Rules for Capitalization

What is Capitalization?

To capitalize a word in the English language means to begin it with a capital letter. In the English language, there are many rules regarding capitalization.

When is Capitalization Needed?

1. The first word in a sentence is always capitalized.

e.g. Perhaps, everybody would want to live in a world without wars and poverty.

2. The pronoun “I” is always capitalized.

3. Personal names and names of places are always capitalized. Brand names (for example, Nikon, McDonald’s) are capitalized as well.

e.g. The Carpathian mountains are known mostly due to the novel Dracula.

e.g. James entered the room and saw his wife, Melissa, lying unconscious on the floor.

4. If you name a nation or a geographical region, you should capitalize it as well.

e.g. My Japanese pen pals regularly invite me to visit them.

5. Names of religions and deities are written in capital letters.

e.g. “So God said, “Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land…” (Louis Armstrong)

e.g. Bill and Lisa are Catholics.

6. Use capital letters in the names of weekdays.

7. Royal titles start with capital letters as well.

e.g. God bless the Queen!