Page 1016 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 1016
Try your own substitution in the next sentence. If substituting a name
for Grandpa sounds natural, the capitalization is correct.
“I will not retire,” Grandpa said, “because I’d rather wear out than
rust out.”
Family Designations Used with
Possessives and Articles
No capital letter is used when family designations such as father,
mother, or great-uncle Elmo are preceded by a possessive pronoun
(my, her, his, their), a possessive noun (Ted’s, Penny’s), or an article
(a, an, or the). For additional proof, try directly substituting a name for
the family designation. It will sound awkward.
Examples of Substitution to Check
Correctness
My grandmother manages an income tax preparation business.
My grandmother Sally Lewis manages an income tax preparation
business.
“My Sally Lewis” does not sound natural, confirming that the word
grandmother need not be capitalized.
I took my mother to her doctor’s appointment.
