The word state capitalized

It’s not easy to know when to capitalize the word “state.” It can actually be quite confusing. So, should you capitalize the word state?

The word “state” should be capitalized when it comes after the name of a state. For example, “Michigan State.” It seems pretty easy to understand but for residents of Washington State and New York State, it can get confusing. The citizens of these states need to differentiate themselves from other geographical entities, namely Washington D.C and New York City.

For all other state citizens, there’s no need for one to use the word “State” when describing where they are from. For example, it is enough for one to say, “I am from Colorado.” They don’t have to say, “I am from Colorado State.” However, it is not enough for a Washington State resident to simply say, “I am from Washington.” Such a person will have to specify and say, “I am from Washington State.”

Capitalizing “State” in “United States”

The word State must be capitalized when talking about the United States as a country. For example, “Kenya’s first direct flight to the United States was commissioned late last year.” You can also say, “My cousin relocated to the States last month.”

You must also capitalize the word state when it forms the full name of a specific body. For example, “The State Finance Department.” The word should only be capitalized if it forms part of the name of the specific body. For example, you cannot say, “ the State’s Finance Department.” It will have to be as follows, “the state’s Finance department.”

Situations Where the Word State Shouldn’t Be Capitalized

The word state shouldn’t be capitalized if it comes before the name of the state. For example, it should be “the state of Colorado” and not “the State of Colorado”.

The word state shouldn’t be capitalized if it is used in place of a state’s name. For example, you should say, “She is a state employee.”

In addition, you shouldn’t capitalize the word state when it is used in a general sense. For example, “The state of affairs in Colorado State is quite okay.”

Conclusion

The English language is quite divided when it comes to when the word “state” should be capitalized. Scholars and language guides often contradict each other. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook contradict each other on whether the word “state” should be capitalized if it comes after the state’s name.

It is easier to follow the guide provided above to avoid confusion. It will definitely help your state of mind.

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

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Asked by: Lucile Aufderhar

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(52 votes)

You capitalize «state» only when it follows the name of the state, as in «New York State is also called the Empire State,» or when it’s part of a traditional name for a state, like «Empire State» or «Lone Star State.» When it precedes the name of the state, don’t capitalize the word unless it’s part of a title of …

Do you capitalize the words state and federal?

GENERAL RULES Modifiers are not capitalized. Words such as city, state, federal, naval, and national, when used as modifiers, are not capitalized.

Should state of Florida be capitalized?

Is state of Washington capitalized?

Do not capitalize state in Washington state. Do not capitalize state when used simply as an adjective to specify a level of jurisdiction: state Rep. William Smith, the state Transportation Department, state funds.

When should states be capitalized?

You capitalize «state» only when it follows the name of the state, as in «New York State is also called the Empire State,» or when it’s part of a traditional name for a state, like «Empire State» or «Lone Star State.» When it precedes the name of the state, don’t capitalize the word unless it’s part of a title of …

34 related questions found

Following is a survey of style advice from various style manuals that I consulted on the question of when to capitalize the word state.

British style guides

From The Oxford Guide to Style (2002):

Some words bear a distinction in capitalization according to their use in an abstract or specific sense. Churches are capitalized fir denomination, as Baptist Church, but lower-cased for building, as Baptist church. Note, however, the distinction between

the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church

the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches

Oxford University and Cambridge University

Oxford and Cambridge universities

where churches and universities are lower-case since they are descriptive rather than part of a formal name. Similarly State is capitalized in an abstract or legal sense, separation of Church and State, but not in a specific sense (except when forming a title): drove over the New York state line but member of the New York State Senate.

From The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (2003):

state a nation or territory considered as a political community, often cap. to denote the abstract concept: ‘separation of Church and State’

From H.W. Fowler & Ernest Gowers, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, second edition (1965):

state, n. It is a convenient distinction to write State for the political unit, at any rate when the full noun use is required (not the attributive, as in state trading), and state in other senses. [Cross-reference omitted.] The following compound forms are recommended [Cross-reference omitted.]: statecraft, stateroom, State socialism, State prisoner, State trial, State paper.

U.S. style guides

From [Merriam-]Webster’s Standard American Style Manual (19885):

Words designating global, national, regional, or local political divisions are capitalized when they are essential elements of specific names. However, they are usually lowercased when they precede a proper name or when they are not part of a specific name.

