Capitalize "next week uncle joe is coming to visit us."

[luuknam]

My wife, my 5yo, and I* didn't agree with the possible answer options (it was multiple choice), so, help? Surely some of y'all would love to debate this to death?

 

*I haven't asked the 8yo, but I don't think it'd matter.

[Carol in Cal.]

Next week Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

(Trick question?)

[Lucy the Valiant]

Next week Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

[JustEm]

Next week Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I agree with the others.  Now I'm wondering what possible other answer there could be. 

[luuknam]

Next week Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

(Trick question?)

 

But 'uncle' isn't a proper name etc, is it? My wife's initial approach was to not capitalize it, and when I told her the book said to capitalize it, she said that maybe they were treating it like a title. How on earth would 'uncle' be a title?

[Southern Ivy]

It is not proper until it becomes part of the name or is their title. 
So, if you just say "uncle", like my uncle, then it will be lower case. When it is used as a part of their name, however, then you capitalize it (Mom, Dad, Uncle Joe, Aunt Susie, Auntie, etc). 

Edited March 16, 2016 by Southern Ivy

[Southern Ivy]

Just continuing my comment from above: 
 

 

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, your, or their.

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.

http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/capitalization/kinship-names-to-capitalize-or-not-to-capitalize/

 

So, since the original sentence doesn't have an article in front of Uncle Joe, it's correct.
If it said 'our', it would be "Next week, our uncle Joe..." 

Grammar has so many darn rules. lol 

Edited March 16, 2016 by Southern Ivy

[luuknam]

Thanks. I just thought it was a lazy version of "Next week our/my/etc uncle Joe is coming to visit" (in which case, from what I just Googled, it looks like it would NOT be capitalized). Google does seem to say that thanks to the missing 'our/my/etc', it does need to be capitalized. It looks very old-fashioned that way though.

[Garga]

It is not proper until it becomes part of the name or is their title. 

So, if you just say "uncle", like my uncle, then it will be lower case. When it is used as a part of their name, however, then you capitalize it (Mom, Dad, Uncle Joe, Aunt Susie, Auntie, etc). 

 

Yup.  When you are referring to him as, "Hi, Uncle Joe!" you are using the "uncle" part as his actual name. And names are always capitalized.

 

If the sentence read this way, "Next week my uncle, Joe, is coming to visit us," then you would not be using "uncle" as his actual name and it would not be capitalized.

[Carol in Cal.]

It is a term of address and so is capitalized.

[Kristie in Florida]

I keep picturing my uncle Joe. He is a cool dude.

[luuknam]

Btw, 5yo picked the choice "Next week uncle Joe is coming to visit Us." rather than picking the correct option. Still, an oddly picky grammar rule to be putting on a 1st grade test imo (quick, have your 1st graders capitalize the sentence in question, prepare them for standardized tests).

Edited March 16, 2016 by luuknam

[Cosmos]

It's just the same as the difference between these two sentences:

 

I saw my mother at the store.

 

I saw Mother at the store.

 

It doesn't seem terribly picky to me for first grade, but a first grader is usually six or seven, not five. And of course I'm assuming the program taught the rule before putting it on a test.

[Tanaqui]

But 'uncle' isn't a proper name etc, is it? My wife's initial approach was to not capitalize it, and when I told her the book said to capitalize it, she said that maybe they were treating it like a title. How on earth would 'uncle' be a title?

 

Mommy isn't a proper name either, but it still gets capitalized in a sentence like "I love you, Mommy!"

 

Still, an oddly picky grammar rule to be putting on a 1st grade test imo

 

It's not a grammar rule, it's a capitalization rule... and I don't think it's really at odds with what I learned or what the girls learned at that age. Nor do I think it's old-fashioned.

[JustEm]

Btw, 5yo picked the choice "Next week uncle Joe is coming to visit Us." rather than picking the correct option. Still, an oddly picky grammar rule to be putting on a 1st grade test imo (quick, have your 1st graders capitalize the sentence in question, prepare them for standardized tests).

