Word not capitalizing i

Symptoms

When you type the letter «i» followed by a mathematical symbol, the letter is not automatically capitalized.

You expect the letter «i» to be automatically capitalized as it is in earlier versions of Microsoft Word.

Cause

Microsoft Word 2002 and later versions of Word do not automatically capitalize the letter «i» when the letter is placed before mathematical symbols or certain punctuation marks.

More Information

Word automatically capitalizes the letter «i» in the following situations:

• When it is placed before a comma

• When it is placed before a blank space

• When it is placed before a single quotation mark

  For example, «i’ve» is changed to «I’ve.»

• When it is placed before a double quotation mark

  For example, «i»m» is changed to «I’m.»

• When it is placed before a semicolon

  For example, «i;d» is changed to «I’d.»

Word no longer automatically capitalizes the letter «i» when it appears before a mathematical symbol. For example, «i=2» is no longer changed to «I=2».

This is changed from previous versions in order to accurately display mathematical equations.

Word no longer automatically capitalizes the letter «i» when it appears before a colon. For example, «i:2» is no longer changed to «I:2».

This is changed from previous versions in order to accurately display worksheet cell entries.

To view the Word capitalization options, follow these steps:

1. Start Word.

2. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

3. On the AutoCorrect tab, select or clear the check boxes that you want.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291538 Word does not capitalize the first letter of a sentence

Symptoms

When you type the letter «i» followed by a mathematical symbol, the letter is not automatically capitalized.

You expect the letter «i» to be automatically capitalized as it is in earlier versions of Microsoft Word.

Cause

Microsoft Word 2002 and later versions of Word do not automatically capitalize the letter «i» when the letter is placed before mathematical symbols or certain punctuation marks.

More Information

Word automatically capitalizes the letter «i» in the following situations:

• When it is placed before a comma

• When it is placed before a blank space

• When it is placed before a single quotation mark

  For example, «i’ve» is changed to «I’ve.»

• When it is placed before a double quotation mark

  For example, «i»m» is changed to «I’m.»

• When it is placed before a semicolon

  For example, «i;d» is changed to «I’d.»

Word no longer automatically capitalizes the letter «i» when it appears before a mathematical symbol. For example, «i=2» is no longer changed to «I=2».

This is changed from previous versions in order to accurately display mathematical equations.

Word no longer automatically capitalizes the letter «i» when it appears before a colon. For example, «i:2» is no longer changed to «I:2».

This is changed from previous versions in order to accurately display worksheet cell entries.

To view the Word capitalization options, follow these steps:

1. Start Word.

2. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

3. On the AutoCorrect tab, select or clear the check boxes that you want.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291538 Word does not capitalize the first letter of a sentence

Asked by: Hester Lemke

Score: 4.5/5
(62 votes)

To turn off automatic capitalization, follow these steps:

Why is Word capitalizing the letter I?

There are multiple reasons why everything may become capitalized in Microsoft Word: The Caps Lock button on the keyboard is turned on. One of the Shift keys on the keyboard has physically jammed. A font type has been selected that only has upper case letters.

How do I turn off Big I in Word?

Start Word. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options. On the AutoCorrect tab, select or clear the check boxes that you want.

How do you turn off automatic capital letters in Word?

To turn off automatic capitalization, follow these steps:

How do I turn off Autocapitalization in Word Online?

Uncheck the box next to each type of automatic capitalization you want to disable. For instance, if you don’t want Word to automatically capitalize the first letter of a sentence, uncheck the box next to «Capitalize first letter of sentences.»

43 related questions found

Even though it feels natural to English speakers, capitalizing I is unusual. In fact, English is the only language that does it.

Germanic and Romantic languages typically have some conventions for capitalizing proper nouns, like Deutschland (in German) or Place de la Concorde (in French), but English is the only one that insists on capitalizing the personal pronoun.

If you still don’t think it’s weird … then why don’t we capitalize we?

The history: how did we start capitalizing I?

It turns out that this unusual convention was a bit of an accident. In Old and Middle English, the word for I was closer to its German cousin ich, and it was often spelled ic. At this point, the word was not capitalized. However, the pronunciation changed over time and so did the spelling, losing the consonant C.

