Capitalization & Compound Words

Capitalization

Excessive capitalization slows down the reader and can affect their comprehension of the material. The following words and phrases should be capitalized:

1. titles and headings
2. proper nouns
3. the first word of a sentence (including a direct quote if it is a complete sentence)
4. months and days (seasons are not capitalized - "fall of 2020")
5. geographical terms (except for directional words that are not part of proper nouns (east, west, north, south) and recognized regions (Southern Maryland, the West)
6. historical periods and events
7. brand names

The terms and phrases below should not be capitalized unless they are part of a proper noun (even if they will be referred to as an acronym):

• working group
• block, lot, or parcel
• transit-oriented development (TOD)
• level of service (LOS)
• public participation process (PPP)
• building restriction line (BRL)
• critical lane volume (CLV)

When referring to Prince George's County:

• capitalize "County" on second reference. If "county" refers to a different county, keep it lowercase until it is a proper noun (Montgomery County):
  1. The County is going to give all employees new cars.
  2. Anne Arundel County employees would also like new cars.
  3. Annapolis residents are petitioning the county to give them new cars as well.
• Prince George's County is always spelled out. Do not abbreviate it as PG, PG County, or PG Co.

When referring to the Prince George's County Planning Department:

• Capitalize "Department" after the full name has been introduced.
• Do not capitalize "division" or "section" unless it is part of a title or other proper noun.
  • The Information Management Division wrote the report.
  • Contact the division of DPIE that handles business licensing.

Compound Words

Compound words formed from the prefixed below are to be used as single words without hyphens:

ante	counter	macro	multi	pre	socio	ultra
anti	extra	meta	neo	pro	sub	un
bi	infra	micro	non	proto	super	under
bio	inter	mid	over	pseudo	supra
co	intra	mini	post	semi

Exceptions	Rule	Example
base word begins with the same letter that ends the prefix	use a hyphen	anti-inflammatory, semi-independent
prefix ends with "e" or "o" and the base word begins with the same letter	hyphen is generally omitted	coordinate, reexamine, preexisting
hyphen is needed to eliminate confusion between words	use a hyphen	co-op, re-create, re-cover
base word is normally capitalized	use a hyphen	mid-August, pseudo-Victorian, trans-Atlantic

See the Planning Department's list of commonly used words and phrases.