The Rules of Capitalization You Must Know!

What Is Capitalization?

Capitalization is writing a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase.

Examples:

Ava, School, Home, Street

Capitalization is probably one of the most challenging topics in grammar. It is very common for English learners not to be sure about whether to capitalize a word while they are writing an important school assignment. In this lesson, we are going to outline the most common rules of capitalization you must know.

The First Word in a Sentence

Capitalize the first word in every sentence.

Examples:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

My grandfather has a great sense of humor.

Proper Nouns

• Real and Fictional People

  Examples:

  Abraham married his long-time friend Martha.

  One of my favorite characters is Aunt Polly.

• Nationalities and Languages

  Examples:

  The French played really well, but it was the British who won the game.

  We are learning German.

• Building, Monuments

  Examples:

  Last week, we visited the Statue of Liberty.

  The Chrysler Building is located in Manhattan.

• Bodies of Water such as Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans

  Examples:

  Have you heard of the Smith River?

  The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.

• School, Colleges, and Universities

  Examples:

  Gerald is studying at Dublin High School.

  My sister has graduated from the University of Alabama.

The Pronoun I

Capitalize the pronoun "I" at all times. Don't capitalize other pronouns unless they are used at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

I haven't met Mr. Johnson, but I have heard a lot about him.

Do you speak French?

Titles of People and Job Titles

• Capitalize the titles of people.

  Examples:

  This is Dr. Johns.

  This was a contribution of President Lincoln.

• Capitalize the main words in a title before the name.

  Example:

  We met Head of Marketing Michael Phelps.

• Capitalize titles when used in direct address.

  Example:

  We would like to hear more from you, Head of Marketing.

• Don't capitalize when the title follows the name, or the title is mentioned separately.

  Examples:

  We met Michael Phelps, head of marketing.

  We met the head of marketing.

Kinship Names

• Capitalize kinship names used in place of or along with a noun.

  Examples:

  The toy was bought by Aunt Maria. (along with a noun)

  We went to Uncle's house. (in place of a noun)

• Capitalize them when used in direct address.

  Example:

  Please open the door, Mom. (direct address)

Days and Months

• Capitalize days, months, and holidays.

  Examples:

  Jenny was born on a Monday.

  Our school opens in October.

• Don't capitalize seasons.

  Example:

  Ashley is waiting for winter to start.

Laws and Theories

Capitalize only proper names.

Example:

Have you studied Newton's third law?

School Subjects

• Capitalize the names of language subjects.

  Examples:

  Richard passed his French test.

  Mia couldn't attend her Chinese examination.

• Don't capitalize other subjects.

  Examples:

  Noah is a little weak in math.

  Allen came first in the chemistry test.

Academic Degrees

• Capitalize academic degrees when the full name of the degree is used.

  Example:

  Jordan has completed Bachelor of Arts in English.

• Don't capitalize general references.

  Example:

  Emily will finish bachelor's this year.

• Capitalize the abbreviations of academic degrees.

  Example:

  Dad has a Ph. D in law.

Acronyms

Capitalize most abbreviations.

Examples:

Allen works for the FBI. (The Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Dad heard the news on the BBC. (the British Broadcasting Corporation)

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Quotations

• Capitalize the first word of a quotation when it is a complete sentence.

  Example:

  Carl said, "Please help me with the new lesson".

• Don't capitalize partial sentences used as quotes.

  Example:

  Mrs. Anderson said the program was "a whiff of fresh air".

Capitalizing Titles of Books and Movies

• Capitalize the first word and last word in a title even if it is an article or a preposition.

  Example:

  I just finished reading After the Funeral.

• Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

  Examples:

  Have you read In Search of Lost Time? (noun and adjective)

  The presentation was called How to Sell Well. (verb and adverb)

  The book Know Your English was a game changer. (pronoun)

• Don't capitalize articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions.

  Examples:

  Mom bought me a copy of To Write a Book in 30 Days. (article)

  "Romeo and Juliet" is a great play by Shakespeare. (coordinating conjunction)

  Oliver Goldsmith wrote The Vicar of Wakefield. (preposition)

Period and Events

• Capitalize Names Referring to Historical Events, Specific Periods, and Eras.

  Examples:

  Mike's great grandfather is a World War 1 veteran.

  Thomas Jefferson was the American president during the Louisiana Purchase.

  The Harlem Renaissance took place in early 20th century.

• Don't capitalize the names of centuries.

  Example:

  The nineteenth century witnessed tremendous amounts of social change across the world.

Common Capitalization Errors

• Don't capitalize common nouns for emphasis

  Sometimes, people capitalize a certain word or bunch of words in a sentence when they want to show emphasis. This practice is wrong. If there is a need for emphasis, they can achieve it by using bold or italics.

  Example:

  This is The Most Famous Restaurant in the town. (incorrect)

  This is the most famous restaurant in the town. (correct)

• Don't capitalize the word after a semicolon

  When a semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses, don't capitalize the first word in the second independent clause unless it's a proper noun.

  Example:

  The Millers will have a busy day this Sunday; They have three events to attend that day. (incorrect)

  The Millers will have a busy day this Sunday; they have three events to attend that day. (correct)

Hone your skills using our free printable Capitalization Worksheets.