Capitalization

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,.