Kinship Names: To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize?

Several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc. are sometimes capitalized and sometimes not. Let’s have a closer look.

Rule 1: Capitalize a kinship name when it immediately precedes a personal name or is used alone, in place of a personal name.

Examples
Andy and Opie loved Aunt Bee’s apple pies.
We adore Uncle Malik, because he always treats us like royalty when we visit him.
Grandma and Grandpa were married in a chapel in a small French village.
Let’s go ask Mom if we can go to the movies.

Rule 2: Do not capitalize a kinship name when it is not part of the personal name but is a word describing the personal name. This usually occurs when the kinship name is preceded by articles such as the, a, or an; or possessive pronouns such as his, her, my, our, or their.

Examples
Andy and Opie loved their aunt Bea’s apple pies.
We adore our uncle Malik, because he always treats us like royalty when we visit him.
My grandma and grandpa were married in a chapel in a small French village.
Let’s go ask my mom if we can go to the movies.

Rule 3: Do not capitalize a kinship name when it follows the personal name or is not referencing a specific person.

Examples
The James brothers were notorious for robbing scores of banks and trains.
There’s not one mother I know who would allow her child to cross that street alone.

Pop Quiz
Select the correct word:

1. We’d travel all day to eat a meal prepared by our aunt/Aunt Ella.
2. When I saw the letter from mother/Mother, I knew it contained only good news.
3. Lydia became a mother/Mother at twenty.
4. I’m sorry son/Son, but we’re not going to have a campfire tonight.
5. Some fathers/Fathers build a campfire every night.

Answers:
1. We’d travel all day to eat a meal prepared by our aunt/Aunt Ella.
2. When I saw the letter from mother/Mother, I knew it contained only good news.
3. Lydia became a mother/Mother at twenty.
4. I’m sorry son/Son, but we’re not going to have a campfire tonight.
5. Some fathers/Fathers build a campfire every night.

To comment on this grammar tip, click on the title.

Posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2012, at 4:16 pm

Into vs. In To (Expanded)

When Jane authored the first Grammar Tip on this subject in 2009, her intention was to provide simple, concise guidance on the most commonly encountered uses of the words into and in to. But she knew that at some point we would need to explore this topic in more depth. Since issuing that Grammar Tip, we have responded to 247 questions from readers on a wide variety of situations regarding the use of into vs. in to! So, there is no better time than now to go into more depth on this topic.

How does one know when to use into or in to?

1. One of the main uses of the preposition into is to indicate movement toward the inside of a place.

Examples

The children jumped into the lake for a swim.

Mom drove the car into the garage.

2. Into can indicate “in the direction of.”

Example

Do not look directly into the laser or you may damage your eyes.

3. Into can refer to a state or condition.

Example

He got into trouble.

The caterpillar changed into a butterfly.

4. Into can indicate occupation or involvement.

Examples

The couple went into farming.

Unfortunately, her brother got into drugs.

5. Into can imply introduction, insertion, or inclusion.

Examples

The nations entered into an alliance.

Marguerite was hired into the firm.

Jojo incorporated my comments into the final document.

6. Into can indicate a point within time or space.

Example

We are now well into the year.

The spacecraft went into orbit around the moon.

7. Into is used as a divisor in math.

Example

The number 4 goes into 8 two times.

As you can see, there are many different situations where it is correct to use the word into. However, sometimes the words in (adverb) and to (preposition) just happen to find themselves neighbors, and they must remain separate words.

Examples

Rachel dived back in to rescue the struggling boy. [Here, in is part of “back in” and to belongs with “rescue” (forming the infinitive) and means “in order to,” not “where.”]

The administrators wouldn’t give in to the demands of the protestors.

He turned his essay in to the teacher.

Using the word into in the last example would be a big mistake. It would mean he performed some kind of amazing magic trick that made his essay become the teacher!

I know this has been one of our longest Grammar Tips ever. However, 247 comments over the last two plus years indicated that we needed to cover this subject more thoroughly. I hope this lesson helped. Try your hand at the Pop Quiz, which includes some of the questions readers have submitted.

Pop Quiz

1. As a child, I was too afraid to go into/in to the Halloween haunted house.

2. I’m going to turn the wallet I found into/in to the police.

3. If your battery is running low, you’ll need to plug your power cord into/in to the socket.

4. I will look into/in to the options you have suggested.

5. She came into/in to warm her hands and feet.

6. Her brother Billy is really into/in to sports.

7. Excuse me, I’m going to tune into/in to watch the nightly news.

8. The agreement goes into/in to effect on October 1.

Answers:

1. As a child, I was too afraid to go into/in to the Halloween haunted house.

2. I’m going to turn the wallet I found into/in to the police.

3. If your battery is running low, you’ll need to plug your power cord into/in to the socket.

4. I will look into/in to the options you have suggested.

5. She came into/in to warm her hands and feet.

6. Her brother Billy is really into/in to sports.

7. Excuse me, I’m going to tune into/in to watch the nightly news.

8. The agreement goes into/in to effect on October 1.

To comment on this grammar tip, click on the title.

Posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2012, at 1:08 pm

Proofreading Well

Research shows that written communications full of typos, misspellings, and usage errors leave readers with a poor impression of the writer and the organization. But proofreading well is challenging.

Before you begin proofreading, make sure your document is reader-focused—with a clearly stated main point, clear organization, easy-to-read formatting and concise language. Then follow these guidelines and you’ll present a consistent professional image every time:

Take a break between writing and proofreading. The best proofreading is done when you have distance from a document.

Read more…

To comment on this grammar tip, click on the title.

Posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2012, at 10:04 am

Its vs. It’s

Would you like to know the #1 Grammar Error?
Hint: The word involved is small and it’s contained in this sentence.

That’s right: its vs. it’s
Yet the two rules are actually quite easy to remember.

Rule 1: When you mean it is or it has, use an apostrophe.

Examples:
It’s a nice day.
It’s your right to refuse the invitation.

It’s been great getting to know you.

Rule 2: When you are using its as a possessive, don’t use the apostrophe.

Examples:
The cat hurt its paw.

The furniture store celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Note: From what I understand, the possessive was also written it’s until a couple hundred years ago. While I don’t know for certain, it is possible that the apostrophe was dropped in order to parallel possessive personal pronouns like hers, theirs, yours, ours, etc.”

To comment on this grammar tip, click on the title.

Posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2012, at 5:35 pm

Hyphens with Common Prefixes, Part 2

The current trend is to do away with unnecessary hyphens with common prefixes.

Examples:
noncompliance
copayment
semiconscious
unending

However, there are exceptions.

Kinship Names: To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize?

Into vs. In To (Expanded)

Proofreading Well

Its vs. It’s

Hyphens with Common Prefixes, Part 2

Search the Blog

Blog Categories

Monthly Blog Archives