Rules and Examples
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Capitalize beginnings of:
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◦ Sentences
◦ Quotations
◦ Salutations or Closings
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Titles of works
◦ First and last words
◦ Other words (except
prepositions and articles)
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Bullet list items
Months and Days
Titles of people when
accompanied by a name
Names of:
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People
Buildings
Groups
Ships
Companies
Courses
Places
Words that stand in for
names
Acronyms
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Sentences (all 3 types)
◦ Cats eat mice.
◦ Do cats eat mice?
◦ Your cat ate my mouse!
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Quotations
◦ Tim said sadly, “My mouse has been eaten.”
◦ According to one expert, “Cats do not really eat
mice” (Gates 23).
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Salutations or Closings
◦ Dear Tim,
◦ Yours apologetically,
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Books
Movies
Albums
Periodicals
Television
Shows
Articles
Episodes
Songs
Poems
Stories
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Capitalize the first and last
words
Capitalize all other important
words
DO NOT capitalize:
◦ articles (a, an, the)
◦ prepositions (in, out, on, over,
under, to, at, with, for, etc.)
◦ Conjunctions (and, also, but, so, or,
etc.)
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Of Mice and Men
“We Are the Champions”
“The Road Less Traveled”
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People
Places
◦ Cities, Countries, Planets,
Counties, States, Regions
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Buildings
Events
Groups
Ships
Companies
Products
Courses
Holidays
Tom Thompson lives on
Fifth Avenue, in New
York, in the Thomas
Mann Building, where
the leader of Journalist
Jokester Union first set
up a strike against the
Village Voice just after
one World War II
Thanksgiving for not
having a Pepsi
machine in their lobby.
The first word in each bullet is capitalized.
The main complaints of house cats:
 Too much noise
 Not enough food
 Dogs chasing us around
 Children poking and pulling us
 Insolent humans who fail to do our bidding
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From January until June, I put up with the
antics of the surly kitten.
On Monday morning, I vowed to give the cat
away on Friday if things did not improve.
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On Wednesday, President Obama went to France.
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On Wednesday, the president went to France.
AND
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The petition was signed by Hillary Clinton,
Secretary of State.
The petition was signed by the secretary of state.
Whenever you can replace a word with a formal
name (a proper noun), you should capitalize
it, especially in cases of direct address.
 Aren’t you ready yet, Mom?
 Your mom isn’t ready yet!
 Last week Grandpa took me to the zoo.
 Last week my grandpa took me to the zoo.
 Can you hear me, Sir?
 The doctor said I am as healthy as a house
cat.
Acronyms are initials taken from the first letter
in a series of words.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA)
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Seasons
◦ You can visit during winter, spring, summer, or fall.
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Generalized/shortened names (i.e. congress, the
bureau)
◦ The bureau chased him down because he stole records
from the doctor.
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Job titles without names
◦ The chairman was fired last week.
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The second part of a split quote
◦ “You will see,” she said, “that not everything is as it
seems.”
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First word after a colon or semicolon
◦ The cat ate: mice, frogs, fish, and a Thanksgiving
turkey.
◦ The sun finally came out; everyone headed out of
doors.
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Compass points
◦ Travel north for 5 miles then head east.
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Earth if it means “dirt”
◦ The four elements are earth, air, fire, and water.
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Class names that are not formal course
names
◦ I take math and French on Fridays.
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http://a4esl.org/q/j/ck/ed-caps.html
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/cgi
-shl/par_numberless_quiz.pl/caps_quiz.htm
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_capitalizeq
uiz.htm
Remember you can also conduct an Internet search
for Capitalization Practice for more review