WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute: "Trampoline" is a Brand

Episode Date: October 31, 2024

Brands that sound like commonly used terms should still be capitalized. Learn more on today's episode of Grammar Minute!

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we're saving the English language 60 seconds at a time. I'm Lauren Smith, and I'm here to tell you that brand names are capitalized. This probably sounds obvious. Of course, you're going to capitalize Purel or Windex. But what about less obvious brand names that have also become popular words, like weed eater, hydroflask, Hoover, and so on? In formal published writing, these words, even though commonly used, still need to be capitalized. There's some wiggle room with this.

Some words are just so commonly used and so rarely associated with brands that it just looks really weird to capitalize them. It would probably seem strange if jacuzzi or Velcro or trampoline were randomly capitalized in the middle of a sentence, especially since most people don't know these are brands. You can be flexible with these words, but generally it's best to follow the rule, capitalize brand names. That's your Grammar Minute. Visit thegramminut.com for more tips and tricks. Thank you.