GED Language Arts Capitalization and Punctuation Summary

"Denver" is the name of a city, and "Monday" and "June" are names of a day and a month, so they are capitalized. "Office" is a common noun here and stays lowercase.

Wrong choices

• "Our new Office in Denver opens on the first Monday in June.": "Office" is a general word here, not part of a name.
• "Our new office in Denver opens on the first monday in june.": Days of the week and months are always capitalized.
• "Our new office in denver opens on the first Monday in June.": "Denver" is a city name and must be capitalized.

The order belongs to one customer. To show that one person owns something, add an apostrophe and s: "customer's."

Wrong choices

• "customers": "Customers" is a plural with no apostrophe and does not show ownership.
• "customers's": "Customers's" is not a correct form.
• "customer": "Customer" without 's does not show ownership.

In a list of three or more items, commas separate the items. "A notebook, two pens, and a calculator" is correct.

Wrong choices

• "Please bring, a notebook, two pens, and a calculator.": No comma belongs between "bring" and its first item.
• "Please bring a notebook two pens and a calculator.": Without commas, the items run together.
• "Please bring a notebook, two pens, and, a calculator.": No comma belongs after "and" in a list.

The coats belong to all of the students, so the plural "students" is made possessive by adding just an apostrophe: "students'."

Wrong choices

• "students": "Students" without an apostrophe does not show ownership.
• "students's": "Students's" is not a correct form.
• "student's": "Student's" means the coats belong to one student, but the sentence says "All."

"Our new safety director" renames Mr. Lopez and can be removed without changing the main sentence. Extra information like this needs a comma before and after it.

Wrong choices

• "Mr. Lopez our new safety director will lead, the training.": The commas around the appositive are missing, and a comma wrongly splits the verb from its object.
• "Mr. Lopez, our new safety director will lead the training.": The closing comma after the extra phrase is missing.
• "Mr. Lopez our new safety director, will lead the training.": The opening comma before the extra phrase is missing.

A sentence that begins with an "If" clause usually puts a comma after the clause: "If you have any questions, please call me."

Wrong choices

• "If you have any questions; please call me at the number below.": A semicolon must join two complete sentences, and the "If" clause is not complete on its own.
• "If, you have any questions please call me at the number below.": A comma does not belong right after "If."
• "If you have any questions please, call me at the number below.": The comma is placed after "please" instead of after the introductory clause.

"Ms. Rivera" is a name with a title, and "Oak Street" is a specific street, so they are capitalized. "manager" and "store" are general words here.

Wrong choices

• "I spoke with your manager, Ms. Rivera, at the Store on oak street.": "Store" is a general word, while "Oak Street" is a specific name.
• "I spoke with your Manager, Ms. Rivera, at the store on Oak Street.": "Manager" is not used as part of her name, so it stays lowercase.
• "I spoke with your manager, ms. rivera, at the store on Oak Street.": A person's title and name are capitalized.

"Two" tells us there is more than one manager. The plural "managers" ends in s, so you add only an apostrophe: "managers'."

Wrong choices

• "managers": "Managers" without an apostrophe does not show ownership.
• "manager's": "Manager's" refers to one manager, but the sentence says "two."
• "managers's": "Managers's" is not a correct form.

"Spanish" is a language, and "Lincoln High School" is a specific school's name, so both are capitalized. "biology" (a general subject) and "fall" (a season) are lowercase.

Wrong choices

• "My daughter is taking Spanish and Biology at Lincoln High School this Fall.": "Biology" and "Fall" should be lowercase.
• "My daughter is taking Spanish and biology at Lincoln High School this Fall.": Seasons such as "fall" are not capitalized.
• "My daughter is taking spanish and biology at Lincoln high school this fall.": "Spanish" and the full school name must be capitalized.

"Which was built in 1985" adds extra information about the warehouse. It needs a comma before and after it.

Wrong choices

• "The warehouse, which was built in 1985 will be remodeled next year.": The closing comma after "1985" is missing.
• "The warehouse which was built in 1985, will be remodeled next year.": The opening comma before "which" is missing.
• "The warehouse which, was built in 1985, will be remodeled next year.": The first comma is in the wrong place, after "which."