The dictionaries and glossaries I’ve look at differ considerably in what they say about English appearing with a lower-case e when using the word for spin or side.
No Mention: (Assumed upper-case only)
Print OED: no mention
Print The New Oxford American: no mention
Online M-W: no mention
Online Lexico: no mention
Online Oxford/Google (FreeDictionary): no mention
Qualified upper- or lower-case:
Print Webster’s New World: [sometimes e-]
Print Collins: often not cap.
English: alternative form of “english.”
english: term usually used
to refer to sidespin applied to the CB, but can also be used to refer
to any type of spin applied to the CB (e.g., with draw and follow
shots).
…
english-induced throw: same as “spin-induced throw.”
english transfer: same as “spin transfer.” Billiards Terminology Glossary
Lower-case only:
Wiktionary: entry is in lower case on a page of Glossary of cue sports terms
Looking at a few pages of hits for «put/putting english on the ball» in Google Books, the lower-case e is less common, but present.
You and your opponent each have a control unit. Each unit not only
moves a square, but can put english on the ball when it hits it. Popular Science (1972)
Marie stood rigidly at a machine next to me, moving only her fingers
on the flippers as if entranced, hypnotized by the lights and the
computer gibberish, while I leaned into my machine or jolted it with
stiff arms sometimes violently trying to put english on the ball or
achieve a greater bounce off the bumpers. Blood Confessions (1992)
Studs, unconscious of everything, put the balls before him, ran the
table, feeling a sense of skill and power as he made ball after ball,
planning shots ahead, putting english on the ball to get position,
feeling a complete mastery. Studs Logan (2001)
If you’ve ever been curious as to whether or not the word “English” should be capitalized, you’ve come to the right article. We’ll be going over a thorough explanation, showcasing the use and capitalization of the word “English”.
In short, yes, the term “English” should be capitalized for the most part. “English” should be capitalized whenever we are speaking about the language, the nationality, or even things associated with it like people or muffins. “English” should not be capitalized only it terms of billiards backspins.
Although we will occasionally see people informally or casually writing the term with a lowercase “e”, this would be considered grammatically incorrect in a professional or academic context.
When Should I Capitalize “English”?
In terms of when the word “English” should be capitalized, the answer is nearly every time the word is used. Whether we are discussing the nationality, the language or the ethnicity, the word “English” should always be capitalized. It would be considered both informal and grammatically correct, if written otherwise.
The term “English” is considered to be a proper noun. A “proper noun” is the name of a specific person, organization, place or thing. Proper nouns should always be capitalized when we wish to remain grammatically correct or use perfect English.
The same rules apply to adjectives that are derived from proper nouns. They too, should always remain capitalized in order for the term to be used adequately. We consider an “adjective” to be a word that is used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns.
Therefore, we will even capitalize the word “English” when we are speaking in terms of the school’s subject or even “English” muffins. This is because the term “English”, used in this context, is considered an adjective that is derived from the proper noun.
When Should I Not Capitalize “English”?
While it is still considerably debatable, the only acceptable time for the term “English” to be written with a lowercase “e” is when it is being utilized as a common noun. The only time this is the case with the word “English”, is when we are speaking in terms of billiards.
When we are speaking strictly in terms of billiards, the term “english” is used to depict a sidespin maneuver that is applied to the cue ball. This is accomplished by applying force the correct location on the ball – usually the left or right of the vertical centerline.
Proper usage and the sports coinsurers dictate that the term “english” is preferable to “English” for describing the sidespin. However, there doesn’t seem to be a general consensus on this, as the proper capitalization “English” is also commonly used.
Therefore, this is arguably the only time you can use the lowercase version “english”, without receiving much flack for improper grammar.
Examples Of How To Use “English” Capitalized In A Sentence
We will now go over some examples, showcasing how we can properly use the capitalized version of “English” in a sentence.
- English is not my native language; however, I’m working very hard to improve my overall understanding and proper use of it.
- Did you know that she is fluent in both Spanish and German, and now she has tasked herself to also learn English?
- We all went to Greg’s house for breakfast, where he served us delicious homemade English muffins with jam, preserves and freshly brewed coffee.
- During World War II, the English soldiers were allied with the French, the Canadians, the Polish, and the Americans. Together, they formed the Allied Coalition in the fight against the Germans.
- I few days ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a bouquet of beautiful English violets from my fiancé.
- The English Navy, also referred to as the Royal Navy, would have been perceived poorly by their country’s citizens, had Napoleon been successful in crossing the Channel.
- There are presently more people learning how to speak English in China, than there are fluent English speakers in the United States of America.
- I was wondering, does this store presently carry any English-Japanese dictionaries?
