I have a couple English questions I need help on...?

Question

Okay here's the first thing I need help on:

Exercise 3

4. Do you think the henderson hornets will win the play- offs?

~Okay I'm supposed to capitalize any errors so I already have Henderson Hornets, but does play- offs need to be capitalized too?~

6. To stop flooding in the South, the Tennessee valley authority, a government agency, built thirty- nine dams on the Tennessee River and the streams that flow into it.

~Same here I have to find the capitalization errors I already have Tennessee Valley Authority, but would government or agency or both need to be capitalized?~

Review A

6. They range from small stationary stores to one of the finest resteraunts in the midwest.

~Same find the ones that need to be capitolized... So I think there is something in here that needs to be capitolized but I'm not sure. One more thing is midwest capitolized?~

*NOTE* All theese sentances are exactly how they appear in the book. Not what I already have written on my paper***

Answer 1

English teacher here ...

4. playoffs does NOT need to be capitalized

6. government and agency are NOT capitalized

Review A

6. midwest is NOT capitalized because it is NOT part of a formal name, such as Midwest Eagles.  

Answer 2

4)

You're right, Henderson Hornets is a proper name.  However, play-off is not proper.

A proper name has to be specific.  Something like the Superbowl is specific enough.  Any old play-offs are just any old play-offs.

6)

No, the phrase "a government agency" isn't proper.  It's not specific enough.  It could be any old government agency.  It just happens to be the Tennessee Valley Authority in this specific case.

6) (again)

They range from small stationary stores to one of the finest restaurants in the Midwest.

They could be any old small stationary stores.  They could be any old fine restaurants.  But, there ain' so such thing as any old midwest.  It's the Midwest.

The simplest kind of proper name is a personal name.  We know who George Washington is.  We know who Magic Johnson is.  We know who John Smith is.

Ok, there may be thousands of different men with the name John Smith.  But, the thing that the label is attached to, the man himself, that's very specific.  He's the one-and-only.

There might be more than one sports team called the Hornets or the Bears or whatever.  Still, the name, when it's used, is meant for the one-and-only Bears, the one-and-only Hornets, in the same sense as the one-and-only Mr. Smith.

There is one especially confusing case.  These two sentences are correct:

I'm afraid that Mother told me I can't do that.

I'm afraid that my mother told me I can't do that.

In the former, "Mother" is used as a name.  In the second, "mother" is used as a generic noun.  Only the first instance requires capitalization.

Here's the same distinction:

I was born in the midwest region of the United States.

I was born in the Midwest.

Saying "the midwest of something" makes "midwest" generic.  Otherwise, it's the proper name of the one-and-only Midwest.

Answer 3

4. Do you think the henderson hornets will win the play- offs?

NO, do not capitalize play-offs

6. To stop flooding in the South, the Tennessee valley authority, a government agency, built thirty- nine dams ~on the Tennessee River and the streams that flow into it.

NO, do not capitalize government or agency.  However, numbers 10 and above should not be written out as words.  They should be shown as numbers.  .....built 39 dams...

Review A

6. They range from small stationary stores to one of the finest resteraunts in the midwest.

Nothing needs to be capitalized.  However, this store is spelled stationEry, not stationAry. Also, capitAlized does not have any O in it.  

Answer 4

4. Do you think the Henderson Hornets will win the play-offs?

6. To stop flooding in the south, the Tennessee Valley Authority, a government agency, built thirty-nine dams on the Tennessee River and the streams that flow into it.

6. They range from small stationary stores to one of the finest restaurants in the midwest.