To capitalize
means to begin a word with a capital letter.
You should always capitalize:
- the first word in a sentence
Ex: When it rains, the dog stays
indoors.
- the pronoun I
Ex: At the game, I shouted my voice
out.
- proper nouns
Ex: Mary, Empire State Building,
Connecticut,etc.
- proper adjectives
Ex: American, French, Indian,
Israeli, Californian, Dutch, etc.
- titles that show the rank or position of people when used with their names
Ex: Captain George, Dr. Smith, Mrs.
Maria, Chief Gerson, King Charles, President Lincoln, etc.
- a person's title when it is used in place of the person's name
Ex: Congratulations, General. The
war is over.
- Do not capitalize a title used without a person's name unless you're addressing the person directly.
Ex: King, did you know that the
queen asked the prime minister to call a doctor?
NOT The Queen
asked the Prime Minister....
- family members
You capitalize family members when
the words stand alone in a sentence without a possessive pronoun or when they
are followed by a person's name.
Ex: I told Uncle Harry to meet
Grandpa at the drugstore.
- days of the week and months of the year
Ex: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, January, February, March, April, May,
June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
- Do not capitalize the four seasons of the year.
Ex: spring, summer, winter, fall (or
autumn).
- the first word in the greeting of a friendly letter
Ex: Dear Larry, Dear friends, My
dear students, etc.
- the first word in the closing of a letter
Ex: Very truly yours, Best wishes,
Warmest regards, etc.
- all the words in the greeting of a business letter
Ex: My Dear Madam:, Dear Fellow
Students:, etc.
- the first, last, and all the main words in the title of a:
book: The Last of the Mohicans
movie: The Wizard of Oz
song: The Star Spangled Banner
play or musical: Phantom of the Opera
magazine: National Geographic
newspaper: The New York Times
television show: Charles in Charge
"Main Words" generally
means everything except short prepositions, conjunctions, or articles (the, an,
and a).
- School subjects when they are the names of languages or specific courses listed in the school catalogue.
Ex: Spanish, Honors Biology, Science
3
(but NOT just plain
mathematics, science, or history)
- geographic locations when they refer to specific areas on the map
Ex: North, South, East, West, the
Middle East, the Far East, etc.
(but NOT just directions)
Geographical location: I lived in the West for four years.
Direction: He headed west, Sheriff.
- national and local holidays
Ex: Thanksgiving, Veterans Day,
Labor Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, Brooklyn Week, Firefighters
Day, Fourth of July, Turnip Festival, etc.
- religious holidays
Source: Word power made easy