Quick Writing and Editing Tips – Capitalising Kinship Names #Writing #Editing

Kinship names are the words we use to indicate family members, like mum, mom, dad, aunt etc. 

Capitalise when the name immediately precedes a personal name, or when the name is used alone in place of an actual name. So:

Did you remember to get Mum a birthday card?

We went to see Dad when he was in hospital.

Lily and Joe loved visiting Aunt Susie’s house.

I was seven when I last saw Grandma.

Don’t capitalise when these words follow the personal name, when they don’t refer to a specific person or when they are used with possessive nouns or pronouns.

So:

The Sinfield sisters always stuck together.

There aren’t many dads who would do that.

My aunt wasn’t feeling well.

I bought a card for my mum.

Sally’s grandma lived next door.