- The English language is considered to be one of the most difficult to learn. This has a lot to do with our use of words that sound consistent, but have entirely different meanings. An example of this are the words “flower” and “flour”.
Examples Of How To Use “English” Uncapitalized In A Sentence?
While the use is still thought of as debatable, here are some examples highlighting how we can use the uncapitalized version of “english” in a sentence.
- An “inside english” sidespin is created by hitting the cue ball on the side towards the direction of the shot.
- An “outside english” sidespin is created by hitting the cue ball on the side away from the direction of the shot.
- A “reverse english” sidespin is where the cue ball slows and has a smaller rebound angle after hitting a cushion.
- A “reverse english” sidespin is also commonly referred to as a “check english” or “hold-up english”.
- A “running english” sidespin causes the cue ball to speed up after bouncing off a cushion, also resulting in a wider rebound angle.
- A “running english” sidespin is also commonly referred to as a “natural english”.
- She was a notorious master of every type of english sidespin known to billiards players, making her formidable competition in the tournament.
- He soon learned to successfully accomplish the running english sidespin, which he considered to be the most difficult trick in billiards.
Quiz: Have You Mastered The Capitalization Of “English”?
Correct answers can be found under the next heading, so you can ensure you’re aware of you quiz results and areas you may need to work on in the future.
- He is of (A.English/B. english) decent, with his grandfather first immigrating to the United States from London, England.
- Did you know that even being an Italian man, he is still fluent in (A.english/B.English)?
- She made a beautiful reverse (A.english/B.English) sidespin, managing to knock two of her teams striped balls into the corner pocket.
- We were served and absolutely delicious breakfast of scones, (A.English/B.english) muffins, a fresh fruit tray and tea.
- The (A.english/B.English) soldiers stormed the beach of Normandy in operation “D-Day”.
- He was a master of (A.English/B.english) sidespins, making him tremendously difficult competition.
Quiz Answers
- A.
- B.
- A.
- A.
- B.
- B.
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Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
It is very important to understand the importance of capitalizing our words. They are helpful signals for the reader to know and understand what the author is referring to. For example, it’s very different to say «I used to live in a white house» vs. «I used to live in The White House.» In this article, you will be introduced to the world of capitalization of the English language, and more specifically, answering the question: When do you capitalize the word English?
When referring to the country of England, the people of England (Englishmen), or the language of English, the word English is a proper noun, and therefore should always be capitalized. This is because proper nouns refer to an individual entity, a specific person, place, or thing, like Mia, Portugal, or Prada.
The basics of capitalization and grammar are as follows:
- Capitalize the first letter of significant words when writing titles, such as «The Devil Wears Prada» or «The Polar Express.»
- Capitalize when writing the names of people, places, or things, like «Molly,» «New York,» or «Netflix.»
- Capitalize the first word of every text and the first word after punctuation.
Examples: «The school did not expect any visitors today. However, they could make an exception.», «The store closes at 3pm on weekends. We will have to wait for Monday.» and «A thief stole my purse! Help me!»
GUIDELINES FOR CAPITALIZATION.
These rules are pretty simple and commonly known. Still, in the heat of the moment, as you are typing away at your English homework or assignment, things can get quite technical and confusing as the English language is broad and complex. The following acronym MINTS can be an easily reachable tool to learn and practice the technicalities of writing and grammar:
M.I.N.T.S.:
- M is for Months, Days, and Holidays.
Ex: I visited the country of England in November of last year.
Seasons (summer, spring, fall, winter) are not capitalized, as they are considered common nouns, not proper nouns. Remember, proper nouns are always capitalized, whereas common nouns are not.
An exception to this rule would be cases where we always capitalize: Titles, names of people, places, and/or things, and the first word of a sentence.
- I is for the letter I.
Ex: I am a native English speaker.
Have you noticed that «I» is the only pronoun that we capitalize? Even in other languages, pronouns are not capitalized. Only in the English language will you find this.
The most generally accepted explanation for this phenomenon is that the letter «I,» when referring to the self and to the person speaking, could not be left to stand alone, uncapitalized, as a single letter. Also, due to its shy presentation, it is aesthetically preferable for its capitalization. «I» just looks better in writing.
Fun fact: The letter I for most of modern history did not use to be capitalized. The term «I» as a single-letter pronoun came from the Old and Middle Ages when the word for «I» came from the German «ich,» and in writings of the time was commonly spelled as «ic,» not capitalized. As time went on, the spelling and pronunciation of the word changed and lost the C consonant. The new term «i» was left lowercase until the author of «The Canterbury Tales» in the late 1300s utilized the personal pronoun «I» in uppercase. It is said that the author styled the pronoun in this way because it appeared slightly taller than its lowercase equivalent, and it is more comfortable to read, as well as casts a grandiose halo onto the protagonist of the tale.
