This document provides information and exercises about capitalization rules. It begins with a pre-test to identify capitalization errors. Key capitalization terms are then defined, and the mnemonic "MINTS" is introduced to help remember what to capitalize: Months, I, Names, Titles, Sentence starters. Several activities follow for students to practice applying capitalization rules. The document aims to teach capitalization of proper nouns like names, places, days and titles through examples, tests, and interactive exercises.

2. Capitalization Rules
Raja AlTukruni

3. Table of Contents
▪ Pre-Test 4
▪ Answers to Pre-Test 5
▪ CapitalizationVocabulary 6
▪ CapitalizationTrick: M.I.N.T.S. 7
▪ Post-Test 11
▪ Answers to Post-Test 12
▪ Activity 1 13
▪ Answers to Activity 1 14
▪ Activity 2 15
▪ Answers to Activity 2 18
▪ Activity 3 19

4. Pre-Test
▪ Directions: Underline & correct the capitalization errors in the following sentences.
1. my name is suzan, and i’m from saudi arabia.
2. in my free time, i like reading books like twilight and harry potter.
3. he visits his grandfather every friday.
4. last june, we spent two weeks in paris and went to disneyland.

5. Answers to Pre-Test
1. My name is Suzan, and I’m from Saudi Arabia.
2. In my free time, I like reading books likeTwilight and Harry Potter.
3. He visits his grandfather every Friday.
4. Last June, we spent two weeks in Paris and went to Disneyland.

6. What is Capitalization?
▪ Capitalization is writing the first letter of a word (e.g., proper names,
sentence initial, days of the week, etc.) in uppercase and the
remaining letters in lowercase.
▪ Do you ever wonder when to capitalize words?
Use this capitalization trick to help you: M.I.N.T.S.

7. M.I.N.T.S.
Stands for …
▪ M: Months, days and holidays
▪ I:The pronoun “ I “
▪ N: Names of people, places (countries, streets, cities…),
languages, institutions…
▪ T:Titles of books, movies, songs…
▪ S: Start of a sentence

8. M.I.N.T.S.
Examples
▪ M: (e.g., November, Sunday, Christmas, etc.)
▪ I: (e.g., I’m from Canada, I have two cats, etc.)
▪ N: (e.g., Racheal,Tom, London, Shanzelize Street, Hilton Hotel, King of Prussia Mall,
Starbucks, etc.)
▪ T: (e.g., SnowWhite, Mission Impossible, Grey’s Anatomy, Saturday Night Live, etc.)
▪ S: e.g., Remember the acronym MINTS before capitalizing letters.

9. Practice
▪ Directions: Circle all the words that should be capitalized.
1. the newly married couple spent their honeymoon in venice.
2. rachel and taylor have been friends for 10 years.
3. My birthday is in september third.
4. i have been in london since last thursday.
5. My favorite angelina jolie’s movie is Changeling.

10. Answers
1. the newly married couple spent their honeymoon in venice.
2. rachel and taylor have been friends for 10 years.
3. My birthday is in september third.
4. i have been in london since last thursday.
5. My favorite angelina jolie’s movie is Changeling.

11. Post- Test
Directions: Explain why these circled words should be capitalized.
1. the newly married couple spent their honeymoon in venice.
2. rachel and taylor have been friends for 10 years.
3. My birthday is in september third.
4. i have been in london since last thursday.
5. My favorite angelina jolie’s movie is Changeling.

12. Answers to Post- Test
1. The= sentence initial Venice= a city
2. Rachel andTaylor= names of people
3. September= a month
4. I= the pronoun “I” London= a city Thursday= a day
5. Angelina Jolie= names of people

13. Activity 1
▪ Directions: Underline & capitalize all the words that should be capitalized.
1. last december my friend sam went to german to visit his grandfather.
2. i go to duquesne university and work at red lobster 3 days a week.
3. My favorite song is whitney houston’s ‘i will always love you’.
4. french is my first language.
5. I miss spending thanksgiving with my family.

14. Activity 1 - Answers
1. Last December my friend Sam went to German to visit his grandfather.
2. I go to Duquesne University and work at Red Lobster 3 days a week.
3. My favorite song is Whitney Houston’s ‘IWill Always LoveYou’.
4. French is my first language.
5. I miss spendingThanksgiving with my family.

15. Activity 2
▪ Directions: Answer the following questions; use MINTS when necessary.
Example:
Q: What isTaylor’s favorite movie?
A: Taylor’s favorite movie is Eat Pray Love.

16. 2.Where does Jack live?
_______________________________
1.Who’s the King of Pop?
____________________________

17. 4.What is Frank’s favorite restaurant?
__________________________________
3. Where does Katy always go shopping?
_____________________________

18. Activity 2 – Possible Answers
1. Michael Jackson is the King of Pop.
2. Jack lives in NewYork.
3. Katy always goes shopping in Macy’s.
4. Frank’s favorite restaurant is Chili’s.

19. Activity 3
▪ Directions: Answer the following questions about yourself; use MINTS when
necessary: (Choose 6 or more)
1. What is your name?
2. Where were you born? orWhere are you from?
3. When is your birthday?
4. What do you do in your free time?

20. Cont.
5. What is your favorite movie, song and/ or book?
6. Who is your favorite actor, singer and/ or writer?
7. What is your favorite mall, restaurant or place?
8. Where have you travelled to? orWhere do you want to travel to?
9. What is your favorite holiday, month and/ or day of the week?

21. References
Haney, K. (2013). Capitalization rules [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/rtSu_QTX8JQ