Capitalizing names

One query that keeps cropping up at my forum at www.mywriterscircle.com is how to capitalize names and titles. For example, when should you write Dad and when dad?

I can't do better here than to quote one of my favourite websites, the Guide to Grammar and Writing. Here's what it says in its article on capitalization:

Capitalize names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name. (Often this means that when there is a modifier, such as a possessive pronoun, in front of such a word, we do not capitalize it.)

* Let's go visit Grandmother today. Let's go visit my grandmother today.
* I remember Uncle Arthur. I remember my Uncle Arthur. My uncle is unforgettable.

This also means that we don't normally capitalize the name of a "vocative" or term of endearment:

* Can you get the paper for me, hon?
* Drop the gun, sweetie. I didn't mean it.

To read the full article, click here.

So in the case of Dad, you would capitalize it in this sentence:

Ask Dad what he wants for his tea.

But not in this one:

My dad is one in a million.

In the first case, the word Dad is being used as a direct substitute for his actual name, so you could substitute a name - say, Jack - and the sentence would still make perfect sense. But in the second example, it is merely a method of referring to the person concerned. "My Jack is one in a million" doesn't work if the speaker is talking about his father.

I hope that will clear up at least some of the confusion!