The name "tony" should be capitalised.

[Tan Elaine]

The name "tony" should be capitalised.

Does "capitalised" mean that the first letter of the name should be in uppercase or all the letters?

Thanks.

 

[GoesStation]

The name "tony" should be capitalised.

Does "capitalised" mean that the first letter of the name should be in uppercase or all the letters?

Just the first letter.

 

[jutfrank]

It could mean either. Most likely it means only the initial T.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The name "Tony" should be capitalised.

Does "capitalised" mean that the first letter of the name should be in uppercase . . .

Yes.

. . .or all the letters?

Of course not!

Thanks.

As you know, all proper nouns are capitalized.

Q: How often do you see every letter of a proper noun capitalized in ordinary writing?

A: Never.

 

[emsr2d2]

It is ambiguous to anyone who doesn't know the basics of capitalisation in written English. To avoid confusion, and if it is intended to mean that you should write "Tony", it should say "The first letter of 'tony' should be capitalised".

 

[Tdol]

That would be in an ideal world without ambiguity. However, I'd recommend taking the more probable path when presented with choices. There could be contexts where TONY would be the correct choice, like data entry, but then the speaker would probably emphasise the need for the whole word to be written in upper case. If you write Tony and they want TONY, they will tell you. :up:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It is ambiguous to anyone who doesn't know the basics of capitalisation in written English. To avoid confusion, and if it is intended to mean that you should write "Tony", it should say "The first letter of 'tony' should be capitalised".

Yes, that would be clearer. But there's a big difference between saying capitalize and saying all capitals or all caps. We simply don't write words in sentences in all caps. Acronyms, yes, but ordinary words, no - not even if they're proper nouns.

And if Tan Elaine didn't know that, we'd see TAN ELAINE at the top of the page.

 

[bubbha]

In my lifetime understanding as a native speaker, "capitalize" unambiguously means "make the first letter of the word a capital letter".

 

[Tdol]

We simply don't write words in sentences in all caps. Acronyms, yes, but ordinary words, no - not even if they're proper nouns.

You should spend more time on the internet. :-D