Capitalization: A Quick Guide
| First Words | Proper Nouns | Proper Adjectives | Titles | Seasons | Regions | Sacred | More |
Because capitalization is a branch of spelling, the rules for both share an important similarity: A few basic guidelines can help you get things right in the most common circumstances. However, a style guide or dictionary should be your ultimate authority for tricky situations, where guessing can end up embarrassing you and bruising the credibility of your writing. Here are some rules you can always count on:
First WordsFirst and foremost, always capitalize the first letter of the first word of every sentence. Even if you introduce a quotation, if the quotation begins its own sentence. you capitalize the quote's first word.
Example:
Abraham Lincoln said, “Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Proper Nouns (Back)
The trick, of course, is to know what is a proper noun (and thus capitalized) and what is a common noun (not capitalized).
Here is a principle to keep in mind: "one of a kind." If what you are referring to is "one of a kind," then it most likely is a proper noun. Also note that proper nouns do not have any limiting words such as definite (the) or indefinite articles (a, an) before them.
Examples:
- I would like to introduce you to Aunt Cecilia. (Proper. The word "Aunt" is part of the person's name.)
- My
favorite aunt is a great cook. (Common. The word
"aunt" is part of a phrase identifying the person.)
- The town is nestled at the foot of Crystal Mountain. (Proper. The word "Mountain" is part of a name of a place, Crystal Mountain.)
- Please
accept this bouquet of mountain wild flowers. (Common. The word
"mountain" is part of a phrase describing the flowers)
- She yelled at Dad to set the table. (Proper. The word "Dad" substitutes for the person's name.)
- Tell your dad to set
the table right now. (Common. The word
"dad" describes the person and is part of the phrase "your
dad.")
- She enrolled in the school's Department of Distance Education to earn her graduate degree. (Proper. The official name of this entity.)
- She
enrolled in a department of distance education to earn her graduate
degree. (Common.
Does not refer to a specific department at a specific school.)
- Her most difficult course was Statistics 101. (Proper. The official name of a course.)
- Her most difficult course was in statistics. (Common. The name of a discipline or field of knowledge.)
| Some Categories of Proper Nouns | ||||
| Real | Fictional | Places | Organizations | Patented Products |
| Bill Clinton Paris Hilton Mother Teresa |
Huckleberry Finn Harry Potter Hannah Montana |
Paris, France Great Barrier Reef The White House |
The Red Cross Toyota Ku Klux Klan |
Kleenex Velcro Jeep |
Proper Adjectives (Back)
Because proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns, the same rules of capitalization apply. Proper adjectives can identify religious affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, schools of thought pioneered by specific people, and any other category of proper noun. Common categories include:
| Some Categories of Proper Adjectives | |||
| Derived
from Religion/ Ethnicity |
Derived from Nations | Derived from People | Derived from Other |
| Buddhist (Buddhism) Jewish (Judaism) |
French (France) Chinese (China) |
Freudian (Sigmund Freud) Achilles tendon (Achilles) |
Asian (continent of Asia) Olympian (mythical Mount Olympus) |
Titles of Published Works (Back)
While the rules of title capitalization vary slightly from style guide to style guide, the following rules are common to all guides:
- Always capitalize the first and last word of a title regardless of what the word is.
- Capitalize all words inbetween first and last words except:
- articles (a, an, the)
- prepositions less than three letters (in, on, of, to, at, by, up)
- short conjunctions (and, but, yet, as, for, or, nor)
The Cat in the Hat
A Dream Within a Dream
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Another Teen Show Between Seasons
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
Seasons (Back)
The names of seasons are not capitalized when used by themselves; they are capitalized when used as a title.
Examples:
This winter will bring higher than normal temperatures. (Common noun)
Are you familiar with the Summer of Love in 1969? (Part of a title)
He will graduate after the Fall 2014 semester. (Part of a title)
Geographic Regions (Back)
Only specific regions of a country, continent or hemisphere are capitalized. Compass points, directions or references to locality are not.
Examples:
In the country's Midwest, basic industies are not recovering from the recession. (Specific geographic region)
The middle western states include isolated pockets of prosperity. (Compass point, direction or locality)
For the past decade America has conducted continuous war in Southwest Asia. (Specific geographic region)
Big waves rolled in from the northern Atlantic. (Compass point, direction or locality)
The chef decided to specialize in Southern cooking. (Specific geographic region)
The best farm land can be found south of the city limits. (Compass point, direction or locality)
Sacred Figures & Writings (Back)
Names of deities and sacred texts are capitalized. However, the words "god" or "gods" is not capitalized when used as a common noun.
Examples:
People of the world pray to many different gods, including Allah, Krishna, Jehovah, Xamaba and more.
Monotheistic religions believe in only a single god.
The Book of Deuteronomy is found in the Bible's Old Testament.