Capitalization of word will

The capitalization of words, especially in titles, is very specific to the style of writing of the person, publication or institution controlling the pen. It may come as no surprise therefore that consensus on strict rules governing writing styles may vary. So when writing, should the word “will” be capitalized and if so, when do we capitalize “will”?

The first and most obvious instance where one should capitalize “will” is where it occurs at the beginning of a sentence (or just after a full stop). Regardless of the context, will is capitalized whenever it is used to begin a sentence. Upon closer examination, it is more than likely that this sentence will form a question rather than a statement describing intent or conviction.

In titles, a good principle to remember is that all nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, pronouns and subordinating conjunctions are capitalized. “Will” is a modal verb, meriting its capitalization when you include it in a title. A good example to draw from looks as follows:

TITLE: “There Will Be Blood.”

Above, the word “will” is capitalized along with all words falling into the classification described above. It is necessary to state that if “will” is being used as a proper noun, that is, a name for some person or entity you are writing about, then it should be capitalized regardless of where it occurs in the sentence.

Overall, the key principle in discerning when to capitalize “will” is consistency. Should you decide to stylistically omit capitalization of all words shorter than five letters, it is recommendable to do this consistently throughout your writing such that even if a reader diverges with your take on writing styles, they note it as your exercise of preference rather than a blunder in writing.

In general it should not be capitalized, but there is a fashion lately to capitalize it. The fashion seems to be arising among lawyers, whose capitalization sense seems to have become miscalibrated by the practice of capitalizing specifically defined terms in legal documents.

This may also be the reason behind the change in style in the broader business community, where it is lately popular to capitalize common nouns such as company, product, sale, or what have you. You even occasionally see capitalized verbs.

There is probably also some feeling that capitalizing will somehow makes it clearer that it is the legal document sense of the word rather than the desire or intention sense. But really, there’s rarely any such ambiguity, and, frankly, using a capital letter doesn’t actually reduce ambiguity.

Outside of an actual will, or another legal document that concerns a specific will, there is no more reason to capitalize will than there is to capitalize contract, affidavit, deposition, instrument, summons, or any other word denoting any other sort of legal document.

This blog discusses 15 basic capitalization rules for English grammar. To give you an opportunity to practice your proofreading, we have left a few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors in the text. See if you can spot them! If you spot the errors correctly, you will be entitled to a 10% discount. 

Capitalization means writing a word with its first letter in uppercase while the remaining letters in lowercase. As a general rule, in English, a capital letter is used for the first word of a sentence and for all proper nouns. Although the rules of English capitalization seem simple at first glance, it might still be complicated in academic writing. You probably know you should capitalize proper nouns and the first word of every sentence. However, in some cases, capitalization is required for the first word in a quotation and the first word after a colon. Here are the details:

1. Capitalize the First Word of A Sentence

This rule is the most basic one. Always capitalize the first word of your sentence, whether it is a proper or common name.

• The baby is crawling.

• Where to find my book?

• I ordered a new laptop online.

2. Capitalize All Proper Names in A Sentence

A proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, object, or organization to make it more specific such as Alice, Chicago, Tuesday. The first letter of a person’s first, middle, and last names should also be capitalized (John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Thomas Alva Edison). All proper nouns -even adjectives derived from a proper noun- should be written with capital letters regardless of where they appear in a sentence.

• I ordered an Apple computer from BestBuy.

• George Washington was an American political leader who served as the first president of the United States.

The names of cities, towns, countries, counties, companies, religions, and political parties are also considered proper nouns and should be written with capital letters.

• Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply ‘’Universal,’’ is a theme park based in Orlando, Florida.

Common nouns refer to a general, non-specific category or entity that name any person, place, object, or idea. They are not capitalized unless they come at the beginning of a sentence or a part of the title.

You should also capitalize words like mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa when you use them as a form of address.

3. How to Capitalize Titles of People

As discussed above, you should capitalize the first letter of a person’s first, middle, and last names (Thomas Alva Edison, John Fitzgerald Kennedy). However, you also need to capitalize suffixes (i.e., Sir Isac Newton., Alexander the Great, Alfred the Great) and titles.

When titles such as Mr., Mrs., or Dr. are considered a part of their name, they should be capitalized too. This rule is followed in a situation in which you address a person by his or her position as though it is a part of their name.

Capitalize	Do Not Capitalize
I completed the report on President George Washington.	George Washington was an American political leader who served as the first president of the United States.
When I started at Apple, I worked as an intern with Senior Vice President Luca Maestri for one month.	Luca Maestri is one of the senior vice presidents of the company.

a. Do not capitalize occupations and titles when they are not used as part of a name.

• The journal’s chief editor

• He was a libertarian senator. 

b. Do not capitalize titles when used descriptively.

• Dr. Lawrence, who will chair the meeting, will be here soon.

b. Titles immediately following the name do not ordinarily require capitalization. 

• Dr. Lawrence, the chairperson, will join us at the meeting.

c. When the article ‘‘the’’ appears in front of the job title, do not capitalize.

• Lawrence, the chairperson, will be here soon.

• The chairperson, Dr. Lawrence, will join us at the meeting.

• Goodman was the managing editor of the journal. 

d. Capitalize titles in signature lines.

Although there is no universal rule on writing titles in the complimentary closing of a letter, our editors recommend capitalizing a titles when they follow the name on the address or signature line. However, you can leave it in lowercase as titles are generally not capitalized when following a name in text. Both ways are acceptable. So, choose a method and be consistent.

• Mike Lawrence, Chairperson

• John Goodman, Managing Editor 

4. Capitalize Common Nouns When They Are Used to Name A Specific Entity

Common nouns are considered proper nouns when they are used to name a specific entity.

Common noun	Proper noun
The President will speak to the nation this weekend.	The action has not been approved by the United Nations.
He was a libertarian.	His nomination was forced upon the Libertarian Party.
It is a Gothic cathedral dating from the 15th century.	Florence Cathedral is considered the most beautiful building in the city.

5. Capitalization After Colons

In most cases, you do not have to capitalize a word after a colon. In British English, the first letter after a colon is capitalized only if it’s a proper noun or an acronym. However, the first word after a colon is sometimes capitalized in American English if it begins a complete sentence.

a. List of things or a phrase

When a colon introduces a list of things or a phrase that is not a complete sentence, do not capitalize the first word after the colon unless it is a proper noun or a common noun that is used to name a specific entity.

b. Complete sentence (check your style guide)

When a colon introduces a complete sentence, you need to check your style guide to see whether you capitalize the first word after the colon.

