Which term describes capitalization of proper nouns and adjectives?

Which term describes capitalization of proper nouns and adjectives?

• A. Common nouns
• B. Verbs
• C. Adverbs
• D. Proper nouns and adjectives

Answer: (D)

Capitalization rules center on whether a word is a proper noun or an adjective formed from one. Proper nouns are the exact names of people, places, organizations, and specific titles, and they are always capitalized. Proper adjectives are adjectives that come from those proper nouns (they carry that specific identity), so they’re capitalized as well—examples include American, French, and Shakespearean. This is why describing capitalization as belonging to proper nouns and adjectives is the precise way to capture what gets capitalized. In contrast, common nouns, verbs, and adverbs aren’t capitalized in normal text unless they appear at the start of a sentence or as part of a title, so they don’t fit as the correct description of this capitalization pattern.

Capitalization rules center on whether a word is a proper noun or an adjective formed from one. Proper nouns are the exact names of people, places, organizations, and specific titles, and they are always capitalized. Proper adjectives are adjectives that come from those proper nouns (they carry that specific identity), so they’re capitalized as well—examples include American, French, and Shakespearean. This is why describing capitalization as belonging to proper nouns and adjectives is the precise way to capture what gets capitalized. In contrast, common nouns, verbs, and adverbs aren’t capitalized in normal text unless they appear at the start of a sentence or as part of a title, so they don’t fit as the correct description of this capitalization pattern.