My first grader got it and I've never gone over capitalization with him. When I asked him to change it to a sentence where the u is not capitalized he could not do that.

[luuknam]

It's just the same as the difference between these two sentences:

 

I saw my mother at the store.

 

I saw Mother at the store.

 

It doesn't seem terribly picky to me for first grade, but a first grader is usually six or seven, not five. And of course I'm assuming the program taught the rule before putting it on a test.

 

It's from a test-prep book for the CAT, which I got from a used book store for $1.49. So, it's for a standardized test, not part of some particular program/curriculum, and as such, doesn't have a lesson attached to it.

 

The sentence I bolded looks like it's from the 19th century, not the 21st (the book is from 2002, fwiw). It just surprises me that my wife and I, both of which got As in college composition 1&2 (or just 2, since I got to skip composition 1 because of my SAT verbal score), both thought 'uncle' should not be capitalized, and yet they expect a 1st grader to know (and I don't think it matters what age the kid is... we still wouldn't have known the answer even if our kid had been 7). I don't know. I guess I'm just unaccustomed to leaving 'my' or other pronouns out of sentences like that.

[luuknam]

It's not a grammar rule, it's a capitalization rule...

 

Wait, capitalization isn't part of grammar? What about punctuation?

 

Completely lost now...

 

At least I get to blame it on English as a foreign language now, right?

[luuknam]

Grammar (incl. capitalization and punctuation) be My kryptonite,

[hornblower]

I don't know. I guess I'm just unaccustomed to leaving 'my' or other pronouns out of sentences like that.

I don't think it would matter.

 

 

If it's a specific person, I'd still capitalize it.

 

"I got a new sweater for my Uncle Max."

 

"The letter from my Aunt Charlotte finally arrived."

 

 

I wouldn't capitalize here: "I got a new sweater for my uncle." 

 

But I would here "I got a new sweater for Auntie."  (because I'd be using Auntie in lieu of her full name) 

 

and 

 

"Do you think Uncle Max looks spiffy in his new sweater?" 

 

 

English is not my first language either but in my first language we love capitalizing anything remotely honorific. And come to think of it, that's how I'd try to think about it. Are you using it as a noun, or as an honorific?  If it's a noun, don't cap. If it's an honorific, do. 

 

 

(& I think kids pick up on it from books like this ) 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cosmos]

It's from a test-prep book for the CAT, which I got from a used book store for $1.49. So, it's for a standardized test, not part of some particular program/curriculum, and as such, doesn't have a lesson attached to it.

 

The sentence I bolded looks like it's from the 19th century, not the 21st (the book is from 2002, fwiw). It just surprises me that my wife and I, both of which got As in college composition 1&2 (or just 2, since I got to skip composition 1 because of my SAT verbal score), both thought 'uncle' should not be capitalized, and yet they expect a 1st grader to know (and I don't think it matters what age the kid is... we still wouldn't have known the answer even if our kid had been 7). I don't know. I guess I'm just unaccustomed to leaving 'my' or other pronouns out of sentences like that.

 

Well, replace it with mom or dad if you prefer.

 

I saw my mom at the store.

I saw Mom at the store.

 

They expect a first grader to know because it is commonly taught in many first-grade language programs. Certainly a first grader who has never been taught the rule should not be expected to know it.

 

When your or your wife's siblings visit, do your children call them "Uncle Max" and "Aunt Rosie"? That's all that is meant here by capitalizing the U in uncle. Most English speakers add an honorific of aunt or uncle when speaker to their relatives, and that honorific becomes part of the name and therefore capitalized.

