Internet and Net
Linguistic Recommendation
To standardize the use of Internet and its short form Net in the federal public service, the Translation Bureau recommends the following:
Internet and Net in English
Upper case
Internet and Net are virtually always capitalized:
- make money surfing the Internet (or the Net)
- an Internet-based (or a Net-based) company
- an Internet (or a Net) address
Exception: Net is not capitalized when it forms part of a compound written as one word:
- tips about netiquette
Article
Internet and Net are preceded by the article the when they stand alone:
- search the Internet (or the Net)
Preposition
Internet and Net are preceded by the preposition on:
- find great travel deals on the Internet (or on the Net)
Internet and Net in French
Upper case
Internet and Net are capitalized when
- they stand alone:
- être un utilisateur d'Internet (or du Net)
- they modify a noun:
- trouver le bon site Internet
Lower case
Internet and Net are not capitalized when
- they form part of a compound written as one word:
- être internetisé
- they form part of a hyphenated compound:
- s'intéresser à la net-économie
Agreement
When used as modifiers, Internet and Net do not agree with the nouns they follow:
- une adresse Internet
- des sites Internet
Article
Internet is not preceded by an article:
- faire une recherche sur Internet (not l'Internet)
Net is preceded by the article le:
- trouver des images sur le Net
Preposition
Internet and Net are preceded by the preposition sur:
- naviguer sur Internet
- consulter un site sur le Net
Linguistic Recommendation reference number
REC-4/2007-09
- Date modified: