Introduction
Capitalization rules in English are stricter than in many languages. Capital letters are required at the start of sentences, for proper nouns, titles, and in several fixed situations.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| First word of a sentence | The meeting starts at 9am. |
| Proper nouns (names of people) | Sarah, James, Einstein |
| Place names | London, the Amazon, Mount Everest |
| Days, months (but NOT seasons) | Monday, January - but: winter, spring |
| Nationalities, languages, religions | French, Buddhism, English, Italian |
| Titles before a name | President Okafor, Dr Smith (BrE; AmE: Dr. Smith), Professor Jones |
| The pronoun I | She and I agreed. |
| Titles of books, films, songs | To Kill a Mockingbird, The Dark Knight |
What NOT to Capitalize
Learners often over-capitalize. These words do NOT require a capital letter:
| Category | Example (no capital) |
|---|---|
| Seasons | spring, summer, autumn, winter |
| General nouns (not proper names) | the prime minister (role), a president (role) |
| School subjects (except languages) | maths, history, science - but: English, French |
| Directions (not place names) | go north, turn east - but: North America |
| After a colon (usually) | There is one rule: be honest. |
- I study Maths and History.I study maths and history.
- The Winter was cold.The winter was cold.
- The Prime Minister announced...depends: the prime minister (role, no capital) vs Prime Minister Lindqvistas title before name, capital OK
Title Case
In English titles (books, films, articles, songs), capitalize all major words. Minor words - articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or) and short prepositions (in, on, at, of, to, for, with) - are typically lowercase unless they start the title.
- The Lord of the Rings
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Pride and Prejudice
- Gone with the Wind
Practice
Which word should NOT be capitalized?
Which sentence is correctly capitalized?
Which pronoun is always capitalized?
Which title uses correct title case?
Which is correctly capitalized?
Which day/month is correctly capitalized?
Which nationality/language is correctly capitalized?
Which is correct?
Which season is correctly written?
'The prime minister announced...' - capital or not?
'Prime Minister Lindqvist' - capital or not?
Which school subject needs a capital?
Which needs a capital because it's a place name?
After a colon, capitalization is usually ___.
In title case, which word type is typically lowercase (unless first)?
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