[Relevant examples:] Washington State, the state of Washington

NOTE: In legal documents, these words are often capitalized regardless of position.

the State of Washington, the County of Hampton, the City of New York

From Allan Siegal & William Connolly, The New York Times Manual of Stylr and Usage, revised edition1999):

state. Capitalize New York State, Washington State and formal references to any state government: The State of Ohio brought the suit. Lowercase state in references to a geographical area (They drove through the state of Illinois) and when it stands alone (The state sued the city) Capitalize when State appears with the name of an official agency or with an official title that is capitalized: the State Education Department, State Treasurer Pat Y. Berenich. Use State in references to New York and Washington when necessary to distinguish them from the cities, but omit State if the context is unmistakable: The governors of California and New York have similar powers. Nebraska’s population is smaller than Washington’s. Lowercase in the general sense: affairs of state.

From The Associated Press Stylebook (2007):

state Lowercase in all state of constructions: the state of Maine, the states of Maine and Vermont.

…

Do not capitalize state when used simply as an adjective to specify a level of jurisdiction: state Rep. William Smith, the state Transportation Department, state funds.

…

MISCELLANEOUS: Use New York state when necessary to distinguish the state from New York City.

Use state of Washington or Washington state when necessary to distinguish the state from the District of Columbia. (Washington State is the name of a university in the state of Washington.)

From Words into Type, third edition (1974):

Divisions of the world or of a country. Cap names of the division of the world or of a country

[Relevant examples:] North Atlantic States [as an official U.S. census designation], New York State

Lowercase: state {used in a general sense and when it does not follow a proper name: state of New York, state of Oklahoma} and coast {when the meaning is the shoreline rather than the region: Pacific coast, Atlantic coast}.

…

The word church is capped when it forms a part of such names [as religious denominations, monastic orders, movements, and their adherents] or of names of particular edifices, but not hen it stands alone unless it is used to denote a religious organization of the whole world or of a particular country. This form is usually found in contradistinction to State: the Church and the State.

From The Chicago Manual of Style, sixteenth edition (2010):

8.50 Political divisions—capitalization. Words denoting political division—from empire, republic, and state down to ward and precinct—are capitalized when they follow a name and are used as an accepted part of the name. When preceding the name, such terms are usually capitalized in names of countries but lowercased in entities below the national level (but see 8.51). Used alone, they are usually lowercased.

[Relevant examples:]the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; the republic; the State of the Gambella Peoples; the state

the Commonwealth of Australia; the commonwealth; the state of New South Wales; the state

Washington State; the state of Washington

8.51 Governmental entities. In contexts where a specific governmental body rather than the place is meant, the words state, city, and the like are usually capitalized when used as part of of the full name of the body.

Conclusions

Style guides are fragmented on the details of precisely when to capitalize state as a term for a political or geographical subdivision of the world. Overall, however, they tend to endorse capitalizing State when the word appears as part of a formal proper name and lowercasing it otherwise. Of course, the style guides that particular publishing houses enforce may diverge from the main current of usage in unpredictable ways, since capitalization is a notoriously idiosyncratic area of writing style.

With regard to the three specific types of occurrences that the poster asks about, the following conclusions seem reasonable:

1. Synonymous to the words ‘country’, ‘nation’ or ‘government’. Even though there are subtle differences among them. There is very little style guide approval for capitalizing state as a common noun in instances where it refers to a political entity comparable to a nation or country. Likewise, style guides offer virtually no support for capitalizing nation or country as a common noun. The chief exception—where substantial but by no means unanimous support for capitalizing State exists—involves instances where the word refers unitarily to the abstract idea of secular government or authority (often in juxtaposition with ecclesiastical government or authority, as in the contrasting terms Church and State).

2. 1st-tier administrative division of a country. Examples: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Baden-Württemberg. Most of the style guides I consulted advise against capitalizing state in instances where the word refers to a particular governmental state. So, for example, most style guides (especially in the United States) would approve of lowercasing state as a stand-in for California in the following instance: «The state of education in California is pathetic» —> «The state of education in this state is pathetic.»

3. Status of something [as in «The state of education in this State is pathetic»]. I haven’t found any style guide that recommends capitalizing state in instances where the word means «status» or «condition.»

