#5 - Capitalization - English Grammar

Capitalization means using a capital letter (for example, A instead of a).

Capitalization Rules

Always capitalize the following:

The first word in a sentence and the first word after a period

It is the first day of school.
He is my husband. His name is Phil. He is an engineer.

The first word in a quotation

She said, "They don't know what to do."
He asked, "When are we leaving?"

The pronoun I

This is where I was born.
Can I have a slice of cake?

The first letter of a proper noun (specific name)

My name is John Smith.
I was born in Brazil.
I went to Harvard University.
I drink Starbucks coffee.

The first letter of months, days, and holidays (but not seasons)

Today is December 5, 2014.
My dentist appointment is on Monday.
My favorite holiday is Christmas.
My favorite season is winter.

The first letter of nationalities, religions, races of people, and languages

I love to eat Chinese food.
I speak Spanish and German.
I believe in Christianity.
There are many Russian students at my school.

The first letter in a person's title

My doctor is Dr. Lopez.
Have you met Mrs. Lee?

Geographic areas: cities, states, countries, mountains, oceans, rivers, etc.

My favorite city is Boston.
I live in New York.
I was born in London, England.
We live near the Mississippi River.

The first letter of each major word in the title of a book, movie, article, etc.

Have you seen the movie Harry Potter?
Tolstoy's War and Peace is my favorite novel.

General Rule: Do not capitalize the word "the" before proper nouns unless "the" is part of an official title

We visited the Grand Canyon.
We have to fly over the Pacific Ocean.
The report came from The Associated Press.
My favorite book is The Great Gatsby,.