First word in title

I’m trying to shorten a wordpress title to just the first word. For a page named «John Doe» I want to have a sub title somewhere on the page that says «About John» so I want to just get the first word from the title.

Is there a way to do this with PHP?

Thanks!

UPDATE:
Thanks for your answers! I tried the following code but it doesn’t seem to be working. It still echoes the full title. Any suggestions?

<?php   
   $title = the_title();
   $names = explode(' ', $title);
   echo $names[0];
?>

T.Rob's user avatar

T.Rob

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asked Apr 17, 2010 at 18:13

HandiworkNYC.com's user avatar

HandiworkNYC.comHandiworkNYC.com

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this is very easy:

<?php
$title = get_the_title(); // This must be!, because this is the return - the_title would be echo
$title_array = explode(' ', $title);
$first_word = $title_array[0];

echo $first_word;
?>

or

<?php
$title = current(explode(' ', get_the_title()));

echo $title;
?>

untested, but should work :)

Hope this is helpful :)

answered Apr 17, 2010 at 18:57

ahmet2106's user avatar

1

$first_word = current(explode(' ', $title  ));

or in your template file

<?php echo current(explode(' ', $title  )) ?>

explode by space and get first element in resulting array

answered Apr 17, 2010 at 18:14

Galen's user avatar

GalenGalen

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1

list($first_word) = explode(' ',$mystring);

answered Apr 17, 2010 at 18:15

oezi's user avatar

oezioezi

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1

You can do like this:

$words = explode(' ', $the_title_here);
echo $words[0];

answered Apr 17, 2010 at 18:15

Sarfraz's user avatar

SarfrazSarfraz

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I think you’re probably running into some of the idiosyncrasies of WordPress here. the_title(), by default, just prints out the title and returns nothing. In order to make it return the title string instead of printing it, you have to set the third parameter of the_title() to true.

//fetch the title string into a variable
$title = the_title('','',true);

Once you have it, then you can get rid of the first word and echo it manually. If you’re using PHP 5.3, you can accomplish this in one line with strstr():

echo strstr($title," ",true);

If you have PHP < 5.3, you can use explode():

$parts = explode(' ',$title);
echo $parts[0];

answered Apr 17, 2010 at 18:44

zombat's user avatar

zombatzombat

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1

I would recommend avoiding this string parsing entirely and using a more general approach for defining a secondary title for your page.

You should use WordPress’ Post Meta system to define a custom meta field with a name like ‘subtitle’, then call that field in your template. That way you can decide on a page-by-page basis what you want the subtitle to be, rather than being locked into a specific relationship between post title and subtitle. This probably won’t make your life more complicated and it will simplify it significantly.

You add post meta to a page or post using the «Custom Fields» section at the bottom of the post editing screen. You display those fields in your theme like this:

<?php echo get_post_meta($post->ID, $meta_key, 1);?>

Obviously you’d probably be better off checking it exists first, giving you something like this:

<?php if ( $subtitle = get_post_meta($post->ID, $meta_key, 1) ) 
    echo "<h3>$subtitle</h3>";
?>

More details on the codex.

answered Apr 18, 2010 at 21:31

jerclarke's user avatar

jerclarkejerclarke

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1

There is a string function (strtok) which can be used to split a string into smaller strings (tokens) based on some separator(s). For the purposes of this thread, the first word (defined as anything before the first space character) of Test me more can be obtained by tokenizing the string on the space character.

<?php
$value = "Test me more";
echo strtok($value, " "); // Test
?>

For more details and examples, see the strtok PHP manual page.

answered Feb 5, 2014 at 5:46

Krunal Shah's user avatar

Krunal ShahKrunal Shah

2,08312 silver badges27 bronze badges

Источник

Knowing which words to capitalize in a title can be hard. There are several different style guides in English that all have slightly different rules for title capitalization. Understanding what to capitalize in a title is important to make sure that your titles and headlines look correct. In this guide, we’ll explain the differences between the major styles and what words you should and shouldn’t capitalize.

