Am writing up my Hornblower parody, and keep typing Midshipmen as Midshrimpmen. Incidently, grammatically speaking, does Midshipmen have to be capitalized all the time, or just in certain instances?
I'd say always capitalised, but I suppose that when not used in conjunction with a name, i.e. to describe a group of midshipmen, then don't capitalise.
The midshipmen went to the brothel.
The three Midshipmen, Wetherington, Bragg and Horne, were found in dubious circumstances in the brothel.
My experience with the Navy is limited to making jokes about their sexual preferences whilst parading next to them, but if it's anything like the Army/RAF then that should work!
Good question--and I'm not sure. I capitalize if a name follows it, but if I'm talking about, say the midshipman, or the lieutenant, or any such, I don't.
If you find out the rule (if there is one) post it?
The general concensus seems to be to do what you do, but I'm waiting to see if any of the more gramatically inclined on my friendslist take pity on me and answer;) Will post if they do.
This is one of those things that has always confused me too. Say, you're talking about Pellew, but you just refer to him in conversation as "the captain" and you're on Indy so there's no mistaking which captain you're discussing. Do you capitalize, or not? I've seen it done both ways.
Certainly;) I'm going to parody Mutiny and Retribution. I have some very silly subplots in mind, though mostly I've got individual scenes for random parts of the story written up. I might post a scene later to tease you all *eg*
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The midshipmen went to the brothel.
The three Midshipmen, Wetherington, Bragg and Horne, were found in dubious circumstances in the brothel.
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Nice examples btw;)
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If you find out the rule (if there is one) post it?
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This is one of those things that has always confused me too. Say, you're talking about Pellew, but you just refer to him in conversation as "the captain" and you're on Indy so there's no mistaking which captain you're discussing. Do you capitalize, or not? I've seen it done both ways.
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Here's her grammar guide, BYW:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/5307/guide.htm
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