- N is for Names, referring to proper nouns. As explained before, common nouns are the ones utilized when we are referring to a generic term, like library, police officer, house. A proper noun or proper name is specific to the individual person, place, or thing, like The Library of Santa Fe, Officer James, and The White House.
- T refers to titles. As stated before, the rule of thumb for learning to capitalize titles is to capitalize all significant words in a title. So nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives should always be capitalized in a title. However, due to the artistic nature of the writing, it really is up to the author to determine the correct spelling and grammar of the title.
- S is for the start of sentences. Last but not least, the most commonly known rule of them all: always capitalize the first word of every sentence. This is used to signalize the beginning of a new sentence, and it is always helpful when reading or speaking from the written word. Like punctuation, it does not affect the language itself, but it serves to better understand and recognize the point the author is attempting to make.
Exceptions
Now, for every rule, there is an exception. And that’s no exception to capitalization rules!
So far, the capitalization rules and terms are quite easy and understandable. What do we capitalize? Every first word of every sentence, every name or pronoun, and every major word in titles.
Now, what do we not capitalize? Here are a few examples.
While we capitalize all the pretty significant words in a title, we do not capitalize short prepositions, short conjunctions, or articles: Eg, Harry Potter, and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
While we do capitalize names and other proper pronouns, we do not capitalize occupation titles when they are not used as part of the name. E.g., the young professor, Doctor Mike.
While we capitalize names of places, countries, cities, or regions, we do not capitalize on directions. E.g., North America, heading north.
While we do capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays, we do not capitalize seasons or centuries. E.g., Monday, eighteenth-century.
While we do capitalize words that show family relationships when used with a person’s name, we do not capitalize words that show a family relationship when used after a possessive pronoun. E.g., Uncle Nick, my uncle Nick.
Capitalization in poems and art
Taking into consideration all of these rules and exceptions, when it comes to art and poetry, there are even more exceptions and alternative guidelines to capitalization. It is always a discussion in regards to punctuation in poetry and the arts because we see many instances where the capitalization rules are not followed, but the grammar is still deemed correct.
For example:
From childhood’s hour, I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
Fraction of «Alone», -Edgar Allan Poe
As we can see in this example, every first word of every phrase is capitalized, even though they are not new sentences being formed. This is because styled this way makes it more aesthetically pleasing to the reader and assists in following the melody of the poem.
In its reverse form, non-capitalization is a new approach that has been popularized in recent times. Many poets find themselves completely against this approach, opting to prefer the more visually appealing all-capitalized approach.
In this style of writing, no words are capitalized in the poem. The exceptions to this style could be when capitalizing proper nouns like names or when personifying an inanimate object or thing. Regardless, the use of capitalization would be 100% up to the author’s discretion.
So, when do you capitalize the word English?
The simple answer is: always!
The reasoning behind it: Whenever we are using the term «English,» it is referring to the language English, the people of England, or the place of England. In all of these instances, as we have learned from this article, we capitalize the word.
Next time you are pondering over if a word should be capitalized or not, remember your M.I.N.T.S.!
Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.
Last Update: Jan 03, 2023
This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!
Asked by: Mrs. Margarita Ondricka III
Score: 4.8/5
(45 votes)
If you’re ever wondering when to capitalize English, when you’re talking about the language or the nationality, the answer is always “yes.” Although people writing casually online often lowercase the word, it is a proper noun and therefore requires a capital letter.
Is English capitalized as an adjective?
English is always capitalized. It’s a simple rule. Some teachers like the term “proper adjective”. They teach their students that an adjective that is derived from a proper noun (e.g., Hawaiian dancing, Shakespearean plays) is a proper adjective and should also be capitalized.
Do you capitalize the word English when referring to a class?
When referring to the phrase “English language arts”, the noun “English”, of course, is capitalized as it’s a proper noun or name of a specific language. However, “language arts” in the phrase is not capitalized because, as mentioned above, it’s a general noun.
Is I in English always capitalized?
The letter I continues to be capitalized because it is the only single-letter pronoun. Because the pronouns I and me have different uses, it’s easy to distinguish between the two in terms of capitalization rules.
Are language names capitalized?
(c) The names of languages are always written with a capital letter. … Note, however, that names of disciplines and school subjects are not capitalized unless they happen to be the names of languages: I’m doing A-levels in history, geography and English.
16 related questions found
What words are capitalized English?
In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositions—however, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters.
Is our country capitalized?
The word country is a common noun, so you follow the same rule as with any other common noun. You capitalize it if it begins a sentence, or if it is part of a proper noun.
Why is English capitalized?
The short answer is yes, you capitalize the word English regardless of whether you’re referring to the nationality, the school subject, or the language because all of these are proper nouns. … English, and other nationalities and languages, are capitalized since they are proper nouns.