The Four Major Title Capitalization Style Guides

First, it is important to note that there are four main title capitalization styles:

  • Chicago style
  • APA style
  • MLA style
  • AP style

Our title capitalization tool also supports Bluebook and AMA style capitalization.

Each of these capitalization styles has slightly different rules for which words are capitalized and each of these styles can be written using title case capitalization or sentence case capitalization. We’ll get to the nuances of each below.

The Easiest Way to Capitalize Your Titles With the Correct Rules

Before we get into the details of each type of title capitalization style, we highly recommend that you check out our free title capitalization tool. All you have to do is select whether you want title case or sentence case, and then select which style guide you want. It automatically capitalizes your title with the right rules according to style guide you selected. Watch the video below to learn more.

Title Case Capitalization vs. Sentence Case Capitalization

There are two main types of title capitalization methods that are common between all the title capitalization styles. Title case capitalization is the most commonly used title capitalization style used in titles. Sentence case capitalization is commonly used for sub-headings when writing long-form content as well as in many journalism headlines.

Title Case Capitalization

In general, the following capitalization rules apply across the four styles in title case:

  • Capitalize the first word in the title
  • Capitalize the last word in the title
  • Capitalize the important words in the title

Important words in that last bullet generally refer to:

  • Adjectives (tiny, large, etc.)
  • Adverbs (quietly, smoothly, etc.)
  • Nouns (tablet, kitchen, book)
  • Pronouns (they, she, he)
  • Subordinating conjunctions (when fewer than 5 letters)
  • Verbs (write, type, create)

Title case is the most common title capitalization for book titles, headlines, articles titles, etc. When multiple letters in a title need to be capitalized, use title case capitalization.

Our title capitalization tool will automatically capitalize your titles according to these rules.

Words Not Capitalized in Title Case

While the above words are generally capitalized in titles regardless of style, there are some words that are generally not capitalized when using title case. These include short words and conjunctions:

  • Articles (a, an, the)
  • Coordinating Conjunctions (and, but, for)
  • Short (fewer than 5 letters)
  • Prepositions (at, by, from, etc.)

What Is Sentence Case?

The other major type of title capitalization standard is sentence case. Sentence case simply means you capitalize the first letter of a sentence, proper nouns, and nothing else as opposed to capitalizing almost every first letter in title case. It is the same across all of the four styles.

For more specific title capitalization rules, you can see the following sections which cover each style of title capitalization rules or check out our FAQs for common capitalization questions.

Are Proper Nouns Capitalized?

Yes, proper nouns are capitalized in titles and sentences. A proper noun refers to a definite name for a specific person, place, object, book, movie, or event. In English, proper nouns are always capitalized regardless of whether you are writing a sentence or title.

Examples:

  • New York City is the best place to live.
  • I drove home from Walmart.
  • He high five Bob for winning the game.

Chicago Manual of Style Capitalization Rules

Chicago Style is one of the most used and respected headline capitalization methods used in journalism. The rules are fairly standard for title case:

  1. Capitalize the first and the last word.
  2. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  3. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
  4. Lowercase the ‘to’ in an infinitive (I want to play guitar).

APA Style Capitalization Rules

Making sure you have the right capitalization for APA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to APA headline capitalization and title capitalization:

  1. Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading
  2. Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report)
  3. Capitalize all words of four letters or more.

MLA Style Capitalization Rules

Making sure you have the right capitalization for MLA headings is crucial for scholarly articles. The following rules apply to MLA headings:

  1. Capitalize the first word of the title/heading and of any subtitle/subheading.
  2. Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns) in the title/heading, including the second part of hyphenated major words (e.g., Self-Report not Self-report).
  3. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions.
  4. Do not capitalize to in infinitives.

