Political divisions (state, county, city, etc.) You should capitalize "North," "South," "East," and "West" when they're part of a proper noun (i.e., the name of a unique thing). Discover the capitalization rules for pronouns, nouns, and titles. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,820,584 making it the 18th most-populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit, the largest city in Michigan. In a sentence with a named county, the word "county" should be capitalized. Few things scream bureaucrat like capitalizing the word city at every opportunity. For example, CHICAGO (AP) The City Council is meeting tonight. Rule 2. Use the proper name if the body is . Our Rule 9 of Capitalization says, "Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. A city council is a powerful body. A county, like a city, is a geographical region in a state or country.There are two rules to determine whether or not you should capitalize the word "county" when you are writing. Most style guides recommend capitalizing these words only when used in full proper names. North, South, East and West as Proper Nouns. With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life, and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization. If you are writing about a generic county, the word "county" should NOT begin with a . If you are writing about a generic county, the word "county" should NOT begin with a . Both are geographical place names. answered Apr 25, 2015 at 23:55. Retain capitalization if the reference is to a specific council but the context does not require the city name. Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. Not usually no, in this case Xxxx County is in the form of a Proper Noun and is capitalised accordingly but "the county" although it refers to the same geopolitical entity is a general article and is not therefore capitalised. The obvious examples of this are countries, states, cities, and other geographical areas: We study the history of Eastern Europe. If you are writing the name of a county, the name and the word "county" should both begin with a capital letter. So you can write "Manchester City" (either the municipality or the football team), because that is the name. Welcome to EL&U. I believe this is a duplicate of In what contexts would I capitalize "city" and "county"? answered Jul 2, 2018 at 17:30. This is largely a matter of style, and whether you consider Counties part of the . The word State must be capitalized when talking about the United States as a country. When referring to multiple fire names in a list, it is acceptable to lower-case the f in fire: Learn how you can support students and employees affected by the Camp, Hill and Woolsey fires. Abbreviations. Also "City Council" or "General Assembly" when writing about a specific governmental body. Example: The state has evidence to the contrary." and you may also find coordination among State and local, Should "State" be capitalized on its own?, Capitalization: 'rivers', and Capitalize common noun when it follows a list of proper nouns? Words for governmental or administrative units are only capitalized when they are used as part of a proper noun, such as the formal name of a city. Knowing when to capitalize the "c" in court and when to leave it in lower case is a matter of legal literacy. Capitalize when part of aproper name. Words like city and county often appear in proper nouns alongside their use as common nouns. Share. Lowercase in other uses. Lowercase in other uses. : Henrico County, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Richmond City Council, Virginia General Assembly. useful. In names set in capitals, de, von, etc., are also capitalized. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters. For example, "He lives in Smith County.". Names of organized bodies 3.17. The issue may seem trivial, but it is not. In sentence 1 above, we capitalize New York City and East River because they are proper nouns. Is city of London capitalized? This includes in news articles, short stories and personal essays. Learn about the other instances for capitalizing words beyond the start of a sentence. In a sentence with a named county, the word "county" should be capitalized. For example, The Chicago and Boston city councils are meeting together. This article explains the capitalization of state names. However, when used as part of a proper noun, the word "city" is capitalized along with the rest of the proper name. ex. 3. Rule 2. Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. This also includes when the word "city" is used before a named place. For example, "Kenya's first direct flight to the United States was commissioned late last year." You can also say, "My cousin relocated to the States last month." You must also capitalize the word state when it forms the full name of a specific body. A proper noun or adjective is a proper nameit designates a particular person, place, or thing. The same is true of all generic places, like "a road," or "that city.". A county, like a city, is a geographical region in a state or country.There are two rules to determine whether or not you should capitalize the word "county" when you are writing. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,820,584 making it the 18th most-populous county in the United States. "Carson City" or "New York City"), it's not capitalized after the city's name. If you are writing the name of a county, the name and the word "county" should both begin with a capital letter. Knowing when to capitalize the "c" in court and when to leave it in lower case is a matter of legal literacy.. Rule 7.3.1. and Rule 8 of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation instructs us to capitalize the word, "court," in all written briefing and other legal documents filed in federal courts in these instances: Share. While state names are often shortened to their two letter abbreviation when addressing an envelope or writing an inside address, a state name used in formal writing should always be written out completely. Even used before (as in "City of"), the capitalization only happens if the title of the city in question actually has that name ("City of London", "City of New York"). Example: The state has evidence to the contrary.". Rule 1. Is the part of the name? Morson's English Guide for Court Reporting, Rule 222, says that you would capitalize "the State of California." Capitalize city and state when these words precede the name of a city or state and refer to it in a corporate sense, that is, when the name suggests a corporation or company with a capacity to hire, fire, and conduct business. 1. Unless "city" is part of the name (i.e. When used generically to describe a city which could be any city, then the word "city" is lowercase. Even in the case of the council only used when writing about THE New York City Council, as opposed to writing "New York city council and other city councils are considering the use of garbage cans." If we were to capitalize qualifiers referring to conceptual proper nouns, there would be capitals everywhere, like camels walking in every sentence. Capitalizing geographic features Capitalize locations within a country when the proper name is given (the name of a city or region, such as the Mississippi River , the Congo , or Los Angeles , for example). Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. Our Rule 9 of Capitalization says, "Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. are capitalized when they follow the name or are an accepted part of the name. Lowercase plural combinations (Los Angeles and Orange counties). Note the capital letters for the names of these areas. Capitalize Fire when referring to a wildfire by its official name: The Camp Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in California's Butte County. For example: Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. 8 In your second example, "city" should not be capitalized. Your first example is correct so long as you're referring to the City of New York, as the formal name for New York. Do you capitalize the first letter of city? For example, "He lives in Smith County." Improve this answer. Rule 1. Improve this answer. 1. They are usually lowercased when they precede the name or stand alone (New York City, the city of Albany, the state of California, Los Angeles County). Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper nouns. Rule 7.3.1. and Rule 8 of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation instructs us to capitalize the word, "court," in all written briefing and other legal documents filed in federal courts in these instances: (1) when you are . Instead, we were forced to revise CMOS to include the following (in the 15th edition, this appears at 8.56): "Governmental entities: Where the government rather than the place is meant, the words state, city, and the like are usually capitalized." I hope this allows you to recognize everyone with full capitalization honors. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters. City is not a proper noun, and should not be capitalized like one. For example, But generally you should use lowercase when . The sentence could refer to any county, and so it does not need to be capitalized. There is precisely one time when you capitalize the word 'city' - when it is actually part of a proper name, for example the name of the city itself or some entity related to the city. De Kalb County (AL, GA, IL, IN) but DeKalb County (TN) 3.16. Retain capitalization if the reference is to a specific council but the context does not require the city name. For example, The Chicago City Council is meeting tonight. For example, CHICAGO (AP) The City Council is meeting tonight. With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life, and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization. They are usually lowercased when they precede the name or stand alone (New York City, the city of Albany, the state of California, Los Angeles County). For example:. Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper nouns. Th e full names of existing or proposed organized bodies and their shortened names are capitalized; other substitutes, which are most oft en regarded as common nouns, are capitalized only in . Such words as city, state, county and village are capitalized only when they refer to the actual government. Those phrases use what is called a determiner. Government: Capitalize city, state, federal, courthouse, legislature, assembly, and other similar words when used in a formal name. Ex. A common noun or adjective, in contrast, is a generic labelit designates a general type of person, place, or thing. Most style guides recommend capitalizing these words only when used in full proper names.