At first, the new word i was left lowercase. By the late 1300s, the personal pronoun I was slightly taller than its lowercase equivalent. From that point on, it was typically capitalized.

Reasons why I is always capitalized

Hard to believe, but there were no rules for capitalization until the 1700s. For a long time, it was common to mix lowercase and capital letters within a word, the latter used to add emphasis. Historians now attribute the capitalization of I as a result of two factors:

• The lowercase i is difficult to read: By capitalizing I, it makes it more clear that the letter is intended to stand alone.
• An uppercase I symbolizes importance of the writer: The I has retained the capitalization because it also gives added weight to this pronoun used to describe the individual writer. Some languages do capitalize different pronouns, such as the German formal you (Sie).

Why do we capitalize I and not me?

As capitalization rules evolved after the invention of the printing press in the 1700s, the letter I retained its capitalization, but none of the personal pronouns received the same special treatment. The letter I continues to be capitalized because it is the only single-letter pronoun. Because the pronouns I and me have different uses, it’s easy to distinguish between the two in terms of capitalization rules.

Are there other single letter words in English?

The only other accepted single-letter word in English, a, is a larger presence on the page. Its appearance isn’t as offensive as the thin lowercase i.

Today, though, some of us are regressing. In e-mails and instant message conversations, capitalization conventions are backsliding. Do you think the capitalized I will go extinct?

The pronoun I began to be ‘capitalized’ around the middle of the 13th century. But this was not true capitalization. Note that it was long before the printing press: all texts were in manuscript.

Before the 11th century, the letter i was normally just a short vertical line, without a dot, somewhat like ı. The j did not exist as a separate letter. When an ı was written as a separate word or mark, as the Roman numeral ı/I and the pronoun ı/I, or when it was the last one of a group of ı’s, it began to be written elongated, somewhat like a straighter ȷ (without a dot). This elongation of the separate, single ı was probably done in order to avoid confusion with punctuation marks. That of the last ı of a group was mostly in order to avoid confusion between u and ıı, between n and ıı, and between m and ııı, which often look identical in manuscripts; both m and ııı could be written with and without clearly distinguishable connecting strokes. From then on, such groups of ı’s looked more like ıȷ and ııȷ (without dots).

I believe that this convention of elongating the pronoun I had already been established by the time the dot was first used. Because a long ȷ without a dot looks much like a capital I—which has been written the same way since Antiquity—, it was later assumed to be a capital. (Incidentally, the dot was then usually written as a very short diagonal line above the ı or ȷ.)

From Etymonline:

The reason for writing I is … the
orthographic habit in the middle ages
of using a ‘long i’ (that is, j or I)
whenever the letter was isolated or
formed the last letter of a group; the
numeral ‘one’ was written j or I (and
three iij, etc.), just as much as the
pronoun. [Otto Jespersen, «Growth and
Structure of the English Language,»
p.233]

An illustration of the problem of indistinguishable ııı, uı, m, etc.:

Cedet animam meam in
te mee: dimittam adver
sum me eloquium meum loq[ua]r
in amaritudine anime mee di

[From Mechanical Snail’s comment below:] By contrast, «i» (meaning «and») is not capitalized in Catalan / archaic Spanish, nor in Polish/Serbo-Croatian.

[From Janus’s comment below:] Possibly related is the fact that the pronoun I in Danish (where it means ‘ye’, i.e., non-formal second person plural) is also always capitalised. The homophone i (which means ‘in’), however, is not.

Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Capitalizing the Word «I».

William frequently uses Word’s command to change case, but he notes that the behavior of the command is (at times) odd. He often wants to end up with «sentence case,» with the first letter of the first word of the sentence capitalized and all other letters lowercase. But Word also leaves the word «I» in lower case, when, of course, it should always be capitalized. Therefore, William has to go back through the text and manually capitalize each lowercase «i.» He wonders if there is a way around this problem.

