The capitalisation rules in English can be quite confusing. Most students understand that they should begin a sentence with a capital letter. They also understand that proper nouns (e.g. Mark, Mary) should be capitalized.
However, the most common mistakes occur with national adjectives and the names of languages.
If you find the rules of capitalization confusing, this article will be helpful to you.
- Capitalize ‘I’
- Capitalize the names of countries. Examples: Japan, America, Russia
- Capitalize national nouns and adjectives. Examples: Chinese, Russian, French, British
- Capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence or question.
- Capitalize proper nouns (i.e. the names of people). Examples: John, Mary, Annie
- Do not capitalize common nouns. Examples: boy, tree, flower, butterfly
- Capitalize the names of institutions, organizations etc.
- Capitalize the names of festivals. Examples: Id, Diwali, Easter, Christmas
Capital letters are used with particular types of nouns, in certain positions in sentences, and with some adjectives. You must always use capital letters for:
The beginning of a sentence
EXAMPLES
- Dogs are noisy.
- Children are noisy too.
The first person personal pronoun, I
EXAMPLES
- Yesterday, I went to the park.
- He isn't like I am.
Names and titles of people
EXAMPLES
- Winston Churchill
- Marilyn Monroe
- the Queen of England
- the President of the United States
- the Headmaster of Eton
- Doctor Mathews
- Professor Samuels
Titles of works, books, movies
EXAMPLES
- War and Peace
- The Merchant of Venice
- Crime and Punishment
- Spider Man II
Months of the year
EXAMPLES
- January
- July
- February
- August
Days of the week
EXAMPLES
- Monday
- Friday
- Tuesday
- Saturday
Holidays
EXAMPLES
- Christmas
- Easter
- New Year's Day
- Thanksgiving Day
Names of countries and continents
EXAMPLES
- America
- England
- Scotland
- China
Names of regions, states, districts
EXAMPLES
- Sussex
- California
- Provence
- Tuscany
Names of cities, towns, villages
EXAMPLES
- London
- Cape Town
- Florence
- Vancouver
Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes
EXAMPLES
- the Atlantic
- the Pacific
- Lake Victoria
- the Rhine
- the Thames
Names of geographical formations
EXAMPLES
- the Himalayas
- the Alps
- the Sahara
Adjectives relating to nationality
EXAMPLES
- French music
- Australian animals
- German literature
- Arabic writing
Collective nouns for nationalities
EXAMPLES
- the French
- the Germans
- the Americans
- the Chinese
Language names
EXAMPLES
- I speak Chinese.
- He understands English.
Names of streets, buildings, parks
EXAMPLES
- Park Lane
- Sydney Opera House
- Central Park
- the Empire State Building
- Wall Street