnPractice
  2. Lesson 2Current

    Lesson 2: Capitalization: Geographical Names, Heavenly Bodies, Organizations, Institutions, Businesses, Brand Names, Buildings, and Structures

    LearnPractice
  3. Lesson 3

    Lesson 3: Capitalization: Monuments, Awards, Calendar Items, Historical Events, Nationalities, Religious Names, Transportation, School Subjects, and Titles

    LearnPractice