The Society publishes a journal, Quest, four times a year and organizes talks and con

[nelson13]

Usually when we refer to an organization which has been mentioned, we use a capital letter,

eg The Society publishes a journal, Quest, four times a year and organizes talks and conferences about English usage.

However, I know that some foreigners will say it is no good capitalizing president, prime minister, etc. for the first letter; I hope to know whether there is any similar suggestion saying that it is better to use society, university, college, etc.

If not, can I use a small letter to refer back to the organization I have just mentioned?

 

[5jj]

Usually when we refer to an organization which has been mentioned, we use a capital letter,

eg The Society publishes a journal, Quest, four times a year and organizes talks and conferences about English usage.

I would write society in that sentence. There is no need for a capital letter.

 

[Rover_KE]

The quoted sentence is from this source.

The Queen's English Society, on its homepage, refers to itself as 'the society', in the phrase 'the society's constitution'.

Rover

 

[nelson13]

I would write society in that sentence. There is no need for a capital letter.

Thank you. This is exactly the answer I expected.

But another problem is that I thought it a pompous style solely in Hong Kong to refer back to, eg, a university by using a capital letter, but when I went to Cambridge's website, I found that they also use a capital letter U. Is there any native English speaker who thinks it bad style?

 

[5jj]

Is there any native English speaker who thinks it bad style?

I can't honestly say that I have spent sleepless nights worrying about this.

 

[Rover_KE]

Agreed.

Thread closed.