According to the APA Publication Manual, for instance, the first word after the colon is capitalized only if it begins a complete sentence. In APA style, if the clause following the colon is a complete sentence, it begins with a capital letter.

They have agreed on the outcome: informed participants perform better than do uninformed participants.	Incorrect
They have agreed on the outcome: Informed participants perform better than do uninformed participants.	Correct

However, The Chicago Manual of Style has a different perspective on it. It requires to capitalize the first word following the colon if there is more than one complete explanatory sentence following the colon.

John prefers wearing a brimmed cap: Strong light often triggers his migraine.	Incorrect
John prefers wearing a brimmed cap: strong light often triggers his migraine.	Correct
John prefers wearing a brimmed cap: strong light often triggers his migraine. He also thinks it is fashionable.	Incorrect
John prefers wearing a brimmed cap: Strong light often triggers his migraine. He also thinks it is fashionable.	Correct

c. The other basic rule of APA Style is to capitalize the first word after the colon in a title.

The Impact of Job-Related Stress on Burnout: a Florida Case Study	Incorrect
The Impact of Job-Related Stress on Burnout: A Florida Case Study	Correct

d. Never capitalize a word after a colon when introducing a list:

The variables of the study are as follows: Burnout, job-related stress, and health-related quality of life.	Incorrect
The variables of the study are as follows: burnout, job-related stress, and health-related quality of life.	Correct

6. Capitalization of the First Word of Quotations

When the quote is a complete sentence, you should capitalize the first word of the quote.

• James said, “The motorcycle slid sideways and skidded approximately 50 meters.” 

Do not capitalize the first word of partial quotes.

• “The motorcycle slid sideways,” James said, “and skidded approximately 50 meters.’’ 

7. Capitalize Days, Months, Holidays

The names of days, months, festivals, and holidays are considered proper nouns and, therefore, should be capitalized.

• Tuesday was more productive than Monday.

• I love the Fourth of July.

• Put that on your Christmas wish list.

• Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day?

• Her death took place about the end of Ramadan. 

8. Capitalize Time Periods and Events 

Specific time periods, eras, and historical events are considered proper names and thus need to be capitalized.

• The Reformation is considered one of the major movements within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe.

• History is commonly divided into three separate periods: the Ancient Period, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Time.

• World War I was once called the Great War.

• The American Revolution took many ideas from the early civilizations of Greece and Rome. 

9. Do Not Capitalize Centuries

Centuries—and the numbers before them—should not be capitalized.

• During the eighteenth century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded on a global scale.

10. Do Not Capitalize Seasons

However, the name of the four seasons are not proper nouns, so should not be capitalized unless they appear as part of a proper noun.

• The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and noon is the summer.

• I live near Winter Park.

• The Italian city of Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics.

11. Capitalize Countries, Cities, Nationalities, and Languages

The names of countries, cities, nationalities, and languages are considered proper nouns, and they should be capitalized.

• My father is Irish, and my mother is British.

• I am studying French and German and Latin and Greek.

• On their refusal, the Russians attacked them at midnight.

• Few cities in Europe can match the cultural richness of Berlin. 

12. Capitalize the Most Words in Headings and Titles

In general, you need to capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and all proper nouns) in titles and headings. That means articles, conjunctions, and prepositions should not be capitalized. However, the capitalization rules for the titles and headings sometimes differ according to style guides.

For instance, APA Style has two types of capitalization for titles: Title case and sentence case. In title case, APA Style requires all major words to be capitalized, and most minor words should be in lowercase. However, in sentence case, most major and minor words are lowercase unless they are proper nouns. According to APA Style, nouns, verbs (including linking verbs), adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and all words of four letters or more are considered major words; while short (i.e., three letters or fewer) conjunctions, short prepositions, and all articles are considered minor words (APA 6th edition).

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final novel in the series. 

13. Capitalization of Directions and Regions

Capitalize north, south, east, and west (including derivative words) when they refer to a direction or general area or when they designate definite regions or are an integral part of a proper name.

• I live in the south of France.

• First, go north on I-94 and then east.

• The main parts of the southern region of the country were not affected by the ongoing drought. 

However, capitalization is required when these words are part of a proper name or refer to a specific region.

• Record temperatures continued to bake the Midwestern and Southern states. 

• Winds are expected to become northerly later today.

• The South Pole is claimed by seven nations.

• He’s from the Far East, not from the Middle East.

• Western Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization.

Also, you need to capitalize well-known region names such as East Coast, West Coast, and Southern California. However, a geographical area considered a distinct region might vary by country.

• The East Coast of the United States is also known as the Eastern Seaboard.

• The West Coast is the coastline along which the continental Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. 

14. Theories, Laws, Models, and Disciplines

In general, there is no need to capitalize the names of laws, theories, models, disciplines, statistical procedures, or hypotheses as they can be understood to serve more as common nouns as opposed to proper nouns. Note that proper nouns within these terms are capitalized.

Scientific theories and models	rational choice theory, social constructionist theory, germ theory of disease, Newton’s law of gravitation, problem solving model, crisis intervention model
Scales and inventories	Maslach Burnout Inventory, Transformational Leadership Scale
Laws and schools of though	Maslow’s law of hierarchy, behaviorism, the German historical school, French liberal school
Disciplines and subjects	economics, Mathematics, English, anthropology, chemistry

 Keep in mind that the names of inventories, questionnaires, or tests should be capitalized.

• Maslach Burnout Inventory

• Transformational Leadership Scale

15. Closing a Letter with A Valediction

When we sign off on letters or send emails, we generally close them with valediction such as «Regards», «Best», «Best wishes», «Best regards», «Sincerely», or «Cordially yours.» The first word in these farewell words or complimentary closes should be capitalized, just like the beginning of a sentence.

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Capitalization Rules in English language are complex compared to other language writing systems. Capitalization is the way of writing a word in which the first letter of word is capitalized and other remain in lowercase.  Here are some rules for capitalization in English.

34 Capitalization Rules in English Grammar

Rule 1: Capitalize the first letter of first word of a sentence and first word after a full stop.

Example: He is a boy. He is in 7^th class.

