Capitalization

Capitalization in English follows specific rules to ensure clarity and proper grammar in writing. Here are the key rules and guidelines:

First Words and Sentences#

• Sentence Beginnings: The first word of every sentence is always capitalized.
  • Example: “The sun is shining brightly today.”

Pronoun “I”#

• Pronoun “I”: The pronoun “I” is always capitalized, regardless of its position in a sentence.
  • Example: “She and I went to the store.”

Proper Nouns#

• Names: Capitalize people’s first and last names.
  • Example: “Emily Dickinson.”
• Places: Names of specific places such as countries, cities, and landmarks.
  • Example: “France,” “New York,” “Eiffel Tower.”
• Organizations: Names of companies, institutions, and brands.
  • Example: “Google,” “Harvard University.”
• Historical Events and Periods: Specific events and historical periods.
  • Example: “World War II,” “Renaissance.”

Titles and Headings#

• Book, Movie, and Article Titles: Major words in titles should be capitalized, including the first and last words.
  • Example: “The Great Gatsby,” “Gone with the Wind.”
• Job Titles: Capitalize official job titles when they come before a name.
  • Example: “President Lincoln,” but “Abraham Lincoln, the president.”

Days, Months, and Holidays#

• Days of the Week: Capitalize all days.
  • Example: “Monday,” “Tuesday.”
• Months: All months are capitalized.
  • Example: “January,” “February.”
• Holidays: Capitalize names of holidays.
  • Example: “Christmas,” “Independence Day.”

First Word in a Quotation#

• Quotations: The first word of a direct quotation is capitalized if it’s a complete sentence.
  • Example: He said, “We should leave now.”

Specific Courses and Subjects#

• Course Names: Capitalize specific course titles.
  • Example: “Biology 101,” “Introduction to Philosophy.”
• Languages and Nationalities: Always capitalize names of languages and nationalities.
  • Example: “French,” “Japanese.”

Capitalizing after Colons#

• Colons: Capitalize the first word after a colon if it starts a complete sentence.
  • Example: “He had one goal: Finish the race.”

Acronyms and Initialisms#

• Acronyms: All letters in acronyms are capitalized.
  • Example: “NASA,” “UNICEF.”
• Initialisms: Capitalize each letter of initialisms.
  • Example: “FBI,” “CEO.”

First Word in a List#

• Lists: The first word of each item in a vertical list is often capitalized.
  • Example:
    1. Apples
    2. Bananas
    3. Cherries

Exceptions and Special Cases#

• Common Nouns: Do not capitalize common nouns unless they are part of a proper noun.
  • Example: “We visited the Empire State Building,” but “We visited several buildings.”
• Seasons: Names of seasons are not capitalized.
  • Example: “spring,” “summer,” “fall,” “winter.”
• General Titles: When used generically, titles are not capitalized.
  • Example: “She is a professor,” but “Professor Smith.”