 

I am sure your writing skills are excellent. You have merely come across a rule that you either have forgotten or were never taught. What fun to learn something new even as an expert in English! I'm not being sarcastic -- the same thing has happened to me numerous times in teaching my son. One of the perks of homeschooling, I say. :)

[Cosmos]

How funny! Hornblower posted while I was typing, and we both named our uncles Max. :lol:

[hornblower]

How funny! Hornblower posted while I was typing, and we both named our uncles Max. :lol:

 

:laugh: 

 

I actually really have an Uncle Max :) 

[Tanaqui]

Wait, capitalization isn't part of grammar? What about punctuation?

 

I wouldn't say so. I know many people would, but I wouldn't. I'd say that capitalization, punctuation, and spelling all fall under the category of "orthography" and that grammar is the system and structure of the language, comprising syntax and morphology. This is perhaps a little pedantic, but I, too, am allowed my little nitpicks and preferences :)

 

[Ellie]

Sadly, no one addressed the punctuation of the sentence:

 

Next week, Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

:001_smile:

[purpleowl]

Sadly, no one addressed the punctuation of the sentence:

 

Next week, Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

:001_smile:

 

From The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, 6.36: "An introductory adverbial phrase is often set off by a comma but need not be unless misreading is likely. Shorter adverbial phrases are less likely to merit a comma than longer ones." 

 

A comma is acceptable there, but it is not required.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sadly, no one addressed the punctuation of the sentence:

 

Next week, Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

:001_smile:

 

That's a different lesson.

[Sahamamama]

What's the punctuation?

• Next week, Uncle, Joe is coming to visit us. (The uncle being addressed is not Joe -- Joe is someone else)

• Next week, Uncle Joe is coming to visit us. (Someone else is being addressed, and the uncle referred to is Joe)

Either way, I think you'd capitalize "uncle," because in both cases it's used as a proper noun.

 

I am highly qualified to answer this question, as I have two uncles named Joe. :lol:

[Sahamamama]

And, I used to think that sloppy joes were named after one of them. I was in my twenties before I figured that out. :blushing:

[luuknam]

Well, replace it with mom or dad if you prefer.

 

I saw my mom at the store.

I saw Mom at the store.

 

When your or your wife's siblings visit, do your children call them "Uncle Max" and "Aunt Rosie"? That's all that is meant here by capitalizing the U in uncle. Most English speakers add an honorific of aunt or uncle when speaker to their relatives, and that honorific becomes part of the name and therefore capitalized.

 

Unfortunately, I'd been under the (apparently mistaken) impression that people who capitalized 'mom' in sentences like that were just doing the "capitalize important words" thing, kind of like in Winnie the Pooh.

 

My kids have never met their one and only uncle (zero aunts), and as such don't address him. I just saw adding 'uncle' as more of an adjective (in the form of a noun), to differentiate this Joe from other ones they might know.

[Ellie]

Unfortunately, I'd been under the (apparently mistaken) impression that people who capitalized 'mom' in sentences like that were just doing the "capitalize important words" thing, kind of like in Winnie the Pooh.

 

My kids have never met their one and only uncle (zero aunts), and as such don't address him. I just saw adding 'uncle' as more of an adjective (in the form of a noun), to differentiate this Joe from other ones they might know.

 

I love the way Pooh capitalizes things. It's one of the reasons I think children should read it for themselves, so they can see it. :-)

 

And now you know that when you're talking about a specific uncle, you capitalize it. :-)

 

FTR, I was almost never introduced to aunts and uncles as Aunt Iva or Uncle Monford, not even to my mother's only sister as Aunt Jane. I had to work out relationships for myself, lol.

[luuknam]

So, iiuc, 'mom' should be capitalized in this sentence as well?

 

How much reading to mom in 2nd, 1st, K?

[Cosmos]

 

So, iiuc, 'mom' should be capitalized in this sentence as well?

 

How much reading to mom in 2nd, 1st, K?

 

 

That sentence is abbreviated (as posters often do to make a subject line fit). The full sentence would read something like:

 

How much should students in kindergarten read to their mothers?

How often should a kindergaren student read to his mom?

How much reading should early elementary students do, including reading aloud to their parents?