Rule 2: Capitalize all proper nouns and all adjectives derived from proper nouns.

Example: Henry loves Indian songs.

Rule 3: Capitalize the initial word of name of companies.

Example: I was appointed as a manager in Star International Marketing.

Rule 4: Specific period and historical events are capitalized.

Example: In Middle Ages, most of the literature was produced by Chaucer and successors.

Rule 5: Capitalize the initial word of brand names.

Example: Mostly people use Google browser.

Rule 6: Capitalize the initial word of days of the week and months of the year.

Example: Jane’s wedding is in June.

Rule 7: Names of seasons are not capitalized because they are not proper nouns.

Example: I love autumn.

Rule 8: Capitalize the initial word of holidays.

Example: I will give you a surprise on Valentine Day.

Rule 9: Capitalize the initial word of institutions.

Example: I studies at Cambridge School System.

Rule 10: Capitalize the initial letter of man-made structures:

Example: I offered last prayer in Faisal Mosque.

Rule 11: Capitalize the initial word of natural and man-made landmarks.

Example: I want to climb Mount Everest.

Rule 12: Capitalize the initial word of all nicknames and epithets.

Example: Meet my younger brother, Sunny. He is fan of Nawab of Kala Bagh.

Rule 13: Capitalize the initial letter of all formal organizations.

Example: My brother got an appointment letter from Ministry of Defense, Pakistan.

 Rule 14: Capitalize the initial letter of planets.

Example: There are several planets in the galaxy: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Earth.

We know that Earth revolves around the sun. (Earth is capitalized only when it is discussed as a planet.)

Rule 15: Capitalize the initial letter of races, nationalities, and tribes. Punjabi, Balochi, East Indian, Africans.

Example: I love Punjabi people because of their hospitality.

Rule 16: Capitalize the initial letter of all religions, holly books, and names of deities.

Example: There is no God, but Allah.

Rule 17: Do not capitalize heaven, the devil, hell, satanic, etc.

Example: What the hell is this?

Rule 18: Capitalize the initial word of special occasions.

Example: All Olympic Games were postponed due to corona virus disease.

Rule 19: Capitalize all the titles whenever used before names.

Examples: Chairman of the Board Henry Joseph will be chairperson at the meeting.

 Rule 20: Do not capitalize the titles whenever used followed by the names or followed by a comma and do not capitalize the title if it is used instead of a name.

Examples: The chairman of the board, Henry Joseph, will preside the meeting. The president will address meeting.

Rule 21: There is difference between titles and occupations. Do not capitalize occupations before full names or followed by names.

Examples: The company owner Henry Smith was with me.

Rule 22: Those titles who replace someone’s first name are usually capitalized.

Example: Here comes Doctor Elizabeth.

Rule 23: Normally, a title is capitalized when it is used as a direct address.

Examples: Will you teach me, Professor?

Rule 24: Capitalize kinship names (monikers) when they are used alone in place of a personal name.

Examples: I am happy to see that Mom is also here.

Rule 25: However, these kinship names are not capitalized when used in possessive case, or followed by person’s name, or when they do not refer to a specific person.

Examples: Your mom is in my bedroom. Tom’s grandpa looks fine.

Rule 26: Capitalize nickname for a person in all cases.

Examples: Meet my sisters, Juny and Sonu.

Rule 27: Usually, word ‘the’ is not capitalized before proper nouns.

Examples: We visited the PC Hotel.

Rule 28: Always capitalize the first word in a complete quotation, even it is in mid sentence.

Example: Joseph said, “The game was not easy, but we won”.

Rule 29: In some cases quoted phrase is not capitalized if it continues a sentence.

Example: Henry told us that the matter was “far from over” and that “we will win.”

Rule 30: Do not capitalize the first word in a list that follows a colon.

Example: Give me the following: pencil, a rubber, and a chart.

Rule 31: If colon is followed by a complete sentences than first word after colon is capitalized.

Example: Ali gave me one advice: Always speak truth and be polite to everyone.

Rule 32: Book titles are capitalized in such a way that every content word is capitalized and function words remain in lowercase.

Example: ‘History of English Language’ is a book written by Michel.

Rule 33: In poetry personified elements are capitalized. (Personified-human trait attributed to inanimate objects).

Example: The Sun was angry and showering heat on the sea.

Rule 34: In poetry, each line of stanza starts with a capitalized word.

When do you capitalize a word?

The capitalization of a word (meaning its first letter is in the upper case) often depends upon its context and placement within a sentence. While there are some words that are always capitalized no matter where they appear in a sentence—such as “proper” nouns and adjectives, as well as the first-person pronoun I—most words are only capitalized if they appear at the beginning of a sentence.

Determining when to capitalize words in the titles of creative or published works (such as novels, films, essays, plays, paintings, news headlines, etc.) can be very difficult because there is no single, generally accepted rule to follow. However, there are some standard conventions, which we’ll discuss a little further on.

Capitalizing the first word of a sentence

The first word of a sentence is always capitalized. This helps the reader clearly recognize that the sentence has begun, and we make it clear that the sentence has ended by using terminal punctuation marks (e.g., periods, exclamation points, or question marks).

We also capitalize the first letter of a sentence that is directly quoted within another sentence. This is known as direct speech. For example:

• John said, “You’ll never work in this city again!”
• Mary told him, “We should spend some time apart,” which took him by surprise.
• The other day, my daughter asked, “Why do I have to go to school, but you don’t?”

Sometimes, a portion of a larger statement will be quoted as a complete sentence on its own; this is especially common in journalistic writing. To preserve capitalization conventions, we still usually capitalize the first letter of the quoted speech (if it functions as a complete independent sentence), but we surround the capital letter in brackets to make it clear that the change was made by the person using the quotation. For instance:

• The president went on to say, “[W]e must be willing to help those less fortunate than ourselves.”

Note that we do not capitalize the first word in the quotation if it is a word, phrase, or sentence fragment incorporated into the natural flow of the overall sentence; we also do not set it apart with commas:

• My brother said he feels “really bad” about what happened.
• But I don’t want to just “see how things go”!

