Grammar Question

[GriffyD_Boy]

Mike walked up to Angela and said, "Hello."

Should the H in Hello be capitalized in this sentence? This is one part of sentence structure that always throws me.

 

[Ardent1]

Mike walked up to Angela and said, "Hello."

Should the H in Hello be capitalized in this sentence? This is one part of sentence structure that always throws me.

Yes, it should. Think of it as a new sentence since no words have been spoken up to this point. On the other hand, there are cases where a first word inside quotation marks will not me capitalized. While the following example is sloppy from the standpoint that the prose should not be divided by dialogue in this way (it becomes confusing) it will serve as a pretty good example.

Donald strode up to the woman who was being so rude and asked, "Do you think it's okay for you to be like this with people," she was beautiful, "and do you think you have a right to your opinion when nobody has asked for it?"

The second part in quotations is a continuation of the first part in quotations, and so it doesn't require capitalization.

 

[legerdemer]

Mike walked up to Angela and said, "Hello."

Should the H in Hello be capitalized in this sentence? This is one part of sentence structure that always throws me.

Yes, it should. "Hello." is an independent sentence imbedded in another, and it should start with a capitalized word.

 

[Handley_Page]

Mike walked up to Angela and said, "Hello."

Should the H in Hello be capitalized in this sentence? This is one part of sentence structure that always throws me.

Of course it should

 

[GriffyD_Boy]

Thanks, that's what I thought, but I figured I'd ask just to be certain.