Unit Focus
Function and usage of capitalization in writing
Tuning-in Activity
Work in pairs for the following quiz.
Add capital letters in the appropriate places in the following sentences.
1. i study at xiangtan university.
2. my father reads china daily every day.
3. my english teacher, mr. Johnson, speaks French, Arabic and german, and he is a christian.
4. when i was studying in the united states, I saw how American people celebrate christmas.
5. on the first of october, we celebrate the founding of the people’s republic of china.
Focus: When and How to Capitalize
? Capitalize the first word of a sentence or direct quotation
He often goes to the municipal library on Sundays.
“ What happened to ‘Jackie’?” I wanted to know.
“ There I was not,” I said, “before ‘Jack’ cropped up in our family, so why should I try to
trace it that far back?”
Note: If a quoted sentence is broken into two parts and put in two pairs of quotation marks, the second
part does not begin with a capital letter unless the first word is a proper noun or an adjective derived
from a proper noun.
? Capitalize names of persons and the word I.
After I made observations for a week, Mr. Hobbs asked me for a report of my findings.
There is no more romantic figure in history than Alexander, the son of Philip, King of Macedonia.
? Capitalize names of particular places.
John graduated from Harvard University, USA.
We’ve decided to spend our summer vacation in Beijing.
? Capitalize names of days of the week, months and holidays.
We don’t have to go to school on Sundays.
The Christmas season lasts from Christmas Eve till after New Year’s Day.
? Capitalize names of commercial products.
He prefers a Lenovo cell phone to a Motorola.
Coca-Cola is the world’s leading soft drink.
? Capitalize titles of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, stories, poems, films,
television shows, s