Should kindergarten students read aloud to their moms, and if so, how much?

 

Because "mom" is not being used to refer to a specific person by name, it would not be capitalized.

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Cosmos

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

But 'uncle' isn't a proper name etc, is it? My wife's initial approach was to not capitalize it, and when I told her the book said to capitalize it, she said that maybe they were treating it like a title. How on earth would 'uncle' be a title?

 

Uncle is a title.  Here is the different uses of uncle:

 

I will mail this to my uncle.  

I will mail this to Uncle Jim.  

I will mail this to Uncle. (that this is a specific uncle is implied, making it a title.)

 

Similarly, 

I would like to meet a queen someday. 

I would like to meet the Queen someday.

I would like to meet Queen Elsa someday.

 

And,

Should a mom leave her children alone with alcohol for the weekend?

Should Mom leave us alone with alcohol this weekend???  :-)

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

 

So, iiuc, 'mom' should be capitalized in this sentence as well?

 

How much reading to mom in 2nd, 1st, K?

 

 

Agree with Cosmos.  

 

If the poster had capitalized mom, we would need to understand that the poster is asking how often her child should read to her (the poster's) mom (the child's grandmother) because the capital would indicate a title that she would only give to her own mother.  

[Pen]

???   Winnie the Pooh is the bear's name isn't it?

[Tanaqui]

So, iiuc, 'mom' should be capitalized in this sentence as well?

 

How much reading to mom in 2nd, 1st, K?

 

 

I probably would capitalize it myself, but I don't look askance at people who don't or anything like that.

[Farrar]

???   Winnie the Pooh is the bear's name isn't it?

 

Yes. But there's a lot of capitalization in the books that is unconventional. I looked for an example to post and came up with a tiny article about it instead, but it includes a couple of examples:

http://www.shmoop.com/winnie-the-pooh/capital-letters-symbol.html

[Pen]

Never mind, thought you were talking about the name and not the way Winnie the Pooh uses capitals.

[vonfirmath]

Next week Uncle Joe is coming to visit us.

 

(Trick question?)

 

This is how I would capitalize it.

 

Aunt Ruth

Uncle John

Pope Francis

 

All titles.

[Tanaqui]

???   Winnie the Pooh is the bear's name isn't it?

 

 "He's Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?"

[...................]

Seriously people. He's a bear who knows Very Important Things.

 

(But The Hundred Acre Wood not a place to learn how to capitalize or spell for that matter!)

 

:)

[Bluegoat]

I think of it as the same as saying "I am going north" as opposed to 'I am going North."

 

But yes, if it is being used as a proper noun it is capitalized.  Just like Mr Rogers, Father Ted, or Big Bird.

[Mrs Twain]

This is the most entertaining thread I have read in a long time.

[Tanaqui]

But yes, if it is being used as a proper noun it is capitalized.  Just like Mr Rogers, Father Ted, or Big Bird.

 

Of course, in the US we usually stick a period after the abbreviations Mr. and Mrs. I understand that it's different in the UK.

[Bluegoat]

Of course, in the US we usually stick a period after the abbreviations Mr. and Mrs. I understand that it's different in the UK.

 

I think that is the same here in Canada, though I know I see it both ways. 

[Mrs Twain]

Okay, grammar gurus, I know you are all still here. Please tell me how punctuate the sentence below. (My 7th grade son and I have been debating where to put the commas.). Pretty please, help!

 

Thomas Jackson was born on January 21 1924 in Clarksburg Virginia (presently West Virginia) and was the third child in his family.

[Mrs Twain]

Dp

Edited March 18, 2016 by Mrs Twain

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thomas Jackson was born on January 21, 1924 in Clarksburg, Virginia (presently West Virginia) and was the third child in his family.

[Bluegoat]

I would add a comma inside the second bracket, I think. But people can legitimately disagree about commas. Normally I am stingy with them which is an ex-boyfriends influence.