The solution, as many people think, isn’t in Word’s AutoCorrect feature. By default, AutoCorrect includes an option that automatically replaces any lowercase, single-word instances of the letter i with I, as you type.

This isn’t an «as you type» situation, however. If you select a sentence and use F3 to cycle through your capitalization options, you end up—before getting to Sentence Case capitalization—going through Lowercase capitalization, which lowercases all the letters including the pronoun «I». When you then choose Sentence Case capitalization, the pronoun remains as lowercase, unless it is the first word in the sentence. This behavior is exhibited regardless of how you have AutoCorrect configured.

The only solution that we’ve been able to come up with is to us Word’s Find and Replace capabilities in a macro to replace all instances of a single-word lowercase i with an uppercase I.

Sub iBecomesI()
    Selection.WholeStory
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "i"
        .Replacement.Text = "I"
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindAsk
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = True
        .MatchWholeWord = True
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End Sub

The macro can, if desired, be associated with a keyboard shortcut of your choosing so you can use it with your selected sentences rather easily.

Author Bio

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen…

• #1

Hy folks. Why do we always capitalize the first personal pronoun ‘I’? … Why don’t we capitalize me,you,her etc? In formal writing, should ‘I’ always be capitalized? Is ‘i’ in lower case wrong?

Thanks.

• #2

Yes, I is always capitalised, and yes, lowercase i is wrong.

I think the answer to why we always capitalise it is one of those where we can only say ‘We do because we do’.

• #3

In earlier alphabets, especially ancient Greek, the iota (ι) was the smallest letter and might easily get lost in rapid handwriting. Look how a word like mιnιmum is hard to read. There were two solutions to this: one was to add a dot over the ι, the other was to capitalise it.

• #4

Actually, there is more of an answer than «just because.» It might not be a very satisfying answer, though. The personal first-person pronoun used to be spelled «i» (and before that, «ich»), but scribes, and later, typesetters, thought an isolated «i» was either hard to read, or that the single, small letter was not graphically symbolic of the concept. A single letter might well represent an article, or a conjunction (in other languages), but it’s too small for a pronoun.

Here’s a New York Times article on the subject: www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03wwln-guestsafire-t.html

• #5

Interesting. Thanks Keith. And Juhasz.

• #7

As we always capitalize God and President.

• #8

As we always capitalize God and President.

Not always.

We capitalize God when referring to the Jewish/Christian/Muslim God. We do not capitalize it in referring, for example, to the ancient Egyptian gods.

We capitalize President when referring (in the U.S.) to the President of the United States. We do not always capitalize it in referring to company presidents, though this is to some extent a matter of style.

• #10

The personal first-person pronoun used to be spelled «i» (and before that, «ich»), but scribes, and later, typesetters, thought an isolated «i» was either hard to read, or that the single, small letter was not graphically symbolic of the concept. A single letter might well represent an article, or a conjunction (in other languages), but it’s too small for a pronoun.

Single-letter personal pronouns are common in the Celtic languages. Gaelic has ‘i’ for ‘she’, Cornish uses ‘i’ for ‘they’ and Welsh actually uses ‘i’ for ‘I’. Welsh and Breton also have ‘e’ for he. Maybe the Celts had better eyesight, or didn’t have such an elevated view of themselves.

• #11

Not always.

We capitalize God when referring to the Jewish/Christian/Muslim God. We do not capitalize it in referring, for example, to the ancient Egyptian gods..

Atheists don’t either way.

• #12

It will probably remain a mystery as to why I is capitalised. I doubt that anyone, at the time, felt the need to offer an explanation.

Early forms of I — ich, ic, ik, ig, hic, Hic, and, significantly, i1, — all had the i as in seen. With the vowel shift — mainly 1400 to 1500 — this changed to the i in bite. However, the shift was not uniform across England and, I suspect — without much evidence, that rather than the idea of moveable type making a difference, (the single-letter words «o» and «a» were used), the standardisation of spelling was a contributory factor and thus I was capitalised to signify the pronunciation — ‘eye‘ as the typesetter intended it, and not i as in tin.

The idea in Juhasz’s linked article — the psychological symbolism of I — seems credible, except for the hanging question — «Why did that symbolism suddenly occur?»