AP Style Capitalization Rules

AP style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the Associated Press but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follow:

  1. Capitalize the first and the last word.
  2. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  3. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
  4. Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions).
  5. Capitalize the ‘to’ in an infinitive (e.g., I Want To Play Guitar).

NY Times Style Capitalization Rules

NY Times style capitalization is mainly used by writers for the NY Times but is also used widely throughout journalism. The capitalization rules are as follow:

  1. Capitalize major words, e.g. nouns, pronouns, verbs.
  2. Capitalize the first and the last word.
  3. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  4. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.

Wikipedia Style Capitalization Rules

Wikipedia editors must follow certain capitalization rules for any posts to Wikipedia. The capitalization rules are as follow:

  1. Capitalize major words, e.g. nouns, pronouns, verbs.
  2. Capitalize the first and the last word.
  3. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
  4. Lowercase indefinite and definite articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
  5. Prepositions that contain five letters or more.
  6. The word “to” in infinitives.

This post was proofread by Grammarly. Try it — it’s FREE!

Capitalize My Title is a dynamic title capitalization tool used to make sure your titles or headlines use proper capitalization rules according to various style guides include APA, AP, MLA, and Chicago. It also counts your words and checks for grammar issues.

Источник

background image 348

I used to think there were only two ways to use capitalization in a title: (1) Capitalize only the first word in the title (except for proper nouns), which I learned working for a local newspaper; and (2) Capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor, shorter words, which I learned was wrong.

I also came to learn that the rules for capitalization in titles—like the rules for other areas of English grammar—are not set in stone; style guides and grammarians disagree on which words to capitalize in a title.

In fact, there are really only two rules that are consistent across the board:

  • Capitalize the first word of the title
  • Capitalize all proper nouns

Sentence case, or down style, is one method, preferred by many print and online publications and recommended by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The only two rules are the two rules mentioned above: Capitalize the first word and all proper nouns. Everything else is in lowercase. For example:

Why it’s never too late to learn grammar (all words lowercased except “Why”—first word in title)

Another method is to capitalize all words in a title. This one is considered simple because there’s no struggle trying to remember which words to capitalize and which ones to lowercase; they’re all capitalized. However, one could argue it’s the lazy man’s method or that it’s not very aesthetic. For example:

Why It’s Never Too Late To Learn Grammar (all words capitalized)

Title case, or up style, is another method. Whether or not you capitalize a word in a title depends on its part of speech. According to most style guides that use title case, the basic rules are as follows:

  • Capitalize the first and last word in a title, regardless of part of speech
  • Capitalize all nouns (baby, country, picture), pronouns (you, she, it), verbs (walk, think, dream), adjectives (sweet, large, perfect), adverbs (immediately, quietly), and subordinating conjunctions (as, because, although)
  • Lowercase “to” as part of an infinitive
  • Lowercase all articles (a, the), prepositions (to, at, in, with), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or)

For example:

Why It’s Never Too Late to Learn Grammar (all words capitalized except “to,” a preposition)

That last rule for title case is upheld by some style guides, but not all. The Chicago Manual of Style follows that rule (except in cases in which an article, preposition, or coordinating conjunction is the first or last word in a title). However, The Associated Press would have you capitalize prepositions and conjunctions if they are four or more letters long. For others, the magic number is five rather than four. So, according to some guides, you have to worry not only about the part of speech, but also about the length of the words.

There is another common—but incorrect—“method” of using capitalization in titles. I used to follow it myself (see my first paragraph). Many writers mistakenly believe that in a title, you should capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor, shorter words.

For example, writers often lowercase all two- or three-letter words in a title because they’re short, and many articles, prepositions, and conjunctions—most of which should be lowercased—are short, as well. However, short words can be nouns, pronouns, and verbs, etc., which should be capitalized. Part of speech is more important than length when it comes to determining capitalization in titles. For example:

Why it’s Never too Late to Learn Grammar (wrong)

“It’s” is a contraction of “it,” a pronoun, and “is,” a verb, both of which should be capitalized; “too” is an adverb, which should also be capitalized.

