Should colonel be capitalized in this sentence?
My Uncle Charles is a colonel in the US Army.
Should sergeant be capitalized in this sentence?
The speaker at our assembly was sergeant Arlene M Hayes.
Colonel is not capitalized in the first sentence.
Sergeant is capitalized in the second sentence because it's part of the soldier's title.
In the sentence "My Uncle Charles is a colonel in the US Army," the word "colonel" should be capitalized because it is part of a formal title. Therefore, it should be written as "My Uncle Charles is a Colonel in the US Army."
In the sentence "The speaker at our assembly was sergeant Arlene M Hayes," the word "sergeant" should not be capitalized because it is used as a generic title. Therefore, it should be written as "The speaker at our assembly was Sergeant Arlene M Hayes."
Yes, in both sentences, "colonel" and "sergeant" should be capitalized.
To determine whether to capitalize the titles "colonel" and "sergeant," you need to consider whether they are being used as formal titles or simply as common nouns.
In the first sentence, "colonel" is capitalized because it is being used as part of the formal title for Uncle Charles. "Colonel" in this context is a rank in the military and is capitalized when used as a title before a name.
In the second sentence, "sergeant" is also capitalized because it is being used as part of Sergeant Arlene M Hayes' formal title. Similar to "colonel," "sergeant" is a rank in the military and is capitalized when used as a title before a name.
In general, when titles are used before a person's name or as a direct form of address, they are capitalized. However, if the title is being used generically or descriptively, such as "The colonel is giving a speech," it is not capitalized.