How to use capital letters - Emphasis

How to use capital letters How to use capital letters Were often being asked about when to use capital letters. Why is it so confusing? The answer lies somewhere between what were used to seeing (beginning, as ever, with our school habits) and the seeming inconsistencies of best practice. As a general rule, capitals are for specific and formal; lower-case for unspecific and informal. Capital offence Avoid using all capital letters. Its very heavy on the eye; and the lack of differentiation in height and shape (compared with lower-case lettering) actually makes it more difficult to read. Also, the consensus particularly in the virtual world is that it appears as shouting, so youll come across as aggressive and alienate your reader. Initial capitals You might think the rules get murkier here. Certainly, it may come down to an issue of style within your workplace, but always bear in mind that its very easy to overdo these. Typically, use initial capitals for: proper nouns places, peoples names, company names Mr Jones, formerly of Emphasis Training Ltd, went to Swansea. official job titles Mr Jones new position was Chief Executive of Capital Placement. trade names or brands I like to have a cup of Ovaltine and read the Write Away e-bulletin on my Mac. But, generally, dont use them for: every first letter in a heading or sub-heading (check your company style on this one): its An exploration of capital letters, not An Exploration of Capital Letters compass points, unless they are part of a definable region/area/country Should we head north or north-east now? Im either moving to South Korea or the Middle East. Subsequent words (beyond the first) in a sign-off Yours sincerely Best regards Lots of love Clarifying apparent contradictions Sporadically sprinkling this or that word with a capital can lend undeserved import to certain concepts, which, in turn, implies a kind of inferiority in others. While we may be used to seeing Mum and Dad capitalised (or Doctor if we are one, President if we are Barack Obama and so on), that doesnt mean those words should always be capitalised. Where a noun stands in for a proper noun (like a name), it is capitalised; if not, it isnt. Hello Mother, hello Father. Is that my mother with your father? What are you doing, Mum? Job titles and ranks used in conjunction with the holders name are capitalised; if the title is used alone, they arent. Have you met Mr Jones, Chief Executive of Capital Placement? Yes, but Ive met many chief executives. Who is the president? Do you live under a rock? You must recognise President Obama. For governments, use lowercase unless youre referring to a particular administration. The Government announced the abolition of the 10p tax band. Representatives from governments across Europe were united in their disgust. Institutions and organisations will be capitalised when their name is used in full; on subsequent references to it, when the name is shortened, use lowercase. Ill have to refer you to the Central Committee of Capital Measures. What was the name of that committee? The exception to this rule is when the shortened reference word might be mistaken for a regular noun. The National Trust is fantastic. Yes, its the best kind of Trust. Have you heard of the African National Congress? Im well aware of that Congress. So, just remember with capitals: less is more. Exceptions that may seem inconsistent and confusing are only for clarity. If you have any more queries about capital letters or anything else leave a comment and well get back to you.

Explanation of Indirect Objects for ESL Learners

Explanation of Indirect Objects for ESL Learners Indirect objects are persons or things who receive the benefits of an action. In other words, when somebody does something for someone or something the person or thing it is done for is the indirect object. For example: Tom gave me the book.Melissa bought Tim some chocolate. In the first sentence, the direct object book was given to me, the indirect object. In other words, I received the benefit. In the second sentence, Tim received the direct object chocolate. Notice that the indirect object is placed before the direct object. Indirect Objects Answer Questions Indirect objects answer the questions to whom, to what, for whom or for what. For example: Susan offered Fred some good advice. To whom was advice (direct object in a sentence) offered? - Fred (indirect object) The teacher teaches the students science in the morning. For whom is science (direct object in a sentence) taught? - the students (indirect object) Nouns as Indirect Objects Indirect objects can be nouns (things, objects, people, etc.). Generally, however, indirect objects are usually people or groups of people. This is because indirect objects (people) receive the benefit of some action. For example: I read Peter the report. Peter is the indirect object and the report (what I read) is the direct object. Mary showed Alice her house. Alice is the indirect object and the house (what she showed) is the direct object. Pronouns as Indirect Objects Pronouns can be used as indirect objects. Its important to note that pronouns used as indirect objects must take the object pronoun form. Object pronouns include me, you, him, her, it, us, you, and them. For example: Greg told me the story. Me is the indirect object and the story (what Greg told) is the direct object. The boss lent them the start-up investment. Them is the indirect object and the start-up investment (what the boss lent) is the direct object. Noun Phrases as Indirect Objects Noun phrases (a descriptive phrase ending in a noun: a beautiful vase, an interested, wise, old professor) can also be used as indirect objects. For example: The composer wrote the dedicated, poor singers a song to perform. the dedicated, poor singers are the indirect object (noun phrase form), while a song (what the composer wrote) is the direct object. Relative Clauses as Indirect Objects Relative clauses which define an object can also function as indirect objects. For example: Peter promised the man, who had been waiting for an hour, the next tour of the building. In this case, the man is defined by the relative clause who had been waiting for an hour both of these make up the indirect object. The next tour of the building (what Peter promises) is the direct object.