Regardless of which convention you’d prefer to follow (except for the last example), you need to be consistent. Pick one (or follow the style guide of your employer, school, or clients) and stick with it.

Источник

  • EM

  • Articles

  • Style

  • Capitalization

Summary

Capitalize the first, last, and all major words in a book title, headline, or first-level heading. Major words are all words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (on, in, of, etc.), coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, etc.), and the word to. This capitalization style is called title case.

Examples

  • Title case: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
  • Title case: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Capitalize lower-level headings using sentence case, in which only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized (the words that you would normally capitalize in a sentence).

Examples

  • Sentence case: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
  • Sentence case: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Style guides like the AP Stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style, APA Publication Manual, and MLA Handbook prescribe additional rules, discussed in this article.

Capitalization styles

Headings and titles of books, movies, TV shows, articles, and other works can be capitalized using either title case (also called headline style or up style) or sentence case (sentence style or down style).

Examples

  • Title case: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
    Sentence case: How the Grinch stole Christmas
  • Title case: The Idea of Perfection
    Sentence case: The idea of perfection
  • Title case: How to Be a Better Writer
    Sentence case: How to be a better writer

Titles of books, movies, and other works; names of periodicals and magazines; chapter headings; and titles of articles and blog posts are usually capitalized using title case. Sentence-case capitalization is used for second-level headings and lower.

News headlines have traditionally been capitalized using title case, although these days, sentence case is often used, especially online.

In this article, we discuss the general rules of title-case capitalization and then review any additional rules and exceptions prescribed by the major style manuals.

Title case: General rules

Here are the general rules for capitalizing headlines and titles of books, movies, reports, articles, and other works:

  1. Capitalize the first word and last word of a title.
  2. Capitalize all major words, which are all words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (e.g., on, in, of, at), and coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, and nor; also for, yet, and so when used as conjunctions).
  3. Always lowercase the word to.
  4. Capitalize the first element of a hyphenated term. Capitalize any subsequent elements only if they are major words.
  5. Capitalize the first word of a subheading following a colon.
  6. Break a rule if you need to—for example, if a preposition is emphasized in a title, capitalize it.

Title case rules explained

Capitalize all major words—all words except articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions.

Examples

  • Love in the Time of Cholera
  • Three Men in a Boat
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Requiem for a Dream
  • Catch Me If You Can
  • The Portrait of a Lady
  • The Way We Live Now
  • The Girl Who Played with Fire
  • Men without Women
  • The Ground beneath Her Feet
  • Everything Is Illuminated

Capitalize the first and last words of a title, no matter what they are.

Examples

  • A Clockwork Orange
  • The Mill on the Floss
  • In Search of Lost Time
  • Through a Glass Darkly
  • From Blood and Ash
  • But What If There’s No Chimney?
  • And Then There Were None
  • Something to Answer For
  • Something to Believe In
  • All We Dream Of
  • Where We Come From

Caution

It may not always be clear at first glance whether a word should be capitalized. Check what function it serves in the title.

Examples

  • Capitalize over as an adverb, but lowercase it as a preposition.

    Adverb: The Soup Boiled

    O

    ver

    Preposition: The Light

    o

    ver London

  • Capitalize yet
    as an adverb, but lowercase it as a conjunction.

    Adverb: Are We There

    Y

    et?

    Conjunction: Broke

    y

    et Happy

Always lowercase the word to.

Examples

  • Train to Busan
  • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
  • A Good Man Is Hard to Find

In a hyphenated term, capitalize the first element, but capitalize the following elements only if they are major words.

Examples

  • The Man-Eater of Malgudi

    Eater is a noun and should be capitalized.

  • The Academy’s Out-of-Uniform Procedure

    Lowercase of, which is a preposition, but capitalize uniform, a noun.

