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Capitalize...
• Street names (Main Street)
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• Monuments (Lincoln Memorial)
• Planets (Mars)
• Titles of people (Mrs., Dr., Jr.)
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• Abbreviations (NASA, MD)
• Brands but not products (Nature Valley granola bar)
• Regions (driving to the West, driving west)
Capitalization
At first glance, the rules of English capitalization seem simple. You probably know
you should capitalize proper nouns and the first word of every sentence. But you also
(sometimes) capitalize the first word of a quote. Usually you don’t capitalize after a
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colon, but there are exceptions. And what do you do when you’re not sure whether
Updated on
January 14, 2021 something is a proper noun?
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English Capitalization Rules:
1 Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence
This one’s easy. Always capitalize the first word of a sentence.
Correct The cat is sleeping.
Correct Where did I put that book?
Correct Hey! It’s great to see you! How have you been?
2 Capitalize Names and Other Proper Nouns
You should always capitalize people’s names.
Correct My favorite author is Jane Austen.
Correct Tom and Diane met at Judy’s house.
Correct Have you met my dog, Boomer?
Names are proper nouns. The names of cities, countries, companies, religions, and
political parties are also proper nouns, so you should capitalize them, too.
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Correct We experienced some beautiful Southern California weather last fall when we
attended a Catholic wedding in San Diego.
You should also capitalize words like mom and grandpa when they are used as a form
of address.
Correct Just wait until Mom sees this!
But
Correct My mom is not going to like this.
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3 Don’t Capitalize After a Colon (Usually)
In most cases, you don’t need to capitalize after a colon.
Correct I have one true passion: wombat racing.
There are a couple of common exceptions. One is when the word following the colon
is a proper noun.
Correct There is only one place I want to visit: New York City.
The other exception is when the words following the colon form one or more
complete sentences.
Correct Maggie wears a brimmed cap at all times for these two reasons: Strong light
often gives her a headache. She also likes the way it looks.
4 Capitalize the First Word of a Quote (Sometimes)
Capitalize the first word of a quote when the quote is a complete sentence.
Correct Mario asked, “What is everyone doing this weekend?”
Correct Stacy answered, “My sister and I are going to the water park.”
Don’t capitalize the first word of partial quotes.
Correct Gretchen said she was “way too busy” to join the gym.
Correct Mr. Thompson described the rules as “extremely difficult to understand if you
don’t have a law degree.”
5 Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays, But Not Seasons
The names of days, months, and holidays are proper nouns, so you should capitalize
them.
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Correct I hate Mondays!
Correct Tom’s birthday is in June.
Correct Oh no! I forgot about Valentine’s Day!
The names of seasons, however, are not proper nouns, so there’s no need to
capitalize them.
Correct I hate winter!
Correct Having a summer birthday is the best.
6 Capitalize Most Words in Titles
The capitalization rules for titles of books, movies, and other works vary a little
between style guides. In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all
verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you
should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositions—however, some style
guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five
letters.
Correct Sense and Sensibility is better than Pride and Prejudice.
Correct The first movie of the series is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
7 Capitalize Cities, Countries, Nationalities, and Languages
The names of cities, countries, nationalities, and languages are proper nouns, so you
should capitalize them.
Correct English is made up of many languages, including Latin, German, and French.
Correct My mother is British, and my father is Dutch.
Correct The capital of Botswana is Gaborone.
8 Capitalize Time Periods and Events (Sometimes)
Specific periods, eras, and historical events that have proper names should be
capitalized.
Correct Most of the World War I veterans are now deceased.
Correct In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene was partly responsible for the spreading of
bubonic plague.
Correct Middle school students often enjoy studying the social changes that took
place during the Roaring Twenties.
However, centuries—and the numbers before them—are not capitalized.
Correct In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, England blossomed into an
empire.
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