Comments on: Capital letters

By: tashword

tashword — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:03:24 +0000

hi Simon.

If the product name is Kingsmill Bread then both words may well be capitalised but if the brand if Kingsmill and their product is bread, you would write Kingsmill bread.

If you write similar emails to customers all the time, have you thought of making some standard emails to save yourself time?

By: Simon Murphy

Simon Murphy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:07:40 +0000

I work in retail and often email customers who require information. With regards to capital letters if i was writing “We stock Kingsmill Bread.”, is this the correct format or should bread be in lowercase?

By: tashword

tashword — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:08:40 +0000

hi Lynette, I have now corrected a simple typo – thanks for pointing it out as I make errors despite my best intentions. I have many books on English use already thanks, and utilise that knowledge to help people who ask questions here (I think you are confusing some of those questions with my writing).

And I have to disagree – capital letters are used for more than proper pronouns, they are also used for proper nouns, acronyms and so forth as outlined in my original post.

By: tashword

tashword — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:03:39 +0000

Thanks for joining in Lynette. Amy wasn’t correct when she stated mathematics is a proper noun (as I pointed out on the same day she made that comment) but I appreciate she was trying to help Kathryn. NO bubbles burst for me…

By: Lynette

Lynette — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:47:04 +0000

Sorry tashword – you blew it with local geography (I presume that is what you meant, not georgaphy).
If you need clarification on any of this I can recommend some great books which embrace the advances of English into the 21st century.
Happy to give you the titles and authors and these authors are all great literary scholars.
One ONLY uses a capital letter for a PROPER PRONOUN.

By: Lynette

Lynette — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:43:12 +0000

You are incorrect stating mathematics is a PROPER noun. It is a noun. It is only when the noun is a proper noun one applies the capital letter – e.g.
University of WA.
However, if the departments are to be referred to individually – the department would take the subject noun i.e. mathematics, and when ASSOCIATED with the proper noun i.e. the name of the university, then it becomes the University of WA, Mathematics Department. Sadly, you will always be a mathematics teacher…no proper nouns there my dear any more than there are in doctor. We are just plain old whatevers as much as the recycling engineer, the gardener, the seamstress…
Sorry if I burst your bubble.

By: tashword

tashword — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:30:43 +0000

Thanks for those lovely words, Tracy. To answer your questions, yes you need a website – all businesses do now days but especially a writer so you can showcase your skills and knowledge. A blog is a website really, and a website can be powered by a blog so the difference is blurry. The ideal for any business will depend on your budget, technical skills and intentions for the site. As a writer, a blog is a great way to demonstrate you can write. If you don’t know much about writing, grammar, communications and good English, then why should anyone pay you to write for them? A professional writer must have a certain level of knowledge but whether my level is ideal I can’t say – it works for me and my clients. AMongst my communcaitins services, I do offer advice on setting up business communications and I coach new writers/business people. So if you would like personalised answers, Tracy, please get in touch directly.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:17:57 +0000

Amazing blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own business but don’t know where to start – do I need a website or just a blog? Do I need to know as much as you do – you give so much grammar, writing and marketing stuff in this blog is it amazing!

By: tashword

tashword — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:13:11 +0000

Thanks for adding another voice of correct capital use, Boobbyleeds.

Confused, Bobbyleads is correct – and my apologies for missing your question when you first asked it.

By: Bobbyleeds

Bobbyleeds — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:58:35 +0000

‘court’ is always used in lower case unless it is the name of somewhere e.g. Leeds County Court.