Capitalization in English/ explanation and examples

Sentence Capitalization: The first letter of the first word in a sentence is always capitalized. For example: “She went to the store.”

1. Proper Nouns: Capitalize the first letter of proper nouns, which are specific names of people, places, organizations, or things. For example: “John Smith,” “London,” “Apple Inc.”
2. Titles and Headings: Capitalize the first letter of all major words in titles and headings, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. This rule excludes articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions (in, on, at, etc.) unless they are the first or last word of the title or heading. For example: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “How to Bake a Cake.”
3. Days, Months, and Holidays: Capitalize the names of days of the week, months, and holidays. For example: “Saturday,” “March,” “Christmas.”
4. Nationalities, Languages, and Religions: Capitalize nationalities, languages, and religions. For example: “French,” “English,” “Christianity.”
5. Historical Events and Periods: Capitalize the names of historical events and periods. For example: “World War II,” “The Renaissance.”
6. Proper Adjectives: Capitalize proper adjectives, which are adjectives derived from proper nouns. For example: “Shakespearean sonnets,” “Victorian architecture.”
7. Acronyms and Initialisms: Capitalize all letters in acronyms and initialisms. For example: “NASA” (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), “UNESCO” (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
8. Titles of Works: Capitalize the major words in the titles of books, articles, poems, songs, movies, and other works. This includes nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Smaller words like articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are usually not capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. For example: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Gone with the Wind.”
9. Geographic Terms: Capitalize the names of specific geographic regions, such as continents, countries, states, cities, mountains, rivers, and lakes. For example: “Africa,” “France,” “California,” “New York City,” “Mount Everest,” “Mississippi River.”
10. Directions and Regions: Capitalize the names of compass directions (North, South, East, West) when referring to specific regions or as part of a proper noun. For example: “North America,” “Southern Hemisphere.”
11. Family Titles: Capitalize family titles (kinship terms) when used as proper nouns or as a direct address. For example: “Grandma, can you pass the salt?” “I’m going to visit Uncle John.”
12. Historic Documents: Capitalize the names of important historic documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, and the Constitution.
13. Trade Names and Brand Names: Capitalize trade names, brand names, and trademarks. For example: “Coca-Cola,” “Nike,” “iPhone.”
14. Governmental Bodies and Agencies: Capitalize the names of governmental bodies, agencies, and departments. For example: “United Nations,” “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” “Department of Education.”
15. Events and Festivals: Capitalize the names of specific events, festivals, and celebrations. For example: “Olympic Games,” “Mardi Gras,” “Eid al-Fitr.”
16. Personal Titles: Capitalize personal titles when they are used as part of a person’s name or when directly addressing someone. For example: “President Johnson,” “Dr. Smith,” “Captain, may I ask a question?”
17. Seasons: Generally, seasons are not capitalized unless they are used in a title or as part of a proper noun. For example: “I love autumn,” but “Spring Festival” or “Winter Olympics.”
18. School and College Subjects: Capitalize the names of school and college subjects when they are specific languages, courses, or disciplines. For example: “English literature,” “Physics 101.”
19. Internet and Technology Terms: Capitalize specific internet and technology terms, such as website names, software titles, programming languages, and computer terms. For example: “Google,” “Microsoft Word,” “JavaScript,” “RAM” (Random Access Memory).
20. Quotations and Direct Speech: Capitalize the first letter of a quotation or direct speech if it forms a complete sentence. For example: He said, “I’ll be there soon.” But if the quotation is a fragment or part of a sentence, it is not capitalized. For example: He asked if she would “come along.”
21. Company Names and Trademarks: Capitalize the names of companies, organizations, and trademarks. For example: “Apple Inc.,” “OpenAI,” “McDonald’s.”
22. Hyphenated Words: In hyphenated words, capitalize the first letter of each separate word. For example: “Self-Confidence,” “Mother-in-Law.”
23. Scientific Names: Capitalize the genus name in scientific names of plants and animals, but not the species name. For example: “Canis lupus” (gray wolf), “Rosa rugosa” (beach rose).
24. Internet and Email Addresses: Generally, internet and email addresses are written in lowercase letters. For example: “example@gmail.com” or “www.openai.com.”