Trademarks beginning with a lowercase letter

Sometimes, a trademark or brand name will begin with a lowercase letter immediately followed by an uppercase letter, as in iPhone, eBay, eHarmony, etc. If writers decide to begin a sentence with such a trademarked word, they may be confused about whether to capitalize the first letter since it is at the beginning of a sentence, or to leave the first letter in lowercase since it is specific to the brand name. Different style guides have different requirements, but most guides recommend rewording the sentence to avoid the issue altogether:

• «iPhone sales continue to climb.» (not technically wrong, but not ideal)
• “Sales for the iPhone continue to climb.” (correct and recommended)

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are used to identify a unique person, place, or thing (as opposed to common nouns, which identify generic or nonspecific people or things). A proper noun names someone or something that is one of a kind; this is signified by capitalizing the first letter of the word, no matter where it appears in a sentence.

The most common proper nouns are names of people, places, or events:

• “Go find Jeff and tell him that dinner is ready.”
• “I lived in Cincinnati before I moved to New York.”
• “My parents still talk about how great Woodstock was in 1969.”

Proper nouns are similarly used for items that have a commercial brand name. In this case, the object that’s being referred to is not unique in itself, but the brand it belongs to is. For example:

• “Pass me the Frisbee.”
• “I’ll have a Pepsi, please.”
• “My new MacBook is incredibly fast.”

The names of organizations, companies, agencies, etc., are all proper nouns as well, so the words that make up the name are all capitalized. However, unlike the nouns of people or places, these often contain function words (those that have only grammatical importance, such as articles, conjunctions, and prepositions), which are not capitalized. For example:

• “You’ll have to raise your query with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”
• “I’ve been offered a teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania.”
• “Bay Area Rapid Transit workers continue their strike for a fifth consecutive day.”

These are often made into acronyms and initialisms, which we’ll discuss a bit later.

Appellations

Appellations are additional words added to a person’s name. These may be used to indicate respect for a person (known as honorifics) or to indicate a person’s profession, royalty, rank, etc. (known as titles). Some appellations are always abbreviated before a person’s name, such as Dr. (short for Doctor), Mr. (short for Mister), and Mrs. (originally a shortened form of Mistress), and some may be used in place of a person’s name altogether (such as Your Honor, Your Highness, or Your Majesty).

Appellations are considered a “part” of the person’s name and are also capitalized in writing as a proper noun. For example:

• “Dr. Spencer insists we perform a few more tests.”
• “I intend to ask Professor Regan about her dissertation on foreign policy.”
• “Prince William is adored by many.”
• “Please see if Mr. Parker and Mrs. Wright will be joining us this evening.”
• “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

Normal words can also function as appellations after a person’s name to describe his or her appearance, personality, or other personal characteristics; these are formally known as epithets. They are usually accompanied by function words (especially the article the), which are not capitalized. For example:

• Alexander the Great
• Ivan the Terrible
• Charles the Bald

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns, and they are also capitalized. They are often made from the names of cities, countries, or regions to describe where something comes from or to identify a trait associated with that place, but they can also be formed from the names of people. For example:

Proper Noun	Proper Adjective	Example Sentence
Italy	Italian	I love Italian food.
China	Chinese	How much does this Chinese robe cost?
Christ	Christian	In Europe, you can visit many ancient Christian churches.
Shakespeare	Shakespearean	He writes in an almost Shakespearean style.

Sometimes, a word that began as a proper adjective can lose its “proper” significance over time, especially when formed from the name of a fictional character. In these cases, the word is no longer capitalized. Take the following sentence:

• “He was making quixotic mistakes.”

The word quixotic was originally a proper adjective derived from the name “Don Quixote,” a fictional character who was prone to foolish, grandiose behavior. Through time, it has come to mean “foolish” in its own right, losing its association to the character. As such, it is no longer capitalized in modern English.

Another example is the word gargantuan. Once associated with the name of a giant in the 16th-century book Gargantua, it has come to mean “huge” in daily use. Since losing its link with the fictional monster, it is no longer capitalized:

• “The couple built a gargantuan house.”

Other capitalization conventions

While proper nouns, proper adjectives, and the first word in a sentence are always capitalized, there are other conventions for capitalization that have less concrete rules.

Reverential capitalization

Traditionally, words for or relating to the Judeo-Christian God or to Jesus Christ are capitalized, a practice known as reverential capitalization. This is especially common in pronouns, though it can occur with other nouns associated with or used as a metaphor for God. For example:

• “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.”
• “We must always model our actions on the Lord’s will, trusting in His plan and in the benevolence of the Almighty.”

However, this practice is one of style rather than grammatical correctness. It is becoming slightly less common in modern writing, especially in relation to pronouns, and many modern publications (even some editions of the Bible) tend not to capitalize pronouns associated with God or Jesus Christ (though nouns such as “the Lamb” or “the Almighty” still tend to be in uppercase).

Finally, note that when the word god is being used to describe or discuss a deity in general (i.e., not the specific God of Christian or Jewish faith), it does not need to be capitalized. Conversely, any name of a specific religious figure must be capitalized the same way as any other proper noun, as in Zeus, Buddha, Allah, Krishna, etc.

Acronyms and Initialisms

Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations of multiple words using just their initial letters; like the initials of a person’s name, these letters are usually capitalized. Acronyms are distinguished by the fact that they are read aloud as a single word, while initialisms are spoken aloud as individual letters rather than a single word. (However, because the two are so similar in appearance and function, it is very common to simply refer to both as acronyms.)

Acronyms

Because acronyms are said as distinct words, they are usually (but not always) written without periods. In some cases, the acronym has become so common that the letters aren’t even capitalized anymore.

For example:

• “Scientists from NASA have confirmed the spacecraft’s location on Mars.” (acronym of “National Aeronautics and Space Administration”)
• “The officer went AWOL following the attack.” (acronym of “Absent Without Leave”)
• “I need those documents finished A.S.A.P.” (acronym or initialism of “As Soon As Possible”; also often written as ASAP, asap, and a.s.a.p.)
• “His scuba equipment turned out to be faulty.” (Scuba is actually an acronym of “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus,” but it is now only written as a regular word.)

It’s worth noting that in British English, it is becoming increasingly common to write acronyms of well-known organizations with only the first letter capitalized, as in Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement) or Unicef (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), while initialisms, such as UN or UK, are still written in all capital letters.

Initialisms

Like acronyms, it is most common to write initialisms without periods. However, in American English, it is also common to include periods between the letters of some initialisms. This varies between style guides, and it is generally a matter of personal preference; whether you use periods in initialisms or not, be sure to be consistent.