  • The Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Fairies
  • The Thirty-Nine Steps
  • The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Cookbook
  • Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
  • The Fire-Breathing Dragon

Capitalize the first word of a subtitle or subheading following a colon.

Examples

  • Computer: A History of the Information Machine
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
  • A Memoir: Of Mermaids and Waterfalls

Break a rule if you must. If a word is emphasized in a title, capitalize it, even if it is not a major word.

Examples

  • How to Be the Go-To Person in Your Organization
  • A Run-In with Religion and Other True Stories
  • Is It OK to Use And at the Start of a Sentence?

Tip

Capitalize all the words that make up a phrasal verb. (A phrasal verb comprises a verb and a preposition, which together form a single verb with its own meaning.)

Examples

  • What to Do When You Run Into Someone You Don’t Like
  • How to Set Up Your Spaceship’s AI
  • Don’t Put Off Being Happy

Be and is in a title

Capitalize verbs, including the be verb in all its forms: be, is, are, was, were.

Examples

  • There Will Be Blood
  • Tender Is the Night
  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Then She Was Gone
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God

Also capitalize the have and do verbs in all their forms: have, has, had, do, does, did.

Examples

  • The Heart Has Its Reasons
  • Owls Do Cry
  • What Katy Did
  • Inequality: What Can Be Done?

That in a title

The word that is always a major word and should be capitalized. (In most titles, it is used as a relative pronoun.)

Examples

  • Companies That Fleece Their Customers
  • The House That Jack Built

It and me in a title

Capitalize all pronouns, including it, my, me, we, our, you, he, his, she, her, they, them, and who.

Examples

  • How It All Began
  • Some of My Favorite Things
  • The Best We Can Do
  • The General in His Labyrinth
  • The Woman Who Did

No and not in a title

Capitalize the words no and not (a determiner and an adverb) whenever these words appear in titles.

Examples

  • Beasts of No Nation
  • Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

AP and APA style

The APA Publication Manual (used in academic editing, especially the social sciences) and the AP Stylebook (preferred in journalism, media, and corporate communication) both specify one major exception to the general rules:

Capitalize all words of four letters or more, even if they are prepositions.

Examples

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • The Girl Who Played With Fire
  • Men Without Women
  • The Ground Beneath Her Feet
  • So Far From God
  • Once Upon a Time in the West
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • The Light Between Oceans
  • The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
  • A Woman Under the Influence
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • The World Until Yesterday

    • but

  • The Man in the Brown Suit
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • A Home for Lunatics
  • The Woman on the Beach

Thus, in APA and AP style, words four letters or longer are always capitalized, regardless of function. Note that the other general rules apply as usual. Capitalize any major words, even if they are three letters or shorter: be, has, had, do, did, me, who, my, etc.

Examples

  • We Should All Be Feminists
  • If I Had Your Face
  • Marley and Me
  • The Man Who Sold His Ferrari

Another exception is that all conjunctions three letters or shorter are lowercased. Thus, in APA and AP style, lowercase not only the seven coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, nor, for, yet, so) but also subordinating conjunctions up to three letters long (which pretty much boils down to the word if).

Examples

  • Pride and Prejudice
  • I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You
  • Catch Me if You Can

Also, do lowercase articles and any prepositions up to three letters long: a, an, the, for, in, of, to, etc.

Examples

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • The Catcher in the Rye
  • A House for Mr. Biswas

Finally, in AP Style, the first and last words are capitalized as usual, regardless of length.

Examples

  • An American Tragedy
  • The Invisible Man
  • As I Lay Dying
  • Of Human Bondage
  • On the Waterfront
  • For the Green Planet
  • Something to Answer For
  • These Times We Live In

However, in APA style, the last word is capitalized only if it is a major word or longer than three letters.

Examples

  • Something to Answer for
  • These Times We Live in

    In APA style, lowercase prepositions, unless they are four letters or longer.

Chicago style

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, the conjunctions to be lowercased are and, or, nor, but, and for. All others are capitalized. Thus, the words yet and so are capitalized regardless of function. The word if is also always capitalized.

