Just like people’s names, the name of one special place begins with capital letters: Oak Street, Lincoln Park, Texas, Chicago, the Pacific Ocean.
Key idea
The name of one special place begins with capital letters. A word for a kind of place (park, street, lake) does not.
Why it works
There are thousands of parks, but only one Lincoln Park in your town. The capitals tell the reader you mean that one place.
Worked example: Every main word
“We swam in the pacific ocean.”
- The Pacific Ocean is the name of one ocean.
- Pacific and Ocean are both part of its name, so both get capitals.
- The little word the stays small.
Answer: “We swam in the Pacific Ocean.”
Common mistake
Capitalizing any place word: “We went to the Park.” Ask: is it the name of one special place? “Lincoln Park” is; “the park” is not.
For the grown-up. Look at a map together, or at the address on an envelope, and point out the capitals in street, town and state names. Your child’s own address is a great one to learn to write.