ThOsE CrAzy
CaPiTaL LeTtErS!
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Capitalizing First Words and I
1. The first word in a sentence.
The team froze the ball.
2. The first word in a line of poetry.
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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continued...
3. The first word of a direct quotation.
He declared, "It'll never happen again."
If a quotation continues, do not capitalize the first letter of the
second part unless it begins a new sentence
"It won't happen again," he said, "for a good reason."
"It won't happen again, he said. "There's a good reason."
"If this happens again, I'm giving up basketball!"
The little "i" is not cute after second grade!
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Proper Nouns
1. Names of specific people and animals
Barack Obama
The Situation
Oliver, Ms. Dunne's dog
(even if the person is an idiot,
he or she still gets a capital letter.)
2. Names of specific groups and businesses
ORGANIZATIONS: Democratic Party,
Peacebuilders, Parent-Teacher Association
BUSINESSES: General Motors, Kodak
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INSTITUTIONS: Middle School 145, Yale University,
Metropolitan Museum, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital
GOVERNMENT BODIES: U.S. Congress, State Department
BUT do not capitalize words like club, team, or museum unless
they are specific.
U.S. "Capitol"
3. Names of specific places
COUNTRIES: Costa Rica, Pakistan, Canada
STATES/PROVINCES: New York, Alberta
CITIES, TOWNS: Bronx, White Plains, Yonkers
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4. Names of ships, trains, planes, planets
SHIPS, TRAINS: Mayflower, Orient Express
PLANES, SPACECRAFT: Challenger, Airbus 380
HEAVENLY BODIES: Mars, Earth, North Star
5. Names of specific brands and awards
BRANDS: Nike, Dove, Coca-Cola, Hersheys
AWARDS: Nobel Prize, Oscar, Most Valuable Player
6. Names of historical events, periods and documents
EVENTS: World War II,
Boston Tea Party, Middle Ages
DOCUMENTS: Bill of Rights,
Declaration of Independence
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7. Names of special events, days, months, holidays
EVENTS: World Series, Senior Prom, Easter Parade
DAYS, MONTHS: Wednesday, January
HOLIDAYS: Thanksgiving Day, Fourth of July
DO NOT capitalize the names of seasons.
Labor Day means the end of summer.
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COUNTIES, TOWNSHIPS: Bronx County, Westchester County,
Town of Hempstead
SECTIONS OF COUNTRY: the South, the Northeast, West Coast
CONTINENTS: Asia, South America
ISLANDS, BEACHES: Puerto Rico, Amelia Island, Jones Beach
BODIES OF WATER: Atlantic Ocean, Hudson River,
Mediterranean Sea
MOUNTAINS: Rocky Mountains, Mount Everest
PARKS, FORESTS: Grand Canyon, Finger Lakes National Forest
STREETS: Clay Avenue, Grand Concourse
BUILDINGS, MONUMENTS: Empire State Building, Grant's
Tomb
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• Do not capitalize words like state, mountain, park, etc.
unless they are part of a proper noun.
The city of Seattle is in the state of Washington.
• Do not capitalize east, west, etc. unless they refer to
specific regions or places.
Drive south to Georgia and you're in the South.
8. Names of nationalities, languages, and religious terms
NATIONALITIES: a Korean, a Colombian, a Spaniard
LANGUAGES: Russian, Swahili, Italian, French
RELIGIOUS TERMS: a Baptist, Buddhism, the Koran
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Proper Adjectives
Alaska: Alaskan oil
Italy: Italian restaurant
Queen Victoria: Victorian times
New England: New England clam chowder
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Titles
1. Titles used with
names of people
Governor Paterson
Dr. Smith
Officer Diaz
Bishop Tutu
2. Titles used in direct address
I'm pleased to meet you, Senator.
Yes, Captain, I will.
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3. Titles showing family relationships
Capitalize family titles before a name and direct address.
"I just spoke to Uncle Tim."
"When are we leaving, Mom?"
4. Written works, movies and plays, musical works,
works of art
WRITTEN WORKS: Seventeen, The New York Times,
"Charles," Bridge to Terabithia
MOVIES, PLAYS: West Side Story, The Karate Kid
MUSICAL WORKS: "The Star-Spangled
Banner," the opera Carmen
WORKS OF ART: the Mona Lisa
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Image Copyright Information
Slide 1 – The image “Letters A-Z” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to
Brent Moore.
Slide 2 –The image “Sailboat” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to
Dan Dickinson.
Slide 3 – The image “Quotation Marks” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is
attributed to Quinn Dombrowski. / The image “Capital I” is in the public domain.
Slide 4 – The image “Kodak Camera” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
It is attributed to Alfred Sigaro.
Slide 5 – The image “The Capitol” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to
Ron Cogswell.
Slide 6 – The image “Basketball” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to
Andy McLemore. / The image “Castle” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is
attributed to Andrew Eick.
Slide 7 – The image “Baseball Diamond” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is
attributed to Zack Sheppard.
Slide 8 – The image “Grand Canyon” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed
to Grand Canyon NPS, Michael Quinn.
Slide 9 – The image “Koran” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to Allan
Grey. / The image “Buddha” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to David
A. LaSpina.
Slide 10 – The image “Queen Victoria” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is
attributed to Library and Archives Canada. / The image “Oil Pipeline” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
License 2.0 Generic. It is attributed to Ryan McFarland (http://www.zieak.com/). / The image “Clam Chowder” is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. It is attributed to Timothy Tsui.
Slide 11 – The image “Bishop Desmond Tutu” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share
Alike 2.0 Generic license. It is attributed to World Economic Forum/Photo by Remy Steinegger.
Slide 12 – The image “New York Times” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic. It is
attributed to Joe Shlabotnik. / The image “Mona Lisa” is in the public domain.
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