
February 20, 2017
- capital (adjective)
- \KAP-uh-tul\
- What does it mean?
- 1 : punishable by or resulting in death2 : belonging to the series A, B, C, etc. rather than a, b, c, etc.3 : being the location of a government4 : of or relating to accumulated wealth5 : excellent
- How do you use it?
- Selena accidentally sent her text in all capital letters, and had to explain to her friend that she wasn't really angry.
- Are you a word wiz?
Which sentence below properly uses "capital"?
If you chose A, you did a capital (sense 5) job! Answer B uses "capital" as a noun. While this is a correct use of the noun "capital," it is not the correct use of the adjective, and we're looking at the adjective today. Answer C also uses our word as a noun, but there's another problem with it: it should use the word "Capitol" and not "Capital." These words are commonly confused; you can figure out which word to use by remembering that the Capitol (with an "o") is where Congress (with an "o") meets. Finally, Answer D is incorrect because it uses "capital" as a verb, leaving Answer A as the right choice.