Is Country capitalized when referring to the United States?

Nation is always capitalized when referring to the United States of America. However, national and nationwide are never capitalized. State(s) is always capitalized when referring to any of the 50 States of the Union. The word “statewide” is never capitalized unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.

Do you capitalize the word city when referring to a specific city?

When used generically to describe a city which could be any city, then the word “city” is lowercase. This also includes when the word “city” is used before a named place. However, when used as part of a proper noun, the word “city” is capitalized along with the rest of the proper name.

What is a Don Spanish?

Today in the Spanish language, Doña is used to respectfully refer to a mature woman. Today in the Americas, the title Don or Doña is sometimes used in honorific form when addressing a senior citizen. In some countries, Don or Doña may be used as a generic honorific, similar to Sir and Madam in the United States.

When should states be capitalized?

You capitalize “state” only when it follows the name of the state, as in “New York State is also called the Empire State,” or when it’s part of a traditional name for a state, like “Empire State” or “Lone Star State.” When it precedes the name of the state, don’t capitalize the word unless it’s part of a title of …

Do you use capital letters for months in Spanish?

Unlike English, Spanish does not capitalize: days of the week. months. languages.

Is texting in all caps yelling?

With the advent of the bulletin board system, or BBS, and later the Internet, typing messages in all caps commonly became closely identified with “shouting” or attention-seeking behavior, and may be considered rude. For this reason, etiquette generally discourages the use of all caps when posting messages online.

Why are months not capitalized in Spanish?

There is really no reason. It is just the way the language is. They also don’t capitalize religions, nationality or names of other languages. Days and months are not capitalized in Spanish.

Is uppercase one word or two?

Both “uppercase” and “upper case” are correct. However, only use one form in your writing. According to The Associated Press Stylebook and the Microsoft Manual of Style, write “uppercase” as one word when used as an adjective and as a noun.

Why does English have a capital letter?

English as a proper noun for the people of England, or the language which bears its name, should always be capitalized. It is a proper noun, after all. Just because it is functioning to refine the meaning of the terminal noun in the phrase, does not make it an adjective. It is still a noun, I think.

What is capitalize each word?

Capitalization (North American English) or capitalisation (British English) is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (uppercase letter) and the remaining letters in lower case, in writing systems with a case distinction. The rules have also changed over time, generally to capitalize fewer words.

Who invented capital letters?

Carolingian chancellery

Do you capitalize both letters in state abbreviations?

However, when giving an address, or in tables or other uses in which space is limited, use the US Postal Service’s symbol system, which consists of a two-letter abbreviation in which both letters are always capitalized and no periods are used (for example, NY for “New York”).

Is English capitalized when referring to the language?

If you’re ever wondering when to capitalize English, when you’re talking about the language or the nationality, the answer is always “yes.” Although people writing casually online often lowercase the word, it is a proper noun and therefore requires a capital letter.

Do months need to be capitalized?

Capitalization: The Days of the Week, the Months of the Year, and Holidays (But Not the Seasons Used Generally) Days, months, and holidays are always capitalized as these are proper nouns. Seasons aren’t generally capitalized unless they’re personified.

Does Spanish need a capital letter?

Nouns are names of places, people and things, we all know that. The term “Spanish” can be used as a noun and a proper noun for that matter. Additionally, when referring to the language, “Spanish” should be capitalized since it again represents nationality (the language that the Spanish people speak).

What is the difference between Don and Senor?

“Don” seems to be something of a casual title, used with a person’s first name. It lends a little more formality to a relationship than just the first name alone, but not to the level of “señor”. That was more formal than simply “Calvo” but less formal than “Señor Viejo.”

Does state need a capital letter?

The word state should be capitalized when it comes after the name of a state. You must also capitalize the word state when it forms the full name of a specific body. For example, “The State Finance Department.” The word should only be capitalized if it forms part of the name of the specific body.

Is Don capitalized in Spanish?

Simple answer: no, you don’t! At least, you don’t in Spanish. However, the abbreviations D. and D.

What is at least one uppercase letter?

2) Your password must contain at least one uppercase, or capital, letter (ex: A, B, etc.) 3) Your password must contain at least one lowercase letter. 4) Your password must contain at least one number digit (ex: 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.)