Should I capitalize “the” if it has a comma preceding it in a title?
If I am citing a resource and "the" comes before the main title, should I put the "the" at the end with a comma preceding it?
writing
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potatobear616potatobear616
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If I am citing a resource and "the" comes before the main title, should I put the "the" at the end with a comma preceding it?
writing
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
1
New contributor
potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday
add a comment |
If I am citing a resource and "the" comes before the main title, should I put the "the" at the end with a comma preceding it?
writing
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
1
New contributor
potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
If I am citing a resource and "the" comes before the main title, should I put the "the" at the end with a comma preceding it?
writing
writing
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
1
New contributor
potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
1
New contributor
potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
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potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
1
asked yesterday
potatobear616potatobear616
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potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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potatobear616 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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Check out our Code of Conduct.
Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday
add a comment |
Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday
Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
"the" comes before the "main title" doesn't really make sense, unless it is part of the title. In which case, "the" should be capitalized and hold its position.
HOWEVER,
There has been an issue in bibliographies (and libraries, and business listings in the phone book, and... iTunes playlists..., etc., ad nauseum.) where searching for a title is made difficult because intuitively, no one wants to search the endless "The" section for a work that can be found easier by the second word in the title.
It might very well be the case the specific style manual you are using will tell you to cycle "The" to the back of the title, preceded by a comma. In that case, yes, indeed, "the" is capitalized and your citation would be:
Hardy Boys, The.
BUT
The Hardy Boys are just some characters, albeit awesome characters, that are created and no one is potentially offended by altering the title. Certain texts, namely religious texts, should not be altered as one would The Hardy Boys. This might be addressed in your respective style manual; regardless, if it says the same rule applies, I would exercise caution, evaluate your audience, and decide whether or not to proceed in following the rule. If it is against your own belief, you don't follow the rule - no one can challenge you on that.
The Holy Bible
The Holy Qur'an
The Communist Manifesto
Essentially, any text that has held import enough globally that has caused people to spend their lives and other's lives over, then out of respect, you don't break the title.
But, I consider breaking the title in general to be an outmoded rule to follow. In particular, with the onset of the Information Age, the integration of more and more complex search algorithms, the tendency of authors to avoid a title starting with "The" for a published work that would apply to the problem of alphabetical ordering, I can still understand why a style manual would recommend following the rule. However, I just disregard - I've never been called out on it so long as it is consistent.
One way to reconcile this would be alphabetizing as if "The" weren't there, but still keeping the Title Intact. Even indexes have found ways to maintain the title - yet still making the title easy to find alphabetically.
- -
Short Answer - Yes; Title, The. Except texts that demand a special respect.
Long Answer - Probably not; see all that stuff above.
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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active
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active
oldest
votes
"the" comes before the "main title" doesn't really make sense, unless it is part of the title. In which case, "the" should be capitalized and hold its position.
HOWEVER,
There has been an issue in bibliographies (and libraries, and business listings in the phone book, and... iTunes playlists..., etc., ad nauseum.) where searching for a title is made difficult because intuitively, no one wants to search the endless "The" section for a work that can be found easier by the second word in the title.
It might very well be the case the specific style manual you are using will tell you to cycle "The" to the back of the title, preceded by a comma. In that case, yes, indeed, "the" is capitalized and your citation would be:
Hardy Boys, The.
BUT
The Hardy Boys are just some characters, albeit awesome characters, that are created and no one is potentially offended by altering the title. Certain texts, namely religious texts, should not be altered as one would The Hardy Boys. This might be addressed in your respective style manual; regardless, if it says the same rule applies, I would exercise caution, evaluate your audience, and decide whether or not to proceed in following the rule. If it is against your own belief, you don't follow the rule - no one can challenge you on that.
The Holy Bible
The Holy Qur'an
The Communist Manifesto
Essentially, any text that has held import enough globally that has caused people to spend their lives and other's lives over, then out of respect, you don't break the title.
But, I consider breaking the title in general to be an outmoded rule to follow. In particular, with the onset of the Information Age, the integration of more and more complex search algorithms, the tendency of authors to avoid a title starting with "The" for a published work that would apply to the problem of alphabetical ordering, I can still understand why a style manual would recommend following the rule. However, I just disregard - I've never been called out on it so long as it is consistent.
One way to reconcile this would be alphabetizing as if "The" weren't there, but still keeping the Title Intact. Even indexes have found ways to maintain the title - yet still making the title easy to find alphabetically.
- -
Short Answer - Yes; Title, The. Except texts that demand a special respect.
Long Answer - Probably not; see all that stuff above.
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
add a comment |
"the" comes before the "main title" doesn't really make sense, unless it is part of the title. In which case, "the" should be capitalized and hold its position.
HOWEVER,
There has been an issue in bibliographies (and libraries, and business listings in the phone book, and... iTunes playlists..., etc., ad nauseum.) where searching for a title is made difficult because intuitively, no one wants to search the endless "The" section for a work that can be found easier by the second word in the title.
It might very well be the case the specific style manual you are using will tell you to cycle "The" to the back of the title, preceded by a comma. In that case, yes, indeed, "the" is capitalized and your citation would be:
Hardy Boys, The.
BUT
The Hardy Boys are just some characters, albeit awesome characters, that are created and no one is potentially offended by altering the title. Certain texts, namely religious texts, should not be altered as one would The Hardy Boys. This might be addressed in your respective style manual; regardless, if it says the same rule applies, I would exercise caution, evaluate your audience, and decide whether or not to proceed in following the rule. If it is against your own belief, you don't follow the rule - no one can challenge you on that.