Examples

  • Sense and Sensibility
  • The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

    • but

  • Though We Be Dead, Yet Our Day Will Come
  • Even If We Break

In a hyphenated phrase, if the first element is merely a prefix that could not stand by itself (e.g., anti-, pre-, non-), don’t capitalize the second part.

Examples

  • The Anti-inflammatory Diet Cookbook

    • Since the prefix anti- can’t stand by itself, don’t capitalize the second part of the hyphenated term.

    but

  • The Thirty-Nine Steps

    The word thirty can stand by itself, so capitalize nine as well.

Remember to capitalize not just the first but also the last word of a title or heading, even if it is not a major word.

Examples

  • The Things We Believe In

    Capitalize the last word, even a preposition.

  • Only One Way Through
  • It’s You I’m Dreaming Of

MLA style

The MLA Handbook (used in academic writing for the humanities) specifies no exceptions to the general rules.

Examples

  • These Times We Live In
  • A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
  • The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Sentence case

In sentence case, a title is written as a sentence would be: the first word and all proper nouns are capitalized. This capitalization style is generally used for headings that are second level or lower. These days, it is also increasingly being used for online news headlines.

Examples

  • Clear light of day
  • We need to talk about Kevin
  • The quiet American

The first word of a subtitle or subheading that follows a colon is also capitalized.

Examples

  • Traveling with ghosts: A memoir
  • Understanding comics: The invisible art

If a title begins with a numeral, lowercase the next word.

Examples

  • 27 books to read before you die
  • Practice guidelines for the pickling of pineapples: 2019 update

Professional and social titles that precede a name are capitalized as well.

Example

  • The island of Doctor Moreau
  • The strange life of President Farley
  • The story of Father Femy and his music

For more on which words to capitalize in a sentence, see this article on capitalization.

Differences in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA rules

In title case, the first word, proper nouns, and major words of a title or heading are capitalized. Style manuals differ in their guidelines on what qualifies as a “major” word. Here’s a quick summary of the key differences between the popular styles.

In both AP and APA styles, capitalize prepositions four letters or longer. In Chicago and MLA, lowercase all prepositions, regardless of length.

Examples

  • APA, AP: The Girl From Mars
    Chicago, MLA: The Girl from Mars

    • but

  • APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: The Woman in Red

Lowercase not just coordinating but also subordinating conjunctions shorter than four letters in AP and APA styles; capitalize all subordinating conjunctions in Chicago and MLA.

Example

  • APA, AP: Isolate if You Are Sick
    Chicago, MLA: Isolate If You Are Sick

Capitalize the words yet and so in Chicago style. In the other styles, lowercase them when they are used as conjunctions, but capitalize when they are adverbs.

Examples

  • Chicago: Broke Yet Happy
    APA, AP, MLA: Broke yet Happy

    • but

  • Chicago, APA, AP, MLA: Am I Normal Yet?

Capitalize the last word of the title in AP, Chicago, and MLA styles even if it is not a major word; in APA, capitalize the last word only if it is a major word. (But remember that the APA Publication Manual considers all words four letters or longer major words.)

Examples

  • Chicago, MLA, AP: Something to Answer For
    APA: Something to Answer for

    • but

  • Chicago, MLA, APA, AP: The Places We Come From

In all four styles, capitalize the first word (whatever it may be), and lowercase articles.

Example

  • APA, AP, Chicago, MLA: The Girl Who Found a Dragon Egg
Источник

This is taken from a site concerned with Album titles, but can easily be applied to other titles as well.

How should I capitalize album titles and band names?

Please use the following standard guidelines for capitalizing artist names, record labels, album and song titles in the English language. Other rules may apply to other languages.

