Do you capitalize son
nouns - Do I capitalize s on "son" when it's used casually such as "Say hi to your pa for me, son."?
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Modified 2 years ago
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"Tell your pa I'm here, sonny." or "Tell your pa I'm here, Sonny." (When the boy's name is not Sonny.)
- nouns
- capitalization
As noted by Edwin Asworth in his answer, when used in direct address, honorifics are usually capitalized. This applies when they are used alone or as part of a name.
Please help me, Doctor.
Please help me, Dr. Jones.
But as discussed on the website of the Chicago Manual of Style, capitalization of terms in direct address also goes beyond honorifics to encompass virtually any word used in direct address in lieu of a name.
I love you, Father.
Oh, Cutie, look this way!
Hey, Buddy, can you spare a dime?
Excuse me Son, but quit while you're ahead.*
*(Said to me by a judge when I interrupted him. I could hear the capitalization in his tone of voice. I shut up.)
1
Some honorifics act as complete replacements for a name, as "Sir" or "Ma'am", or "Your Honor". I don't see why 'Son' or 'Dad' should not be afforded this honour. Essentially, only nitpickers are going to argue the toss if you choose the version that they don't like.
4
In the past, instead of a boy's name, men commenly called boys boy, kid or son, even sonny.
Imagine Humphrey Bogart saying in an old, black and white Hollywood movie:
Tell your pa I'm here, boy/kid/son/sonny.
But this is not a title used in place of a person's name and, therefore, should not be capitalized.
Compare
- Give Dad my love.
- Thanks so much for the present, Auntie!
- I miss you, Son.
One of the grayest areas ever in grammar. My take.
A mother always calls her son Hon. Short for honey, of course. It get's a cap. If she uses hon/honey/dear/dearest/luvvy on occasion, no cap. Is it a constant replacement for actual name? Cap it. Used on occasion? No cap.
His father always calls him Son. Gets capped.
His grandfather always calls him Kiddo. Cap it.
The boy always calls his grandfather Gramps and refers to him using it. Cap it. Same with Gran or Granny. All the time, as if it were a name, cap it. Sometimes, no cap.
His newspaper route boss calls him kiddo every day. No cap. He's not using it as a name substitute, just as a nickname. He's calling him a kiddo.
He calls other boys kiddo as they pick up their papers.The guy at the store calls him sonny every day. Other kids too. No cap. He's not using it as a name substitute, but as a common nickname. He calling him a sonny boy. Do they have a relationship? Is the boy there all the time, do they talk, interact? Does he call other boys buying candy/gum whatever something else? Maybe cap it then.
His best friend always calls him Doofus and he always calls his friend Dorkus. Cap it. If they use different nicknames at different times or use their actual names too, no caps.
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capitalization - How would you capitalize sister-in-law as a form of address?
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Modified 2 years, 3 months ago
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I'm editing a chapter of a novel translated from Chinese, where kinship terms are often used as a form of address replacing a name.
In this case, the speaker is referring to another woman as "sister-in-law". I was wondering if that would be capitalized as "Sister-in-Law", "Sister-In-Law", or "Sister-in-law"?
- capitalization
- kinship-terms
- forms-of-address
3
When, say, "brother" is used as a term of address (Please help me, brother!) it's not normally capitalised at all.
But based on Commander-in-Chief, I suggest you go for the "title case" version Sister-in-Law (which unlike "CamelCase" doesn't capitalise "noise words" such as prepositions). It's really the writer's choice though (or the choice of his favoured Style Guide).
For what it's worth, here's an NGram usage chart showing how usage has shifted significantly over the decades, as regards capitalising "Mother" when it's being used as a proper noun...
2
Pertaining to the number of books I have read, I have not seen the familial terms being written in title case or camel case or capital case for the matter of fact.
Though it is a noun, it is not capitalized unless for being used in specific cases, like writing the word for calligraphy purposes.
Military resistance was organized by Sidonius’s brother-in-law, Ecdicius, son of the emperor Avitus.
Hope this helps.
4
I'm not aware of any capitalization of familial names in English (aside from when used at a beginning of the sentence of course). Positions of high honor, like the president of a country of 300+ million people are capitalized, but unless you're going for hyperbole, stay lower-case for familial names.
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7 words that you write in vain with a capital letter
We all know from school that every new sentence, place names, people's names, animal names, abbreviations and not only are written with a capital (capital) letter.
In what cases the capital letter is really justified, and in what cases it should be avoided - we find out in the next issue of literacy.
Correct: birthday
For some reason, many congratulators like to write “happy birthday!” or "happy birthday!", but both of these options are wrong (thank you for not "happy birthday!"). According to the rules of the Russian language, the combination "birthday" is always written in lowercase (small) letters. So, if you want to congratulate someone, it would be correct: “Happy birthday, Alexander Sergeevich!”
The confusion arises due to the fact that the names of many holidays are really capitalized, for example: Knowledge Day, New Year, Children's Day, and so on. Please note that only the first word is capitalized! (exception: Victory Day)
Correct: Moscow State Linguistic University
We recall the spelling of holidays and transfer it to the full names of higher educational institutions: we write the first word with a capital letter, and the rest with a lowercase letter.
Therefore, MSLU stands for Moscow State Linguistic University, and the famous Moscow State University stands for Lomonosov Moscow State University. And no "Moscow State Universities...". Forget it.
