What is Capitalization
Capitalization is the practice of writing the first letter of a word in uppercase while keeping the rest in lowercase, typically used for proper nouns, the first word of a sentence, titles, and certain stylistic purposes.
English Capitalization Rules:
Begin sentence with capital letter
Always capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence.
Examples:
- The dog is barking.
- How are you?
- Hurray! You did it! How did you do it?
Capitalize Proper Nouns
Proper Nouns are names.
Examples:
- People’s Names: Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte
- Cities’ Names: London, New York, Jeddah
- Countries’ Names: England, Pakistan, Australia
- Companies’ Names: Boots, Sketchers
- Religions’ Names: Islam, Christianity
- Political Parties: Labour, Democratic
- Nationalities: Dutch, French, American, Arab
- Languages: English, Urdu, Romanian
When Mom and grandpa are used to address them, they should be capitalized too.
Examples:
- Look, Mom I did it.
But
My mom will not appreciate this.
Don’t Capitalize After a Colon
Usually, words are not capitalized after colon
Example:
- I have only thing in my box: earrings.
However, if proper noun is used after colon then it will be in capital letter.
Example:
- There is only one place I want to visit: Paris
Capitalize the First Word of a Quote
Capitalize the first letter of the word when the quote is a complete sentence.
Example:
- Mary asked, “Who discovered America?”
- Do not capitalize the first word of partial quotes.
Example:
- Greta said she was “not free” to attend the meeting.
Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays, But Not Seasons
The names of days, months, and holidays are proper nouns. So, they are capitalized.
Example:
- My Mondays are always busy.
- My birthday is in March.
- London looks beautiful during Christmas holidays.
- I love snowfall in winter.
Capitalize Most Words in Titles
The titles for books, movies and other works are capitalized. In general, the first letter of all the words in title should be capitalized, except prepositions, conjunctions and articles.
Examples:
- The Doll’s House by Ibsen is my favourite.
- The Lord of the Rings is a binge watch.
Capitalize Time Periods and Events (Sometimes)
Specific periods, and historical events that have proper names should be capitalized.
Examples:
- Most of the World War II veterans are now deceased.
- In the Victorian era, role of women was limited to domestic responsibilities and raising children.
However, centuries—and the numbers before them—are not capitalized.
Examples:
- In nineteenth century role of , women were given the right to vote.