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Small capitals are just what they sound like: they look LIKE THIS. They
have
only one common use: certain abbreviations are commonly written in small
capitals. In particular, the abbreviations BC and AD are usually so written:
- Alexander the Great died in 323 BC.
- Charlemagne was crowned in Rome on Christmas Day, AD 800.
Recall too that American usage prefers to write the time of day with small
capitals:
- (A) The earthquake struck at 6:40 AM.
In British usage, this would appear as follows:
- The earthquake struck at 6.40 a.m.
A few publishers have recently adopted the practice of putting all abbreviations
in small capitals, but this is not something you should imitate.
Many word processors can produce small capitals; if you can't produce
them, use full capitals instead:
- Alexander the Great died in 323 BC.
Very occasionally, small capitals are used for emphasis, but it is usually
preferable to use italics for this, or even boldface.