Here are some examples of common initialisms (some with periods, some without):

• “I grew up in the US, but I’ve lived in London since my early 20s.” (initialism of “United States”)
• “It took a long time, but I’ve finally earned my Ph.D.” (initialism of “Philosophiae Doctor,” Latin for “Doctor of Philosophy”)
• “I need to go to an ATM to get some cash.” (initialism of “Automated Teller Machine”)
• “The witness claimed to have seen a U.F.O. fly over the field last night.” (initialism of “Unidentified Flying Object”)

Notice that the h in Ph.D. remains lowercase. This is because it is part of the same word as P (Philosophiae); it is spoken aloud as an individual letter to help make the initialism distinct. While this mix of uppercase and lowercase letters in an initialism is uncommon, there are other instances in which this occurs. Sometimes, as with Ph.D., the lowercase letters come from the same word as an uppercase letter; other times, the lowercase letter represents a function word (a conjunction, preposition, or article). For example:

• AmE (American English)
• BrE (British English)
• LotR (Lord of the Rings)
• DoD (Department of Defense)

Finally, there are two initialisms that are always in lowercase: i.e. (short for the Latin id est, meaning “that is”) and e.g. (short for the Latin exempli gratia, meaning “for example”). The only instance in which these initialisms might be capitalized is if they are used at the beginning of a sentence, but doing so, while not grammatically incorrect, is generally considered aesthetically unappealing and should be avoided.

Abbreviations in conversational English

In conversational writing, especially with the advent of text messages and online messaging, many phrases have become shortened into informal abbreviations (usually initialisms, but occasionally said aloud as new words). They are usually written without periods and, due to their colloquial nature, they are often left in lowercase. While there are thousands of conversational abbreviations in use today, here are just a few of the most common:

• LOL (short for “Laugh Out Loud,” said as an initialism or sometimes as a word [/lɑl/])
• OMG (short for “Oh My God.” Interestingly, the first recorded use of this initialism was in a letter from Lord John Fisher to Winston Churchill in 1917.)
• BTW (short for “By The Way”)
• BRB (short for “Be Right Back”)
• BFF (short for “Best Friend Forever”)
• IDK (short for “I Don’t Know”)
• FWIW (short for “For What It’s Worth”)
• FYI (short for “For Your Information”)
• IMHO (short for “In My Humble/Honest Opinion”)
• P2P (short for “Peer-To-Peer,” with the word To represented by the number 2, a homophone)
• TLC (short for “Tender Loving Care”)
• TL;DR (short for “Too Long; Didn’t Read”)
• TTYL (short for “Talk To You Later”)

Because these are all very informal, they should only be used in conversational writing.

What to capitalize in a title or headline

There is much less standardization regarding how to capitalize titles or article headlines; different style guides prescribe different rules and recommendations.

That said, it is generally agreed that you should capitalize the first and last word of the title, along with any words of semantic significance—that is, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs—along with proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms. “Function words,” those that primarily add grammatical meaning rather than anything substantial (prepositions, articles, and conjunctions), are generally left in lowercase. This convention is sometimes known as title case, and some style guides recommend following it without exception, even for longer function words like between or upon.

For example:

• “New Regulations for Schools Scoring below National Averages”
• “An Analysis of the Differences between Formatting Styles”
• “President to Consider Options after Results of FBI Investigation”
• “Outrage over Prime Minister’s Response to Corruption Charges”

Some words can pose problems because they can in some instances be prepositions and in other instances be adverbs. For example, in the phrasal verb take off, off is functioning adverbially to complete the meaning of the verb, so it would be capitalized in a title:

• “Home Businesses Taking Off in Internet Age”
• “Home Businesses Taking off in Internet Age”

Another group of words that often gives writers problems is the various forms of the verb to be, which conjugates as is, am, are, was, were, been, and being. Because many of its forms are only two or three letters, writers are often inclined not to capitalize them; however, because to be is a verb, we should always capitalize it when using title case:

• “Determining Who Is Responsible for the Outcome” (correct)
• “Determining Who is Responsible for the Outcome” (incorrect)

Capitalizing words longer than three letters

Function words are usually not capitalized in title case, but longer function words (such as the conjunctions because or should or the prepositions between or above) are often considered to add more meaning than short ones like or or and. Because of this, it is a common convention is to capitalize function words that have more than three letters in addition to “major” words like nouns and verbs. Here’s how titles following this convention look:

• “New Regulations for Schools Scoring Below National Averages”
• “An Analysis of the Differences Between Formatting Styles”
• “President to Consider Options After Results of FBI Investigation”
• “Outrage Over Prime Minister’s Response to Corruption Charges”

Some style guides specify that only function words that are longer than four letters should be capitalized. Following this convention, the first three examples would remain the same, but the word over in the fourth example would remain lowercase. However, the “longer than three letters” rule is much more common.

Capitalizing hyphenated compounds

When a compound word features a hyphen, there are multiple ways to capitalize it in a title. Because compound words always serve as nouns or adjectives (or, rarely, verbs), we always capitalize the first part of the compound. What is less straightforward is whether to capitalize the word that comes after the hyphen. Some style guides recommend capitalizing both parts (so long as the second part is a “major” word), while others recommend only capitalizing the first part. For example:

• “How to Regulate Self-Driving Cars in the Near Future”
• “Eighteenth-century Warship Discovered off the Coast of Norway”

Certain style guides are very specific about how to capitalize hyphenated compounds, so if your school or employer uses a particular guide for its in-house style, be sure to follow its requirements. Otherwise, it is simply a matter of personal preference whether hyphenated compounds should be capitalized in full or in part; as always, just be consistent.

Compounds with articles, conjunctions, and prepositions

Some multiple-word compounds are formed with function words (typically the article the, the conjunction and, or the preposition in) between two other major words. While capitalizing the major words in the compound is optional and up to the writer’s personal preference, the function words will always be in lowercase:

• “Are Brick-and-Mortar Stores Becoming Obsolete?”
• “Prices of Over-the-counter Medications Set to Rise”
• “Business Tycoon Appoints Daughter-In-Law as New CEO”

The only exception to this rule is when writers choose to capitalize every word in the title.

