Capitalised Letters. The Rule. (the 7th Grade)

Capitalisation

Below are the most important rules for capitalising words in English.

A. Easy rules

Do not capitalise common nouns.

A common noun is the name for the people, places and things around us, such as woman, cat, tree, table, church, air, river, room, etc. Common nouns can also name non-visible 'things' such as idea, luck, happiness, memory, justice, etc.

These words are not capitalised in English (although they are in German).

Capitalise the first person pronoun.

Mary and I are no longer friends.

Capitalise the first word of a sentence

The grammar test was very easy.

Where did you buy your iPad?

Capitalise proper nouns*

* A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place or thing.

The names of people: The new student is called Sadako Ishii.

The names of countries and continents: Everyone knows that China is the largest country in Asia.

The names of pet animals: I have a dog called Spot.

The names of towns and cities: My grandparents live in London.

The names of planets: The Earth is much smaller than Jupiter.

The names of rivers: The longest river is the Nile.

The names of lakes: Is there a monster in Loch Ness?

The names of streets: I live in Oak Road.

The names of buildings: Have you ever visited the Sears Tower?

The names of mountains: The highest mountain is Mount Everest.

The names of businesses: I think Apple computers are best.

The names of organisations: My mother works for the United Nations.

The names of sports teams: Do you like the Lakers?

The names of days/months: I was born on 2 April 1999, a Monday.

Note: Seasons are not capitalised. E.g., My favourite season is spring.

The names of holidays / festivals: Which is your favourite holiday: Christmas orEaster?

The names of periods of time: Life was hard and short in the Middle Ages.

The names of religions: The most common religion in India is Hinduism.

The names of languages / nationalities: Can you speak Russian?

Note: Languages and nationalities are always capitalised, both when used as nouns and when used as adjectives. (The French are a proud people. - I love French wine.)

Capitalise the first word of direct speech.

My mother asked, "Where have you been?"

---

B. Harder rules

Capitalise titles that come before names:

I saw President Obama in Macdonalds yesterday.

Have you met Doctor Spock?

.. otherwise do not capitalise them:

Barack Obama is the first black president of the USA.

Spock is a doctor at UCLA.

Capitalise compass points if they are regions:

Do you like living in the South?

There are many car factories in the Northeast

.. but do not capitalise them if they are directions:

I saw a flock of birds heading south.

Capitalise family words when they are titles or substitutes for a person's name:

Just then Mother called me on my iPhone.

The man at the edge of the photo is Uncle Pete.

.. but do not capitalise them if they are preceded by a possessive:

Have you met my mother?

The man at the edge of the photo is my uncle Pete.

Capitalise building words when they are part of a specific building:

I was born in St Martins Hospital.

.. otherwise do not capitalise them:

My brother's in hospital after an accident.

Capitalise brand names:

Our next car will be a Mercedes.

.. but do not capitalise the nouns that follow them:

I got an Acer notebook for my birthday.

Capitalise geographical features when they refer to a specific feature:

The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on Earth.

.. otherwise do not capitalise them:

Which is the largest ocean?

Capitalise the first word in a piece of direct speech - if the direct speech is a new sentence:

"If you listen, you will learn," the teacher said. "And you will not get a detention."

.. otherwise do not capitalise it:

"If you listen," the teacher said, "you will learn."

Titles of films, books, chapters:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “Tar Heels Beat Duke 102–96,” Diary of a Wimpy Kid

NO CAPS:

Capitalize every word in a title except for these:

• the articles a, an, and the

• the conjunctions and, but, for, or, yet, so, and nor

• the words to and as

• all prepositions (short ones such as in and with as well as long ones such as throughout and

without)

• Do capitalize any word that is the first or last word of the title or that is the first word after a dash or colon. I love the book The Best Treat of All: A New Puppy to Play With.