All titles should be in standard mixed case, where the first letter of each word is capitalized and followed by lower case letters, as noted below:

  1. Capitalize all nouns, verbs (including be, been, am, are, is, was, and were), adverbs, subordinating conjunctions (including if and as when it is not used as a preposition), adjectives (including so when used as an adjective), and pronouns (including he, she, we, and it). Examples:

    • Love Is in the Air
    • I Am the Walrus
    • That Was Then, This Is Now
    • You Are So Beautiful
    • This Is As Good As It Gets

  2. Do not capitalize:

    a. Articles: a, an, the (unless part of an artist’s name)

    • The Man Who Sold the World
    • In a Safe Place
    • The Best of The Temptations

    b. Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so

    • Rattle and Hum
    • It’s Now or Never

    • Nothin’ but a Good Time

      Special Notes: The word «but» can function as either a conjunction, preposition, or an adverb. Most of the time, it functions as a conjunction or a preposition and should be lowercase. Much less frequently, it will function as an adverb, and should be capitalized. In that case, the word «but» will immediately follow a verb (without a comma), and can be replaced by other adverbs like «only» or «just» (without changing anything else or adding punctuation) and will convey the same message:

      • Life Is But a Dream
      • Ain’t But a Few of Us Left
      • You Are But a Draft, a Long Rehearsal for a Show That Will Never Play

      If the word «but» is better replaced by the word «except», or if it is used in a phrase that contradicts the first half of the sentence, it is not an adverb and should be lowercase.

      • I Know You Are but What Am I
      • I Don’t Know What It Is but I Like It

    c. Short prepositions: as, at, by, for, in, of, on, to, from

    • Live at Woodstock
    • Face to Face
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • Pretty in Pink

    • Come in from the Cold

      Special Note: The word «versus» (and its abbreviated form «vs.» or «v.») is commonly left in lower case, despite its being a preposition of more than three characters.

      • Spy vs. Spy
      • Birds v. Worms

      Special Note: The word «etcetera» (and its abbreviated form «etc.») is also commonly left in lower case when used to represent the phrase «and so on» or «and so forth».

      • Time After Time etc.

    d. When used to form an infinitive: to

    • Nowhere to Run
    • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
    • Song I Love to Sing
    • Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine

  3. If a title is broken up by major punctuation (colon, question mark, exclamation mark, em-dash, parentheses, or quotes), treat each distinct piece of the title as a whole, and always capitalize the first and last words of each division.

    • Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding
    • In Time: The Best of R.E.M.
    • I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band)

  4. In compounds formed by hyphens, capitalize each part except where the part would not be capitalized if it were a separate word.

    • The Go-Gos
    • At the Drive-In
    • The Boy With the X-Ray Eyes

  5. Only use all caps for acronyms or abbreviations where common use is all caps.

    • R.E.M.
    • N.W.A.
    • R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.

  6. Capitalize contractions and slang consistent with the rules above to the extent that such clearly apply. For example, do not capitalize o’ for «of», or n’ for «and», etc.

    • Rock ‘n’ Roll
    • Will o’ the Wisp
    • Sweet Child o’ Mine

  7. Proper nouns should always be capitalized appropriately. This includes parts of band names separated by the word ‘and’ (for example) where the two parts could stand alone, grammatically.

    • Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
    • Elvis Costello and The Attractions
    • Huey Lewis and The News

  8. Always capitalize the first and last word of a title, even if it would otherwise be lowercase. Examples:

    • Bring it On
    • One Is For
    • And You and I
    • The Greatest Hits Of

[edit] Exceptions

In the case where an artist uses a nonstandard capitalization with an artistic intent, the original capitalization used by the artist should be preserved. Examples include k.d. lang (artist), Yellow mY skYcaptain (release), and «tourette’s» — track 11 on the release In Utero.

Note that there are cases in which the name of an artist or album — or an entire tracklisting — is written entirely in uppercase or lowercase in the art which accompanies a release. These instances do not qualify as an exception, because they do not represent artistic intent regarding capitalization (in most cases, they are written in this manner for aesthetic purposes related to the cover art).

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