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Friday

Capitol vs. capital: What's the right word?



Psst! Here’s a capital question. When a writer refers to the seat of the nation’s government, what word should he or she employ?

Here’s a speedy rundown on the use of Capitol and capital.

In the nation’s capital, the Capitol houses elected legislators. These folks are tasked with allotting the country’s capital with fiscal responsibility. When they fail to do so, although it seems a capital offense, they still remain occupied in the Capitol.

How can a writer keep these two words straight? The word Capitol, referring to the government building, includes the letter “o,” as in “Oh, no!” or “OMG.”

By the way, when writing about the Capitol building, the word is capitalized.

Now, that’s a capital idea.
Image/s:
Adapted from US Capitol
US Government photo - public domain

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1 comment:

  1. Now if only those in The Capital would actually do their job instead of fighting like school children our capital would be in better shape. And all those 8th grade school kids on tour could actually tour The Capitol.

    ReplyDelete

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