|
Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
nickalc
Joined: 02 Jun 2011
Posts: 17
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:30 pm Post subject: "room 314" or "Room 314"? |
 |
|
In academic writing, should it be "We'll meet in room 314," or "We'll meet in Room 314," or both are grammatically correct?
And a similar question regarding 'chapter,' "... with reference to chapter 13," or "... with reference to Chater 13,", or both? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Mary W. Ng
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 261
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject: "room 314" or "Room 314"? |
|
|
Question:
In academic writing, should it be "We'll meet in room 314," or "We'll meet in Room 314," or both are grammatically correct?
And a similar question regarding 'chapter,' "... with reference to chapter 13," or "... with reference to Chapter 13,", or both?
Answer:
Room 314 refers to a particular room. Chapter 3 refers to a particular chapter. I would say both "room" and "chapter" should be capitalized.
_________________
Mary W. Ng
Helping students learn grammar
http:www.aimpublishing.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:51 pm Post subject: Re: "room 314" or "Room 314"? |
|
|
| Mary W. Ng wrote: |
Question:
In academic writing, should it be "We'll meet in room 314," or "We'll meet in Room 314," or both are grammatically correct?
And a similar question regarding 'chapter,' "... with reference to chapter 13," or "... with reference to Chapter 13,", or both?
Answer:
Room 314 refers to a particular room. Chapter 3 refers to a particular chapter. I would say both "room" and "chapter" should be capitalized. |
Yes, it is specific (room)(chapter), but those are not really names and I see no good reason to capitalize them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mary W. Ng
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 261
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: "room 314" or "Room 314"? |
|
|
2006 wrote:
| Quote: |
| Yes, it is specific (room)(chapter), but those are not really names and I see no good reason to capitalize them. |
Since nickalc was asking about capitalization in academic writing, I believe we need to be more formal and capitalize the words.
_________________
Mary W. Ng
Helping students learn grammar
http:www.aimpublishing.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:06 pm Post subject: Re: "room 314" or "Room 314"? |
|
|
| Mary W. Ng wrote: |
2006 wrote:
| Quote: |
| Yes, it is specific (room)(chapter), but those are not really names and I see no good reason to capitalize them. |
Since nickalc was asking about capitalization in academic writing, I believe we need to be more formal and capitalize the words. |
But if one believes, as I do, that capitalizing the r is not only not needed but even inapprpriate, one should be even less inclined to do so in an academic article. Inappropriate capitalization is not a requirement in academic writing.
Regardless of what kind of writing it is, let's consider this further.
Rooms just have numbers on their doors. They do not have, for example, '(r)(R)oom 1' on the door. So to me, there is absolutely no need to capitalize the r in 'room 1' in any kind of writing.
Those are my thoughts.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lotus
Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 862
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| lotus wrote: |
When identifying a specific room, room should capitalized. But the question still is 'why'?
Mrs. Jones was assigned to Room 209.
January 1
Room 1 
Though the rule exists, it is clear that some do not follow it in formal and informal settings. That's presumably because they also see absolutely no good reason to capitalize things like that.
Most of the time, the rule is being followed. Let me give you another very prevalent example of inappropriate capitalization (and punctuation).
A asks 'Is the above sentence correct?'
B answers by writing "Yes."
That "Yes." answer is extremely commonly seen, and is even written like that by English teachers, people who should know bettter!
They might try to justify that answer by saying that it's an ellipsis of 'Yes, it is correct.'
I don't buy that at all!
It makes much much more sense to say that 'yes' is a single word requiring no capitalization or punctuation than it does to say that "Yes." is an ellipsis. But it seems that many people just can't resist capitalizing. And why they do that is a mystery to me.
Anyway, thanks for the references, but I just can't see myself being convinced that capitalizing 'room 209' is the sensible thing to do.
Hopefully, that's all I will have to say about this.
--lotus |
2006 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lotus
Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 862
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Rules are there so that there is some kind of consistency. Nobody says you have to follow the rules. In fact, some rules are sometimes not even meaningful -- like avoiding dangling prepositions or not splitting infinitives.
As most folks know, English is a language with all sorts rules that are broken all the time. How someone handles the rules is their choice.
Strictly speaking, room should be capitalized before a number because it is specifying a named location, like a proper noun. But, as you can see, it isn't always followed. I don't think the grammar police will issue a citation in this case, since when you say "Go to room 42", everyone knows what you mean.
Just relax and enjoy the language. Being pedantic isn't always fun. Using the language in a natural way is the best way to learn.
--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
