The uppercase and lowercase letters are the letters used daily for writing. The first is a capital letter (big) and the second is smaller (small).
A bit of history
Initially, when writing, only capital letters were used, in which the boundaries (upper and lower) were clearly defined. Over time, cursive developed, the letters took on a more rounded shape. Thus, the foundations of the so-called minuscule Carolingian writing, which was developed by the scientist Alcuin, arose. It was used at the court of Charlemagne, and over time this letter spread throughout Europe. This is how for the first time a single text began to contain lowercase and uppercase letters.
Uppercase and lowercase letters
The use of uppercase and lowercase letters is one of the most difficult problems of modern Russian spelling. The constant change in realities entails a change in the spelling of these letters. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly study new editions of reference books and dictionaries, which must necessarily reflect such innovations.
But, despite this, there are basic principles for the use of uppercase and lowercase letters. They help to understand the writing of large and small letters,even if some word is missing in the dictionary.
Using capital letters
Capitalized:
- first word at the beginning of a sentence and text;
- first name, patronymic, last name, nickname and pseudonym (Maxim Gorky, Seraphim Sarovsky);
- name of animal (dog Ingvar, bear cub Borka, cat Vaska);
- a common noun that acts as a literary character (Little Red Riding Hood);
- own place name (Europe);
- common noun, name of titles, professions, titles that are part of the geographical name (Pine Forest);
- functional word at the beginning of a geographic name (Los Angeles);
- individual astronomical name (Mercury, Milky Way, Southern Cross);
- all words that make up the names of political parties, enterprises, institutions, foreign firms, with the exception of official ones (UN Security Council, State Council, European Parliament);
- all words that make up the official names of states (Chechen Republic, French Republic);
- first word of names of cultural institutions and entertainment enterprises (Moscow Operetta Theatre);
- names of the highest honorary titles and highest positions, which are indicated in official documents (Vice-President of the Russian Federation, President of the USA);
- names of historical events and eras (Renaissance, Renaissance,July Commune);
- words at the beginning of names: Central, State, All-Russian, International, Russian, World (International Monetary Bank);
- words Fatherland, Motherland, Man, Hope, Wisdom, Center, etc., which are in special stylistic use;
- pronoun you (your) as a form of polite address;
- names of cult books, church holidays (Bible, Easter, Trinity);
- abbreviations that are formed from proper names (United Nations - UN);
- possessive adjectives (the question is "whose?"), containing the suffix -in, -ov (-ev), which are formed from proper names and animal names (Fedina's books, Raphael's Madonna, Odysseus wanderings);
- the name of a literary work, news agencies, press organs, in addition, they must be quoted (the novel "Crime and Punishment");
- names and abbreviations of the names of industrial brands of technical products ("Volga", ZIL);
- individual names of planes, ships, trains (ship Titanic).
Using a lowercase letter
A lowercase letter is written if it is a component:
- articles, prepositions, particles in Western European names and proper names (Ludwig van Beethoven);
- personal names that aim to be ironic or negative (new puddles);
- nouns formed from surnames andpersonal names (Oblomovism);
- components of Turkic and Arabic names that indicate kinship or social status (al, zade, bek, yeah);
- names of units of measurement that were given by the name of the scientist (amps);
- words earth, moon, sun, which are not astronomical names;
- adjective names containing the suffix -sk- denoting belonging, formed from proper names (Chekhov's pages);
- names of ranks and positions (deputy minister, mayor);
- abbreviations formed from common names (university - higher education institution).
Also lowercase letter is written in titles:
- geological epochs and periods, archaeological cultures and epochs (Mesozoic era);
- positions and titles, international organizations, as well as the highest foreign elected institutions (Emperor of Japan, Major General, Ambassador);
- plural authorities (Ministries of Russia);
- animal breeds (Keeshond dog);
- institutions whose names are not proper names (school 592).
Principles for the use of lowercase and uppercase letters
After studying the above rules, we can identify the basic principles on the basis of which lowercase and uppercase letters are used. So:
- Highlighting specific segments of sentences (text) is a syntactic principle.
- Highlight certain words in text:
1) Lowercase letter is writtenin common nouns, capital - in proper names - morphological principle.
2) The capital letter is written in common nouns endowed with special symbols or pathos (Man, Motherland), in the names of holidays (New Year, Victory Day) - a semantic principle.
3) The capital letter is used in abbreviations made up of the first letters.
Must differentiate
As already mentioned, the lowercase letter is written in the names of adjectives that contain the suffix -ck- denoting belonging and formed from proper names. Therefore, "Pushkin's prose" is written with a small letter. But possessive adjectives with the suffix -sk-, which have the meaning of a name in honor of someone's memory, are capitalized. For example, "Lomonosov Readings".
Word: lowercase and uppercase letters
Due to the rapid development of information technology, the Microsoft Office Word program, which is practically indispensable in the work and educational process, has gained wide popularity. But few people know how to make lowercase letters from uppercase and vice versa with a single press of certain keys.
So, let's write the following text in capital letters:
"RUSSIAN SMALL LETTERS".
Now you need to select the text and press the Shift and F3 keys at the same time. After that, we get:
"lowercase letters of the Russian alphabet".
After pressing the combination of these keys again, we get the following:
"Lower Letters of the Russian Alphabet".
And to return to the original text, you need to press Shift+F3 again.
