When does Mum deserve a capital?

Question

My mum is having a baby. I'm happy for mum. I hope my mum has a baby girl.There are three instances of the word mum in the example. I thought the first and third did not need capital letters as they as simple nouns, used in the same way as the word 'mother'. I corrected the second sentence to read: 'I'm happy for Mum' because it's a pronoun. I was told that all instances of the word needed to be capitalized because 'mum' is abbreviated. What do you think?

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

Hi Anon

"My mum is having a baby. I'm happy for mum. I hope my mum has a baby girl.

You need not capitalize 'mum' when you write 'my mum'.

However, if you write 'Mum' without 'my', it is correct to capitalize 'mum'.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
I agree with Yoong Liat.

The second use of 'Mum' is capitalized because here you are using the word as her proper name.

Capitalization is not related to whether or not a word is abbreviated. You'd also say 'I'm happy for Mother'.

The word 'mum' is not a pronoun.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks Clive, I agree. Florence

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks I needed that for my homework??

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it. I now have a little bit more knowledge.

When does Mum deserve a capital?

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