Does myself have a capital M?
You’re use of the word myself is incorrect. Myself is a reflexive pronoun, that is referring back to something, most often the word I.
Why is letter capitalized?
The generally accepted linguistic explanation for the capital “I” is that it could not stand alone, uncapitalized, as a single letter, which allows for the possibility that early manuscripts and typography played a major role in shaping the national character of English-speaking countries.
Does teacher need to be capitalized?
However, we do capitalize it if it is used as a form of address: Is this right, Teacher? (Usually teachers are addressed by their names, but sometimes they are addressed as ‘Teacher’.) It is a general rule that if a word is used as a form of address, we capitalize it.
Is English capitalized AP style?
AP Style tip: Capitalize the proper names of languages and dialects: Aramaic, Cajun, English, Persian, Serbo-Croatian, Yiddish.
What are the 10 rules of capitalization?
Thus, here are 10 capitalization rules you should know for a well written write-up:
- Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
- “I” is always capitalized, along with all its contractions. …
- Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. …
- Capitalize a proper noun. …
- Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name.
When Should English be capitalized?
If you’re ever wondering when to capitalize English, when you’re talking about the language or the nationality, the answer is always “yes.” Although people writing casually online often lowercase the word, it is a proper noun and therefore requires a capital letter.
Are months capitalized?
Days, months, and holidays are always capitalized as these are proper nouns. Seasons aren’t generally capitalized unless they’re personified. The maid comes on Tuesdays and Fridays .
What kind of noun is English?
As detailed above, ‘english’ is a noun. Noun usage: You can’t hit it directly, but maybe if you give it some english.
Is it contact me or myself?
You would not say, “Please contact myself.” You would say, “Please contact me for more information about the workshop.” So the sentence should be: “Please contact John Smith, Mary Doe or me for more information about the workshop.” A reflexive pronoun always is the object of a sentence; it never can be the subject.
How do you write a capital letter I?
We have rules for using capital letters but ‘I’ doesn’t really follow them. It’s easy to remember to use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, for proper nouns and for names. ‘I’ isn’t any of those, though – ‘I’ is a pronoun, like ‘me’ or ‘you’. So, why don’t ‘me’ or ‘you’ need capital letters?
Can you refer to yourself as myself?
Answer: Yes. Explanation: There are two ways—and two ways only—that you can refer to yourself as “myself” in a sentence. … The other correct usage is as a reflexive pronoun, for example when “I” is the subject of the sentence—the actor—and “myself” is the object—the one acted upon.
Is English a language?
English is a language that started in Anglo-Saxon England. It is originally from Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon dialects. English is now used as a global language. There are about 375 million native speakers (people who use it as their first language) in the world.
Should Welsh have capital letters?
The regions of Wales — South Wales, Mid Wales, North Wales and West Wales should always be capitalised and should not be hyphenated.
Is English class a proper noun?
School subjects that are the names of languages, such as English or German, are proper nouns and should be capitalized. The names of specific courses are proper nouns and should be capitalized.
Is country a common noun?
Yes, Country is a common noun. It can be a proper noun only when you name the country like India, China, etc.
Do you capitalize countries in Italian?
As a rule, proper names (Carlo, Paolo), town names (Cagliari, Napoli), countries, etc. are written with a capital. A capital letter is always inserted at the beginning of a sentence. In headings/titles normally only the first word has a capital letter and the rest of the title is in lower case.
Where do we use capital letters?
Capitals signal the start of a new sentence. This is a stable rule in our written language: Whenever you begin a sentence capitalize the first letter of the first word. This includes capitalizing the first word or a direct quotation when it’s a full sentence, even if it appears within another sentence.
English is the most common language in the world so it’s likely that you’ve asked the question before. Whether you’re writing an essay, marketing materials, or email, you may ask:
Is English Capitalized?
The short answer is yes, you capitalize the word English regardless of whether you’re referring to the nationality, the school subject, or the language because all of these are proper nouns.
Normally English is a proper noun and all proper nouns in the English language are capitalized. Even when used as an adjective, such as in the “English language” or the “English curriculum,” English is capitalized because according to this Wikipedia article adjectives derived from proper nouns retain their capitalization:
In English, adjectives derived from proper nouns (except the names of characters in fictional works) usually retain their capitalization
– e.g. a Christian church, Canadian whisky, a Shakespearean sonnet, but not a quixotic mission, malapropism, holmesian nor pecksniffian.Where the original capital is no longer at the beginning of the word, usage varies: anti-Christian, but Presocratic or Pre-Socratic or presocratic (not preSocratic).
English, and other nationalities and languages, are capitalized since they are proper nouns. Even the word “British” to describe nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, including England, is capitalized.