1OED:
a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 283 A hwat schal i nu don?
a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 Hwar ich was and hwat i dude

This guide to capitalization rules is especially for ESL students. It contains clear explanations for each rule with simple examples of correct sentences. Once you understand these rules, try a capitalization rules quiz to test yourself.

First Word in a Sentence

Always capitalize the first word of a new sentence.

There is something wrong with this cheese. However, I’m hungry.
Strange things have happened recently. I think the police should investigate.

The Pronoun I

Only the pronoun «I’ is capitalized. All other pronouns (she, they, him, me, us, etc.) are NOT capitalized.

He asked me where I had bought my jacket.
If I see her, I will give her your message.

Proper Nouns

There are many special rules concerning proper nouns. Generally, Proper nouns can be understood as the names of specific people, places, things, pets, organizations, etc. Here are some specific rules to follow:

I visited California on my vacation.
She gave Peter a present for his birthday.

The Directions 

Capitalize North, South, East, and West when contained in the name of a place (state, country, etc.) but not when used for giving directions.

Correct

My friend lives in South Carolina.
We are planning a vacation in South Africa.

Incorrect

She lives in Southern Europe. SHOULD BE She lives in southern Europe.
I’m going to visit my friends in Eastern Oregon. SHOULD BE I’m going to visit my friends in eastern Oregon.

Members of an Organization

The Neighborhood Players are presenting a musical next week.
Some Washington Democrats would like to see the company up.

Names of Companies

The name of a company is similar to the name of a person and needs to be capitalized. 

My niece loves Converse shoes.
Do you prefer Siesta or Aloha products?

Periods of History

Capitalize periods of time in history that have specific names.

The Dot Com Era lasted far shorter than many people expected.

Events

Names of specific events should be capitalized. 

I went to the Tomato Growers Conference in Salinas last weekend.
Have you ever attended the Technoland Convergence Festival?

Acronyms

Each letter of an acronym (a letter for the first letter of every word: CIA -> Central Intelligence Agency)

I prefer to watch PBS tv whenever possible.
The ICAM commissioned a study on OBLOG.

The Gods

Names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. The word god is generally not capitalized if it is used to refer to the generic idea of a deity, nor is it capitalized when it refers to multiple gods.

Wotan is one of the gods in Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
The pastor prayed that God should deliver us from our sins.

Days, Months But Not Seasons

Both days and months are capitalized but not NOT seasons. 

Correct

She flew to Dallas in September.
Do you have any time on Monday?

Incorrect

I love skiing in Winter. SHOULD BE I love skiing in winter.
They visited Bob last Summer. SHOULD BE They visited Bob last summer.

Countries, Languages, and Nationality Adjectives

All words the indicate a specific country should be capitalized including adjectives describing food, customs, etc. 

I lived in Italy for over 10 years.
Have you ever had any really expensive French wine?
Do you speak Russian?

Mom and Dad

Capitalize family relationships when used in place of a name

Have you given Mom her present yet?
I think Dad needs some time off work.

Titles Before Names

Titles are capitalized only when they are part of the name. 

Correct

The soldier wrote to General Smith and asked for advice.
Have you spoken to Vice Principal Smithers yet?

Incorrect

George Washington was the first President of the United States. SHOULD BE George Washington was the first president of the United States.
Peter Smith was elected Mayor in 1995. SHOULD BE Peter Smith was elected mayor in 1995.

Beginning and Ending of Letters

Start and end your letters with capital letters. 

Dear Mr. Smith,
Best regards,

First Word in a Quote

This is true even if the quote occurs in the middle of a sentence.

The last time I talked to Peter he said, «Study hard and get to bed early!»
Thomas Patterman was a simple man who said, «Give me life, liberty and a bottle of rum!»

Main or Content Words in Titles

Remember that content words include nouns, pronouns, principal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Rainy Days and Mondays
How to Win Friends and Influence your Neighbors

First Word in Each Line of Poetry

Each first word in a poem should be written with capital letters. 

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I think I said He’s in love with you!