Start case

To eliminate the possible confusion caused by short “substance” words (e.g., forms of to be), long function words (e.g., because or beneath), and hyphenated compounds, some publications choose to simply capitalize every word in a title, regardless of the “types” of words it may contain. This is sometimes known as “start case” or “initial case.” For instance:

• “New Regulations For Schools Scoring Below National Averages”
• “An Analysis Of The Differences Between Formatting Styles”
• “President To Consider Options After Results Of FBI Investigation”
• “Outrage Over Prime Minister’s Response To Corruption Charges”

This is especially common in journalism and online publications, but it is usually not recommended for academic or professional writing.

Sentence case

“Sentence case” refers to titles in which only the first word has a capital letter, the same way a sentence is capitalized. (Again, proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms remain capitalized.) As with start case, sentence case is useful because it eliminates any possible confusion over which words should be capitalized. Titles following this convention look like this:

• “New regulations for schools scoring below national averages”
• “An analysis of the differences between formatting styles”
• “President to consider options after results of FBI investigation”
• “Outrage over Prime Minister’s response to corruption charges”

Sentence case is not typically recommended by academic or professional style guides, though this is not always true. Some magazine and news publications use the style for their headlines as well, as do many websites.

Capitalizing subtitles

When a piece of work has both a main title and a secondary subtitle (separated by a colon), we apply the same capitalization rules to both—that is, the same types of words will be in uppercase or lowercase depending on which style is being used. We also capitalize the first word after the colon, treating the subtitle as its own. For example:

• The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir
• Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero (sometimes written as Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero due to the preference of capitalizing words longer than three letters)

This convention is also true in academic essays, whose subtitles tend to be longer and more detailed, giving the reader a brief explanation of what the essay is about:

• From the Television to the Supermarket: How the Rise of Modern Advertising Shaped Consumerism in America
• True Crimes: A Look at Criminal Cases That Inspired Five Classic Films

Note that if the main title is written in sentence case, then we only capitalize the first word of the subtitle (after the colon):

• In their shoes: Women of the 1940s who shaped public policy

However, this style is generally only used when a title appears in a list of references in an essay’s bibliography (individual style guides will have specific requirements for these works cited pages).

Alternate titles

Sometimes a subtitle acts as an alternate title; in this case, the two are often separated with a semicolon or a comma, followed by a lowercase or (though the specific style is left to the writer’s or publisher’s discretion). However, the alternate title is still capitalized the same way as the main title, with the first word after or being capitalized even if it is a short function word. For example:

• Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
• Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
• Twelfth Night, or What You Will
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Capitalizing headings

Headings are titles that identify or introduce a specific section within a larger academic essay or business document. In general, headings will be capitalized in the same manner as the document’s title, usually having the first and last word capitalized as well as any nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs (and, depending on the style guide being followed, any prepositions or conjunctions longer than three letters).

Sometimes a written work will have multiple subheadings of sections that belong within a larger heading. It is common for subheadings to be written in sentence case, but most style guide have specific requirements for when this can be done (for instance, if the subheading is the third or more in a series of headings), if at all.

Deciding how to capitalize a title

Ultimately, unless your school or employer follows one specific style guide, it is a matter of preference to decide how the title is formatted. No matter which style you adopt, the most important thing is to be consistent throughout your body of writing.

The question of when to capitalise a word can be tricky. As such, sometimes even the most exacting of grammar nerds will need to consult a guide. If you’re writing an essay and you’re unsure about a word, then, check the rules below to see whether a capital is required.

Which Words Should Be Capitalised?

The following situations always require a capital letter:

• The first word in a sentence
• The first-person pronoun ‘I’, along with the contractions ‘I’m’ and ‘I’ll’
• Countries (e.g. ‘France’)
• Settlements and landmarks (e.g. ‘Paris’, ‘the Eiffel Tower’)
• Languages (e.g. ‘French’, ‘Spanish’ or ‘German’)
• Proper nouns related to nationality, (e.g. ‘Frenchman’ or ‘Englishman’)
• Months and days of the week (e.g. ‘We met on a Thursday in June’)
• Special dates and historical periods (e.g. ‘Christmas Day’ or ‘the Iron Age’)
• Important historical events (e.g. ‘World War One’)
• The names of companies, brands and institutions (e.g. ‘Coca Cola’)
• Abbreviated titles (e.g. ‘Mr’, ‘Ms’ or ‘Dr’)
• Honorifics in salutations or before a name (e.g. ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dr Quinn’)
• People’s names (e.g. ‘Donald’ or ‘Hillary’)
• Special honours and awards (e.g. ‘Bachelor of Physics’)

Although this list covers the most common examples, there are also other situations where terms should be capitalised.

For example, when discussing religions, words like ‘God’ and ‘Allah’, as well as words pronouns relating to deities (e.g. ‘Him’), are often capitalised. This is known as reverential capitalisation.

Sometimes, job titles are also capitalised, especially when used as part of an official title or alongside a name (e.g. ‘Jane Smith, Head of Recruitment, will be attending the meeting’). This isn’t necessary when the same words are used generically, though (e.g. we would write ‘She hopes to become President of the United States’ because it refers to a specific position, but no capitalisation is needed in ‘Many countries have presidents’).

Title Capitalisation

It’s also conventional to capitalise some words in titles, especially with books and films. When it comes to essay titles, many style guides require you to capitalise just the first word of titles and subtitles, plus proper nouns. This is known as ‘sentence case’. A title like this would run:

A guide to English: Perfecting grammar in an academic paper

Alternatively, some style guide suggest that all of the main words (i.e. any that aren’t articles, conjunctions or prepositions) should be capitalised. This is known as ‘title case’. A title like this would appear as:

A Guide to English: Perfecting Grammar in an Academic Paper

Make sure to check which format your university prefers.

When NOT to Capitalise

Some situations might seem like a word should be capitalised but, in fact, do not require it. Words which don’t need to be capitalised include:

• The seasons (e.g. ‘spring’ or ‘summer’)
• The word ‘god’ when used in relation to the general idea of gods, rather than the Christian God
• Academic subjects which aren’t part of a degree or other qualification title (e.g. ‘He studied maths and science at school’)

It’s also important to be consistent with capitalisation (i.e. to use the same style of capitalisation throughout each document). And make sure to proofread carefully if you’re not sure about certain terms!

Title case is used for titles of books, articles, songs, albums, television shows, magazines, movies…you get the idea.

