Grammar: A1 - Writing Mechanics - Basics - Lesson 1: Using Capital Letters

✨ Lesson 1: Using Capital Letters

Welcome to our new topic: Writing Mechanics¹! Good writing in English follows rules. The first and most important rule is knowing when to use a Capital Letter² (like A, B, C) instead of a lowercase letter³ (like a, b, c).

Capital letters are like signals to the reader that something important is beginning.

The Main Rules for Capital Letters

Here are the most important rules for you to learn.

1. The First Word of a Sentence
Every sentence must begin with a capital letter. No exceptions!

• The weather is hot.
• We live in Kampot.

2. The Pronoun 'I'
Whenever you use the word 'I' to talk about yourself, it is ALWAYS a capital letter.

• He and I are friends.
• I think I will go to the market.

3. Names of People, Places, Nationalities, and Languages (Proper Nouns⁴)
All special names start with a capital letter.

• People: Dara, Maria, John
• Places: Kampot, Cambodia, Bokor Mountain
• Nationalities: Cambodian, French, Australian
• Languages: Khmer, English, Chinese

4. Days of the Week and Months of the Year

• Days: Monday, Tuesday, Sunday
• Months: January, April, June

Easy way to remember: MINTS!
This acronym⁵ can help you remember what to capitalize.

• M - Months, Days
• I - The pronoun 'I'
• N - Names (proper nouns)
• T - Titles (we will learn this later)
• S - Start of a sentence

🧠 Practice Quiz: Find the Mistake

Read the sentences below and find the capitalization mistakes. The correct answers are below.

1. my name is sokha. i am a student.
2. we will visit the market on saturday.
3. he lives in kampot. he is cambodian.

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Correct Answers:

1. My name is Sokha. I am a student.
2. We will visit the market on Saturday.
3. He lives in Kampot. He is Cambodian.

📝 Homework: Rewrite the Paragraph

Rewrite this paragraph with the correct capital letters.

my friend's name is narin. he is cambodian. he lives in a small house in kampot. his birthday is in june. on sundays, he and i like to go to the riverside.

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(Answer: My friend's name is Narin. He is Cambodian. He lives in a small house in Kampot. His birthday is in June. On Sundays, he and I like to go to the riverside.)

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Writing Mechanics: (Phrase) - ក្បួនសរសេរ (kbaun sarser) - The rules for writing correctly, like punctuation and capitalization. ↩
2. Capital Letter: (Noun) - អក្សរធំ (âksâr thum) - A "big" letter (A, B, C) used at the beginning of sentences and for special names. ↩
3. Lowercase Letter: (Noun) - អក្សរតូច (âksâr toch) - A "small" letter (a, b, c) used for most writing. ↩
4. Proper Noun: (Noun) - វិសេសនាម (vises niam) - The special name of a person, place, or thing (e.g., Dara, Cambodia). It always starts with a capital letter. ↩
5. Acronym: (Noun) - ពាក្យកាត់ (peak kat) - A word formed from the first letters of other words (e.g., USA). ↩