Aunt capitalized

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

This sentence is from English File. 'I must write to Aunt Julia.' Why is 'aunt' capitalized?

 

[emsr2d2]

Because in that context, it's used as a title.

Who's that?
That's my aunt, Julia.
What do you call her?
I call her Aunt Julia, of course!

 

[Rachel Adams]

Because in that context, it's used as a title.

Who's that?
That's my aunt, Julia.
What do you call her?
I call her Aunt Julia, of course!

Are other words that describe family members capitalized in the same way? 'Mother' is capitalized when it is used instead of the woman's name. But it seems to be a different rule:shock:

 

[emsr2d2]

It's the same rule, except that of course we wouldn't follow "Mother" or "Father" with the person's name. It's a standalone title.

Q: Who's that?
A1: That's my mother.
A2: That's Mother.

I love my uncle, Julian.
I love Uncle Julian.

Q: Charlie Bucket, who are you going to take to the chocolate factory?
A1: I'm going to take my grandpa, Joe.
A2: I'm going to take Grandpa Joe.

 

[Rachel Adams]

It's the same rule, except that of course we wouldn't follow "Mother" or "Father" with the person's name. It's a standalone title.

Q: Who's that?
A1: That's my mother.
A2: That's Mother.

I love my uncle, Julian.
I love Uncle Julian.

Q: Charlie Bucket, who are you going to take to the chocolate factory?
A1: I'm going to take my grandpa, Joe.
A2: I'm going to take Grandpa Joe.

OK. 'That's my Aunt Julia.' Isn't probably natural, is it?

 

[GoesStation]

OK. 'That's my Aunt Julia[no period]' isn't [STRIKE]probably[/STRIKE] natural, is it?

It's incorrect. Write either "That's my aunt, Julia" or "That's Aunt Julia."

 

[emsr2d2]

"My" would only be necessary in order to avoid confusion with someone else's aunt called Julia.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Are other words that describe family members capitalized in the same way? 'Mother' is capitalized when it is used instead of the woman's name. But it seems to be a different rule:shock:

It's the same rule: When you use the word as a proper name, capitalize it. When you use the word to describe someone, don't capitalize it.

Some titles are more common than others. For instance, Aunt Julia and Uncle John are common. But I've never heard anyone say Niece Julia or Nephew John.

You can say:

- "I'll ask my daddy." (You used "daddy" to describe whom you're asking.)

- "I'll ask Daddy." ("Daddy" is the proper noun you use to address him.)

-"I'll ask Fred." (You address your father by his first name.)

Think of it like doctor. There are lots of doctors. Maybe you're an eye doctor or a horse doctor. Then we'd say that Rachel is a doctor. That describes you. So what do we call you? We call you Doctor Adams. We might say:

"Hello, Doctor!"
"Hello, Doctor Adams!"
"Hello, Rachel! I didn't know you were a doctor!"

 

[jutfrank]

I'm loth to complicate the matter but I'm genuinely interested in the following case:

That's my Aunt Julia.

I think this is a correctly capitalised use of a proper noun, even though the my appears to treat it as a common noun. I believe this is commonly accepted. Am I wrong about this? (I'm really not sure.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

"My" would only be necessary in order to avoid confusion with someone else's aunt called Julia.

It's natural in American English: "I talked with my Aunt Julia today."

A small a would also be fine. It just depends on whether you normally call her Julia or Aunt Julia.

(Cross-post.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry, I should have said that "That's my Aunt Julia" isn't wrong. It's just that "my" is optional.

 

[jutfrank]

Sorry, I should have said that "That's my Aunt Julia" isn't wrong. It's just that "my" is optional.

This does seem to belong in a grey area though, doesn't it? Somewhere between a proper and common noun.


That's Aunt Julia. :tick:
That's my Aunt Julia. :tick:

That's Mother. :tick:
That's my Mother. :cross:

 

[Rachel Adams]

Sorry, I should have said that "That's my Aunt Julia" isn't wrong. It's just that "my" is optional.

Interesting that there are two options. That's my aunt, Julia. The comma is added only when aunt is not capitalized. :shock:

 

[GoesStation]

I'm loth to complicate the matter but I'm genuinely interested in the following case:

That's my Aunt Julia.

I think this is a correctly capitalised use of a proper noun, even though the my appears to treat it as a common noun. I believe this is commonly accepted. Am I wrong about this? (I'm really not sure.)

I've been waiting for you to jump in here. I think my case that it's ungrammatical is rather weak.

 

[emsr2d2]

Interesting that there are two options. That's my aunt, Julia. The comma is added only when aunt is not capitalized.

That's right. It's because the sentence with the comma imparts two pieces of information:
1) That's my aunt.
2) Her name is Julia.

Without the comma, and with "Aunt Julia", it imparts only one piece of information:
1) That's the woman I call "Aunt Julia".

 

[Rachel Adams]

That's right. It's because the sentence with the comma imparts two pieces of information:
1) That's my aunt.
2) Her name is Julia.

Without the comma, and with "Aunt Julia", it imparts only one piece of information:
1) That's the woman I call "Aunt Julia".

This is how I understand it. You don't use a comma in 'that's my Aunt, Julia' because when capitalized, 'Aunt Julia' is a proper noun and a proper noun is not divided by a comma.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

OK. 'That's my Aunt Julia' probably isn't natural, is it?

It's natural and correct.

See post #10.

 

[emsr2d2]

This is how I understand it. You don't use a comma in 'that's my Aunt, Julia' because when capitalized, 'Aunt Julia' is a proper noun and a proper noun is not divided by a comma.

It would be completely wrong to write "That's my Aunt, Julia". "Aunt Julia" is her title and the two words must be kept together. If you're not using it as a title, you need the uncapitalised "aunt" and the comma.

 

[jutfrank]

Without the comma, and with "Aunt Julia", it imparts only one piece of information:
1) That's the woman I call "Aunt Julia".

Sorry to get in the way of your explanation, ems, but I find this interesting and I'm trying to think it through for myself.

Without the comma (That's my Aunt Julia), you're still imparting both pieces of information. That's what the word my does. Without my, there would only be one piece of information , but with my, I'm also telling you about our relationship, regardless of the comma.