Capitalization isn’t normally applied to every word in a title. Smaller words, such as a, an, and the are not capitalized. Some writers only capitalize words that are longer than three letters. Others stretch it to four.

There is an exception to the rule of using lowercase for short words in a title: Words that are important should remain capitalized, even if they are shorter than three or four letters. For example, the word run is only three letters, but if it appeared in a title, it would be capitalized, because it would be the verb (or action) within the title: “Would You Run for Office?” Similarly, important nouns (subjects of objects of a title), such as me, would retain capitalization: Marley and Me.

There’s no fixed grammar rule for which words aren’t capitalized in a title, although they tend to be smaller and less significant words; you should check your style guide for specific guidelines to ensure that your capitalization in consistent.

Capitalization of Acronyms

Every letter in an acronym should be capitalized, regardless of whether the words those letters represent start with capital letters:

• The acronym for Writing Forward would be WF.
• WYSIWYG is an acronym that stands for what you see is what you get. Although the words in the original phrase aren’t capitalized, every letter in the acronym is capitalized.
• Most people use acronyms heavily in text messaging and online messaging. In common usage, these acronyms are rarely capitalized: omg, btw, nsfw. However, if you were using these acronyms in a more formal capacity, they would be entirely capitalized: OMG, BTW, NSFW.

First Word of a Sentence

As I’m sure you know, grammar rules state that the first word in a sentence is always capitalized.

Capitalization of Proper Nouns

To keep things simple here today, we’ll refer to a noun as a person, place, or thing. You need not worry about the other parts of speech because only nouns are eligible for perennial capitalization.

There are two types of nouns that matter in terms of capitalization: proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, and things. Common nouns are all the other, nonspecific people, places, and things.

When considering whether to capitalize, ask whether the noun in question is specific. This will tell you if it’s a proper noun, which should be capitalized, or a common noun, which remains in all lowercase letters.

Proper Noun Capitalization Example

The word country is not specific. It could be any country. Even if you’re talking about the country in which you live, which is a specific country, the word itself could indicate any number of nations. So keep it lowercase because it’s a common noun.

Conversely, Chile is a specific country. You can tell because Chile is the name of a particular land in which people reside. When you discuss the people of that land, you won’t capitalize the word people. However, if you’re talking about Chileans, you definitely capitalize because Chileans are a very specific people, from a very specific country, Chile.

Hopefully that makes sense. If not, keep reading because I’m about to confuse you even more.

Common Capitalization Errors

Folks often think that capitalization should be applied to any word that’s deemed important. Here’s an example:

We sent the Product to the local Market in our last shipment. Have the Sales Force check to see if our Widgets are properly packaged.

It’s not uncommon, especially in business writing, to see nouns that are crucial to a company’s enterprise capitalized. This is technically incorrect but could be considered colloquial usage of a sort. Unless it’s mandated by a company style guide, avoid it.

Here’s correct capitalization of our example:

We sent the product to the local market in our last shipment. Have the sales force check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.

Now, in a rewrite of the example, some of the words will be again capitalized, but only if they are changed to proper nouns (names or titles of things and people).

We sent the Widgetbusters (TM) to WidgetMart in our last shipment. Have Bob, Sales Manager, check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.

What about Capitalization for Job Titles?

Ah, this one’s tricky. Job titles are only capitalized when used as part of a specific person’s title:

• Have you ever met a president?
• Did you vote for president?
• Do you want to become the president?
• Nice to meet you, Mr. President.
• I read a book about President Lincoln.

Again, this has to do with specificity. “The president” or “a president” could be any president, even if in using the phrase, it’s obvious by context who you mean. However “Mr. President” or “President Lincoln” are specific individuals, and they call for capitalization.

Grammar Rules!

Do you have any questions about grammar rules regarding capitalization? Any additional tips to add? Leave a comment!

In English, there are a few rules for capitalization. Most of these rules are simple and straightforward, but they can be confusing for new writers. In this post, we’ll go over the basics of English capitalization rules, including when to capitalize proper nouns and when to use lowercase letters. We’ll also discuss some exceptions to these rules. Understanding these rules will take your writing to the next level.

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Knowing when to capitalize a word and when to leave it lowercase can be tricky because there are many different rules about when to use capital letters. You cannot form a complete sentence without proper capitalization. One such rule is learning to capitalize proper nouns like Valentine’s day in your writing!

Here are brief explanations of 20 general capitalization rules to help you figure out when you need a capital letter.

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1) First word of a sentence 

You should always capitalize the first word of a sentence (independent clause). Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule, such as when a sentence starts with a coordinating conjunction or when you’re using quotation marks. But for the most part, if you just remember to capitalize only the first word of every sentence. So if you start a sentence with Chris’ or Chris’s, you better capitalize the -C!

It does not matter if you are writing only one sentence or multiple sentences, always capitalize the first word. Even if it is a sentence fragment. This rule is consistent with the AP Style guide.

There is no need to capitalize informal sayings like catch you on the flip side in your writing. They are treated like normal words!

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2) First word following a colon if the second phrase is a complete sentence

A colon introduces and connects the ideas in two or more sentences. Writers often avoid using this punctuation mark because they are unsure of the capitalization rules.

According to the rules, you should only capitalize the first word following a colon if the second phrase is a complete sentence (Chicago Manual of Style). So, in other words, if what comes after the colon could stand on its own as a sentence, then it should be capitalized. So if you have the word “association or organization” following a colon, you better capitalize them!

However, if it’s something like a list or a fragment, then there’s no need to capitalize.

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3) First word in each line of most poetry

According to English language capitalization rules, the first word in each line of most poetry should be capitalized. This rule is designed to help ensure that readers can easily identify the start of each new line.

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4) First word in a quotation 

Always capitalize the first word in a quotation. This rule seems simple enough, but there are plenty of people who still don’t follow it. As a result, they end up with sentences that look like this: “the cat slept through the storm.”

Not only is this incorrect, but it also makes your writing look sloppy. So if you have the word dying or even dying first in your quotation, you better capitalize them!

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5) The Pronoun “I”

The personal pronoun “I” is always capitalized in English, no matter where it appears in a sentence. This is because “I” is a proper noun, and all proper nouns are capitalized.

Example: “I went to the store.”

