Capitalization: Rule and Usage in Grammar | Turito

Introduction to Capitalization

Capitalization is the practice of writing the first letter of a word in uppercase (capital letter) and the remaining letters in lowercase (small letter).

A sentence’s first word is always capitalized.

Capitalizing of Names of People, Pets, and Titles of Respect:

Names of people and animals should always be capitalized.

For example George, Mary, Scooby, Bruno

     All parts of a name (first name, middle name, last name, and initials) should be capitalized.

For example Jonathan Antony Thomas, Phil T. David

Titles of people should be capitalized if they are used with names. Titles are used to show respect. There are job titles also. (e.g., Doctor, Governor, Mayor, etc.)

For example Mr. Harrison, Ms. Helen, Dr. Hayne

If the titles are separated from the name or if the title does not replace the name, then they should not be capitalized.

If the a, an, or the comes before a title, it should not be capitalized.

For example: Marley went to the doctor. (‘The’ comes before the title)

                        Hello Doctor. Thank you for treating my mother. (addressing the doctor)

When family relationship titles are given with names or instead of names, they should be capitalized.

For example: I love Aunt Maggie’s cookies.

                        Dad gave Mom a gift. (Dad and Mom are written instead of their names.)

If the title comes after possessive pronouns like my, your, his, her, its, our, or their, then they should not be capitalized.

For example: My elder brother gave my mother a gift.                 

Here are some sentences that show examples of capitalization. 

1. Laura has a pet dog named Timber.
2. Sarah is from Illinois.
3. Some of my friends speak French.

Capitalizing Days, Months, and Holidays

Weekdays, months of the year, and holidays are typically capitalized.

For example: Billy goes to work on Saturdays and Sundays.

My sister’s birthday is in April.

We have started the preparations for Christmas.

Capitalizing the Names of Places and Geographic Features, Proper Adjectives, Nationalities, and Languages.

The names of places should always be capitalized. All parts of the names should be capitalized. Articles or prepositions in the names of places should not be capitalized.

For example Seattle, New York, 41^st Street, Gulf of Mexico

Geographic features include places, landforms, or directions. The names of places and regions are always capitalized.

For example the Pacific Ocean, Lake Superior, the Rocky Mountains

Note: Directions such as east, west, north, and south are not capitalized, but if they appear in place names, they should be.

For example: Drive north, and you can see the school.

                        There are sheets of ice at the North Pole.

Proper adjectives are words that modify a noun or a pronoun. They are formed from proper nouns.

The names that refer to specific people, places, or things are proper nouns.

For example: I live in Mexico. (Mexico is a proper noun)

                        I love Mexican food. (Mexican is a proper adjective)

For example: They shifted to 23 AL Street, Los Angeles, California, last week.

The names of nationalities and languages should be capitalized.

For example American, German, English