Correct: president
There is a common misconception that the president of one's country should be written with a capital letter, while presidents of other countries should be written with a small letter. We hope that you have never followed this "rule". Although Vladimir Putin is the head of the Russian Federation, this does not mean that it is imperative to capitalize the title of his position. Believe me, if you write "The President of Russia visited our school", Vladimir Vladimirovich will not be offended and will not consider this a manifestation of disrespect.
The capital letter in the titles of the highest government positions is used only in official documents (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin). In all other cases, we write with a small letter, whether it be business letters, press releases or articles.
By the way, the names of other positions also begin with a lowercase letter, even if it is the CEO or editor-in-chief.
Correct: (school) Olympiad
It so happened that there are several Olympiads in our life, and they are all different. The word "Olympiad" in the meaning of "competition" is written with a lowercase letter. Therefore, children take part in the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren or in the Olympiad in mathematics. And if you mean the Olympic Games, then there will be "Sochi Olympics-2014".
Correct: god (he knows)
Many people mistakenly think that if “god” is written with a lowercase letter, the author of the words must be an unbeliever! Nonsense. The word "God" is written with both a capital and a small letter, depending on the meaning that a person puts into this word. If you write about God in a religious sense, as about something sacred, then you need to write with a capital letter. But as soon as we return to everyday life, we can safely write "god" with a small letter ("You play the guitar like a god!", "Do not confuse Greek gods with Roman ones"), including in everyday phrases "thank God" , "God knows" and "By God".
Agree, often we do not put sacred meaning into these remarks, which means that there is no need for capital letters.
Correct: Internet
Long-suffering Internet, how could it not get enough! Some still write this word in Latin letters (Internet), others refuse to decline it, and still others enclose it in quotation marks, but the spelling of the first letter of the word is a matter of controversy. According to the latest recommendations of the Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the word "Internet" can be written both with a capital and with a small letter, and it also declines perfectly in cases ("Let's talk about the Internet?", "Connect to the Internet").
Linguist Vladimir Lopatin insists that the Internet should be written with a capital letter, because “the Internet, although the most common and, of course, well-known information network, is far from the only one <...>. The presence of such networks in no way allows us to consider the Internet as a common name for an information network.
However, Mel, like many other publications, is of the opinion that the Internet has long been considered a household word by analogy with the telephone and television and written with a small letter, as in compound words (online store).
Bonus: You or you?
Nobody canceled the well-known rules of speech etiquette. The pronoun “You” with a capital letter can be used in personal correspondence (“Sincerely yours ...”), provided that you really refer to one person, and not to a group of respected people, because in this case we have the plural “you” (“We ask you not to close the door, we are waiting for the doctor”).
Remember: a polite address to a specific person - you; addressing several persons, as well as the use in articles and advertising slogans - you. But if suddenly you are not written in a letter with a capital letter, this will not be considered an insult. The pronoun you is used less and less, mainly in official letters and documents.
Stop Capitalizing "You" - Offtopic in DTF
Three Reasons Why You Shouldn't Capitalize
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Reason #1.
Historical
Until the 18th century, the pronoun "you" called everyone indiscriminately: a peasant, a boyar, a tsar. Indeed, if a person is one, then why address him in the plural?
For example, this is how the merchant Kalashnikov answers Ivan the Terrible:
I will tell you, Orthodox Tsar:
I killed him of my own free will,
And for what, about what - I will not tell you,
I will only tell God alone.
Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov, Poem "The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov"
The tradition of addressing respected gentlemen as "you" was formed during the reign of Peter I and was legally established when the emperor introduced the Table of Ranks. At first, they spoke like this only with a senior in rank, but gradually the practice spread, and the pronoun “you” took on the form of polite address familiar to us.
There is nothing wrong with that.
In modern Russian, “you” replaces the outdated addresses “mister” and “lady”. In addition, the use of "you" establishes the boundaries of communication and helps maintain subordination.
This is how Mavriky Mavrikich from The Brothers Karamazov gets indignant when he does not receive proper respect from his interlocutor:
- And if you please, sir, be able to talk to me, if you haven’t been taught yet, I’m not you, if you please, don’t poke, sir, and save your advice for another time ...
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
The use of the pronoun "you" instead of "you" in itself already represents a manifestation of respect for the person.
Reason #2. Rules of the Russian language
Some will say: “Why, they always wrote like that! Surely there is a rule! And that is true, but not quite a rule, but a recommendation.
Recommendation:
In Russian, write “you” with a capital letter only in personal letter to a specific person .
① If you want to send a letter to your good friend Pavel Ivanovich, you can capitalize the pronoun.
My dear Pavel Ivanovich!
You haven't shown up in our coworking for a long time, I'm starting to get worried. I am writing to inquire about your well-being and to learn the latest news from Petersburg.
② If you are composing a letter for an email newsletter, then you do not need to capitalize "you".
Dear customer!
We are glad to inform you that a new batch of excellent drumsticks has arrived in the warehouse!
I repeat that this is not a rule, but a recommendation. To use a capital letter or not is up to the author.
Reason #3. Capital letter ≠ respect
I'll start with a small example:
Dear Vadim Mikhailovich!
In connection with the reduction of the staff of JSC Ledentsov, we inform you about the dismissal from the post of Senior Android Developer.
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