Capitalization

• Capitalize the first word in a sentence.

• Did anyone see my hat?
• My dad took me to the game.
• The storm passed right over us.
• We had to walk all the way home.
• Everyone knows that Jack is good at baseball.

• Capitalize the first word after a colon.

• This was the moment: She couldn't look back.
• Everything was going as planned: We would be in California before long.

• Exception: Do not capitalize the first word after a colon if it starts a list.

Example:

• The contents of his bag include: bottled water, snacks, and spare clothing.

• Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation.
• A direct quotation states the exact words of the person speaking.

• I thought, "This isn't so bad."
• Our coach yelled, "Win the game!"
• Her reply was, "My dog ate my homework."
• Nick said, "Please
• be careful with my project."

• Capitalize proper nouns - names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things.
• A proper noun names specific people, places, and things.

People

• Bobby
• Charlie
• Amanda

Places

• Italy
• San Diego, California
• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Organizations

• Association of Teachers Educators
• Organization of American Historians

Things

• National Anthem
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Declaration of Independence

• Capitalize family relations when used as proper names.

• Here is a present I bought for Mother.
• I received a letter from Aunt Martha.

• Exception: Do not capitalize when using as a common noun.

Examples:

• Uncle Ned, not my other uncle, was born in Vermont.
• Did you buy a present for your mother?

• Capitalize the names of planets and other major celestial objects and terrain.

Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Other

• Milky Way
• Sun
• Moon
• Halley's Comet

• Exception: Do not capitalize celestial objects when used as common nouns.

Examples:

• The Moon is the fifth largest moon in the Solar System.
• Plants grow from the earth on the planet Earth.

• Capitalize the names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and sacred books.

Gods

• Yahweh, Allah, Athena

Religious figures

• Dalai Lama, Jesus, Mohammed

Sacred books

• The Bible, the Old Testament, the Koran

• Exception: Do not capitalize the word god when not referring to a specific figure.

Examples:

• Polytheists believe in many gods.
• Monotheists believe in one god, known as God.

• Capitalize names of regions, rivers, lakes, mountains, and oceans.

Regions

• Atlantic States
• Middle West

Rivers

• Colorado River
• Ohio River

Lakes

• Lake Michigan
• Lake Tahoe

Mountains

• MountMcKinley
• Mount Whitney

Mountains

• PacificOcean
• AtlanticOcean

• Capitalize names of school subjects only when you use them to refer to a particular course.
• Capitalize names of Educational institutions and degrees.

Particular Course

• I'll be taking History 101 at the community college.

Educational Institutions

• University of Maryland
• Capital Community College

Degree

• Bachelor's of Science
• Master of Business Administration

• Exception: Do not capitalize subjects when talking about them in general.

Examples:

• After biology, I'm going to my Spanish class.
• I prefer learning French over geometry.

• Capitalize proper adjectives.
• A proper adjective describes specific people, places, and things.
• Proper adjectives include national and religious identities, such as Mexican, Canadian, Muslim, Jewish.

People

• American citizen
• Spanish musician
• Spanish musician
• Alaskan native

Places

• Christian church
• Native American reservation
• Greek temple

Things

• European customs
• Buddhist statue
• Shakespearean dialogue

• Capitalize names of countries, states, cities, nationalities, and specific languages.

Countries

• Costa Rica
• India

States

• Alabama
• Louisiana

Cities

• Chicago
• Denver

Nationalities

• American
• Estonian

Specific Languages

• French
• English

• Capitalize titles preceding names.
• Capitalize titles when used in direct address.

Titles Preceding Names

• Over 2,000 people attended the rally for Prime Minister Cameron.
• India

Direct Address

• We appreciate your hardwork Mayor.

• Exception: Do not capitalize titles that follow names.

Example:

• Over 2,000 people attended the rally of David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom.

• Exception: Do not capitalize titles when used as general words.

Example:

• The prime minister attended the rally today.

• Capitalize the pronoun I and the contractions: I've, I'll, I'm, I'd.

• Martin and I are best friends.
• First I'll eat, and then I'll practice.
• No, I'm too tired to go.
• That's what I've always wanted.
• Then I've got to get ready.

• Capitalize titles.
• The following have titles: books and stories, poems, songs, magazines, newspapers, works of art.

Books and stories

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• "The Princess and the Pea"
• "The Wind in the Willows"

Poems

• "The Road Not Taken"
• "Charge of the Light Brigade"
• "Paul RRide"

Songs

• "Jingle Bells"
• "Old McDonald Had a Farm"
• "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

Magazines and Newspapers

• Scholastic
• The New York Times
• People

Works of Art

• The Starry Night
• American Gothic
• Guernica

• Exception: Do not capitalize short prepositions, conjunctions, or articles in a title, unless they are the first word.

Example:

• I enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities, but I love Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is my favorite book in The Chronicles of Narnia..

• Capitalize the first word in every line of a poem.

Once there was a little boy, With curly hair and pleasant eye-

A boy who always told the truth,

And never, never told a lie.

(From "The Boy Who Never Told a Lie." Anonymous.)

• Capitalize historical events or periods and documents.

• American Revolution
• Civil War
• The Renaissance
• The Middle Ages
• Declaration of Independence

• Exception: Do not capitalize century numbers.

Example:

• Benjamin Franklin lived in the eighteenth century, a period that saw the Enlightenment in Europe and the United States..

• Capitalize names of groups and departments.

• United States Senate
• New York Yankees
• National Park Service
• Salvation Army
• Declaration of Independence

• Capitalize the names of national, political, social, racial, civic, and athletic groups.

• Green Bay Packers
• Asian-Americans
• Anti-Semitic
• Republicans
• Action Against Hunger

• Capitalize brand names and trademarks.

• Microsoft
• Nike
• Ford
• Staples

• Capitalize acronyms and initials.
• An acronym abbreviates a word or phrase using the first letters.

Acronyms

• USA
• BBC
• DNA

Initials

• John F. Kennedy
• A.A. Milne
• F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Capitalize days of the week, months of the year, and holidays.

Days

• Monday, Tuesday...

Months

• January, February...

Holidays

• Labor Day,
  Halloween, Easter

• Capitalize seasons when used in a title.

• Fall Fashion 2013
• Summer Institute
• Winter Olympic Games

• Exception: Do not capitalize seasons, such as spring and fall.

Example:

• I can't wait until the summer to attend Summer Heritage Festival. .
• This spring, we're going to Spring Mountain. .

• Capitalize directions used as names.

• the West
• the Middle East
• North Pole
• South Beach

• Exception: Do not capitalize directions when used as compass routes.

Example:

• Birds fly south for the winter, and many go to South America..
• The migrants traveled west for work and settled in West Texas. .