Rules of Capitalization
Capitalization questions test your understanding of when and where to use uppercase letters. This is fundamental to proper writing and focuses on:
Proper Nouns
- Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, and things, like “John,” “France,” or “Google”. You must be able to recognize when to capitalize names, cities, organizations, and other proper nouns.
Titles
- Capitalize the first and last words in a title, as well as all major words in between (e.g., “The Catcher in the Rye”). Be prepared to correct sentences that fail to follow this rule.
Beginning of Sentences
- Every sentence must start with a capital letter. You’ll be expected to correct lowercase beginnings of sentences.
Deep Dive: Capitalizing with Confidence
Capitalization is more than just starting sentences with uppercase letters. Proper nouns, titles, and certain words in formal situations also need to be capitalized. Let’s dive deeper into some key capitalization rules:
When should we capitalize?
First Word in a Sentence
- Always capitalize the first word in every sentence.
- Example: “The cat is sleeping.”
Proper Nouns
- Names of people, places, specific institutions, and certain events are capitalized.
- Example: “John Smith,” “Paris,” “Harvard University.”
Titles Before Names
- Capitalize titles when they appear before someone’s name.
- Example: “President Lincoln,” “Doctor Smith.”
Family Relationships When Used as Titles
- Capitalize family relationship terms when used as titles before names or when substituting for a name.
- Example: “I went to see Aunt Sarah.” / “I’ll ask Mom for help.”
Government Officials
- Capitalize titles of high-ranking government officials when used with a specific name, but not when used generically.
- Example: “Governor Brown attended the meeting.” / “The governor attended the meeting.”
Days, Months, and Holidays
- Always capitalize the names of days, months, and holidays.
- Example: “Monday,” “January,” “Christmas.”
Important Words in Titles
- Capitalize the first and last words of a title, as well as all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives).
- Example: “The Great Gatsby.”
Key Tip: When in doubt, think about whether the word refers to a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized, while general terms are not.
Key Tip: Practice distinguishing between proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns (specific names, places, titles) should always be capitalized, while common nouns are not. The pronoun “I” should always be capitalized.