The Holy Bible
The Holy Qur'an
The Communist Manifesto
Essentially, any text that has held import enough globally that has caused people to spend their lives and other's lives over, then out of respect, you don't break the title.
But, I consider breaking the title in general to be an outmoded rule to follow. In particular, with the onset of the Information Age, the integration of more and more complex search algorithms, the tendency of authors to avoid a title starting with "The" for a published work that would apply to the problem of alphabetical ordering, I can still understand why a style manual would recommend following the rule. However, I just disregard - I've never been called out on it so long as it is consistent.
One way to reconcile this would be alphabetizing as if "The" weren't there, but still keeping the Title Intact. Even indexes have found ways to maintain the title - yet still making the title easy to find alphabetically.
- -
Short Answer - Yes; Title, The. Except texts that demand a special respect.
Long Answer - Probably not; see all that stuff above.
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
add a comment |
"the" comes before the "main title" doesn't really make sense, unless it is part of the title. In which case, "the" should be capitalized and hold its position.
HOWEVER,
There has been an issue in bibliographies (and libraries, and business listings in the phone book, and... iTunes playlists..., etc., ad nauseum.) where searching for a title is made difficult because intuitively, no one wants to search the endless "The" section for a work that can be found easier by the second word in the title.
It might very well be the case the specific style manual you are using will tell you to cycle "The" to the back of the title, preceded by a comma. In that case, yes, indeed, "the" is capitalized and your citation would be:
Hardy Boys, The.
BUT
The Hardy Boys are just some characters, albeit awesome characters, that are created and no one is potentially offended by altering the title. Certain texts, namely religious texts, should not be altered as one would The Hardy Boys. This might be addressed in your respective style manual; regardless, if it says the same rule applies, I would exercise caution, evaluate your audience, and decide whether or not to proceed in following the rule. If it is against your own belief, you don't follow the rule - no one can challenge you on that.
The Holy Bible
The Holy Qur'an
The Communist Manifesto
Essentially, any text that has held import enough globally that has caused people to spend their lives and other's lives over, then out of respect, you don't break the title.
But, I consider breaking the title in general to be an outmoded rule to follow. In particular, with the onset of the Information Age, the integration of more and more complex search algorithms, the tendency of authors to avoid a title starting with "The" for a published work that would apply to the problem of alphabetical ordering, I can still understand why a style manual would recommend following the rule. However, I just disregard - I've never been called out on it so long as it is consistent.
One way to reconcile this would be alphabetizing as if "The" weren't there, but still keeping the Title Intact. Even indexes have found ways to maintain the title - yet still making the title easy to find alphabetically.
- -
Short Answer - Yes; Title, The. Except texts that demand a special respect.
Long Answer - Probably not; see all that stuff above.
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
"the" comes before the "main title" doesn't really make sense, unless it is part of the title. In which case, "the" should be capitalized and hold its position.
HOWEVER,
There has been an issue in bibliographies (and libraries, and business listings in the phone book, and... iTunes playlists..., etc., ad nauseum.) where searching for a title is made difficult because intuitively, no one wants to search the endless "The" section for a work that can be found easier by the second word in the title.
It might very well be the case the specific style manual you are using will tell you to cycle "The" to the back of the title, preceded by a comma. In that case, yes, indeed, "the" is capitalized and your citation would be:
Hardy Boys, The.
BUT
The Hardy Boys are just some characters, albeit awesome characters, that are created and no one is potentially offended by altering the title. Certain texts, namely religious texts, should not be altered as one would The Hardy Boys. This might be addressed in your respective style manual; regardless, if it says the same rule applies, I would exercise caution, evaluate your audience, and decide whether or not to proceed in following the rule. If it is against your own belief, you don't follow the rule - no one can challenge you on that.
The Holy Bible
The Holy Qur'an
The Communist Manifesto
Essentially, any text that has held import enough globally that has caused people to spend their lives and other's lives over, then out of respect, you don't break the title.
But, I consider breaking the title in general to be an outmoded rule to follow. In particular, with the onset of the Information Age, the integration of more and more complex search algorithms, the tendency of authors to avoid a title starting with "The" for a published work that would apply to the problem of alphabetical ordering, I can still understand why a style manual would recommend following the rule. However, I just disregard - I've never been called out on it so long as it is consistent.
One way to reconcile this would be alphabetizing as if "The" weren't there, but still keeping the Title Intact. Even indexes have found ways to maintain the title - yet still making the title easy to find alphabetically.
- -
Short Answer - Yes; Title, The. Except texts that demand a special respect.
Long Answer - Probably not; see all that stuff above.
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
answered yesterday
J. Mac JordanJ. Mac Jordan
385
385
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
add a comment |
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
No references given. So treat this merely as the strange opinions of J Mac Jordan.
– GEdgar
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
I hardly believe The Hardy Boys as high quality literature is at all a strange opinion relegated to myself; I believe it is actually widely known, established, and agreed upon fact.
– J. Mac Jordan
yesterday
add a comment |
potatobear616 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
potatobear616 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
potatobear616 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
potatobear616 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Do you mean, for example, "A quotation from Bible, The"?
– Weather Vane
yesterday
I would say: if you are citing a resource, do not place The at the end, keep it at the front. Only when this reference is placed inside an alphabetized list would you move The to the end. And in that case, keep it capitalized.
– GEdgar
yesterday