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6) Proper nouns

Proper nouns are tricky, because it can be difficult to tell when a noun is actually proper. Here are some rules about specific types of proper nouns:

• Names – First and last names are always capitalized: Billy Walker, Susan Myers
• Relationships – Terms for relationships are only capitalized if they are used as part of someone’s name: “Aunt Alice called me,” versus “My aunt, Alice, called me.”
• Titles – Much like relationships, titles are only capitalized if they are used as part of a name: “Coach Wilson was right,” versus “The coach was right.”

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7) Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and suffixes added to titles are not capitalized: “ex-Governor Johnson”

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Direct address

Words used for relationships and titles that would normally be lowercase are capitalized when they are used to directly address someone: “But I want to play, Coach,” versus “The coach told me I couldn’t play.”

• Places – The proper names of places are always capitalized, such as New York City or France. If words like “city” are not used as part of the title, they are not capitalized: the city of New York.
  • Geographical Formations – You would not normally capitalize geographical formations, but when they are part of the title of a specific formation you do: “the mountains” versus “Rocky Mountains;” “the ocean” versus “the Atlantic Ocean”
  • Streets – The word “street” is not normally capitalized, but it is when it is part of the name of a street: “the street” versus “Baker Street”

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9) Specific deities

Don’t capitalize the word “god” or “gods” when they don’t refer to specific deities. Do capitalize the names of deities from any belief system, or the term “God” in reference to the deity of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. For example, “Zeus is a Greek god.” “God helped the Israelites escape from Egypt.”

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10) Dates

Days of the week, months, and years are capitalized: Wednesday, July.

For example:

• I have to be at the doctors office on Thursday, October 21st.
• On December 25th my entire family is coming over for dinner!
• I will graduate school on Friday, May 18th from Rutgers School of Engineering!

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11) Holidays

You should capitalize the names of specific holidays. This includes holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.

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12) Seasons as titles

The rules around season capitalization are actually quite simple. Season names should only be capitalized when they’re being used as specific names. For example, “I can’t wait for spring break!” In this sentence, “spring” is being used to refer to a specific season, so it’s capitalized.

However, if you were simply talking about the temperature getting warmer, you wouldn’t need to capitalize the word “spring.” Pay close attention to capitalization rules when writing your titles.

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13) Countries, nationalities, and specific languages

Countries, nationalities, and specific languages are always capitalized in English. This rule seems simple enough, but it can often trip up writers who are unfamiliar with the language.

For example, it is incorrect to write “I’m from Germany” or ” English is my first language.”

The correct way to write these phrases would be “I’m from Germany” and “English is my first language.”

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14) Periods and Events

The names of periods and events are always capitalized when use specifically.

You need to capitalize the names of historical periods, like the Stone Age, or the Renaissance. But you also need to capitalize big events, like World War II.

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15) Groups

Specific names of groups like the National Honor Society should always be capitalized. Other specific names including organizations and places like the White House should also be capitalized. However, generic names for groups like “government” don’t need to be capitalized.

For example:

• I worked very hard to get into the National Honors Society in high school.
• The president of the United States lives in the White House in Washington, DC.

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16) Trademarks

The trademarked names of companies and products are always capitalized, such as Coca-Cola or Apple. If a product or company is self-styled with a lowercased first letter, you do not capitalize it: iPhone, eBay. Some scholars do suggest capitalizing these forms if they are used at the beginning of a sentence: “iPhones are very popular.”

• Google
• Walmart
• Exxon
• Nike

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17) Most adjective forms of proper nouns

Capitalize adjective forms of proper nouns: a French song, a Shakespearean play, except for words that have lost their connection to the proper noun over time, like quixotic, which comes from the novel, Don Quixote. Part of learning how to capitalize correctly is learning how to use adjectives correctly.

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18) Salutations and closings in letters

No matter if you’re writing a postcard or letter, you should capitalize the first word in a salutation or closing in a letter: “Dear friend;” “With love”

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19) Initials, Acronyms

Capitalize the letters of initials and acronyms: CIA, BBC, Elizabeth A. Green

• ASAP – As soon as possible
• TGIF – Thank god its Friday
• LOL – Laugh out loud
• OMG – Oh my God

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20) Planets

The names of planets are capitalized. Earth, sun, and moon are not required to be capitalized, but it is recommended to capitalize for consistency when other celestial bodies will be capitalized in the same text.

• Earth
• Mercury
• Uranus
• Saturn
• Mars

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Is Halloween Capitalized?

Halloween is one of the few holidays that is regularly capitalized. While some people argue that all holidays should be lowercase, the general rule is that days of religious or cultural significance should be capitalized.

This includes both Christmas and Easter, as well as Halloween. So next time you’re debating whether or not to capitalize the “h” in Halloween, remember that you’re actually following proper grammar rules!

Takeaway: Proper nouns should always be capitalized.

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Tricky Elements:

The President, The Queen, and The Pope – These titles do not have to be capitalized, but some writers do so in order to display respect. The decision to capitalize these terms is not common in the United States, but is in some other locations.

Composition titles – Book, movie, art, play, essay, chapter, and poem titles are capitalized, but only certain words. Here are the rules:

• Capitalize the first and last word of a main title
• Capitalize all verbs (Goes, Is, May)
• Capitalize all pronouns (We, It, She)
• Capitalize “Not”
• Don’t capitalize “a,” “an,” “the” unless they are the first or last word
• Do not capitalize conjunctions unless they are first or last (and, but, for)
• Do not capitalize the word “to” unless it is first or last.
• Capitalize subtitles as if they are titles

When in doubt, do not capitalize a word unless it is used in direct address or as a name or title.

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APA Style Capitalization

There are a lot of different styles of capitalization out there. But if you’re looking for the most versatile style, you can’t go wrong with APA.

• APA stands for the American Psychological Association, and its style guide is used by many different disciplines.

The biggest feature of APA style is that it uses “down” style meaning that words are lowercase unless there is specific guidance otherwise.

This makes it great for writing in a variety of contexts. Whether you’re writing a research paper or an email to your boss, you can use APA-style manuals and be confident that you’re using the correct capitalization.

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FAQs – Capitalization Rules

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Final Thoughts

English capitalization rules can seem confusing at first, but if you take the time to learn them, you’ll be able to write complete sentences with confidence. There are only a few basic rules that you need to remember and we’ve outlined them for you here. Once you’ve got them down pat, your writing will go to the next level! And if you struggle with these rules, use software such as grammarly vs prowritingaid for some extra help!