Unsure which way to turn? We are, after all, a proofreading site. BUT … we can offer some direction on directions — specifically, whether to capitalize them. At the most basic level, the standard advice is to lowercase north , south , east and west when used as compass directions and to capitalize them when they are used as part of a proper noun or adjective or refer to regions or geographic areas.
Easy enough to remember, right? The tricky part is how to navigate related words such as northern , southern , eastern and western. AP capitalizes these terms when they refer to a region or the people from that region, but not references to part of a region. CMOS, on the other hand, says to capitalize such terms only when they refer to places, not to people from those places … except in certain instances.
Grammar Phile Blog. Many waterskiers have relocated from the Northeast to the South. BUT: We maintain a slalom course in the south of France.
OR: Go north on I and then west on Route Capitalize such words as Northerner, Southerner, and Midwesterner. Eastern bankers, but the eastern half of Colorado Southern hospitality, but southern temperatures Western civilization, but westerly winds the Northern vote, but a northern winter The Northern states did not vote as they were expected. Political activities. When to Capitalize Directions When writing directions, it seems like they should be capitalized.
Well-Known Geographic Regions If you've read about Southern California or the East Coast, you know that direction words are capitalized in these cases. Adjectives for Well-Known Regions and Nouns The same rule applies for specific regions when you add -ern onto the end of a direction. Cultural Practices Another time to capitalize direction words is when you're describing habits, practices or activities from a specific culture.
For example: Eastern philosophy philosophy from the Eastern Hemisphere Western medicine medicine from the Western Hemisphere Southern hospitality hospitality from the American South Midwestern nice niceness from the American Midwest The nouns after the capitalized direction words aren't capitalized but are still specific to that region.
When Not to Capitalize Directions If you're describing general directions or ideas rather than a specific location, you don't need to capitalize the direction words.
Compass Directions Directing someone in the north, south, east, or west direction doesn't require capitalization. For example: Head east until you see a fork in the road. The birds are flying south for the winter.
The settlers moved west for better opportunities. You'll find the mill just a few miles north of the farm. General Geographic Regions While locations like West Virginia have direction words right in their name, places that aren't commonly described with direction words aren't capitalized.
Check out these examples of general geographic regions: My family is from the east side of town. I love vacationing in southern Italy. The Grand Canyon is in western Arizona. Exercises Fill in a properly capitalized or lowercase directional word: 1.
Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Jump to Navigation. When Do You Capitalize Directions? By Mignon Fogarty Grammar Girl.
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