Overview

Capitalization, as we know it, is a relatively recent development in the history of written languages. For instance, the ancient Romans capitalized every word. Lowercase letters, along with cursive, were developed to increase writing speed. Now, as one meaning of the word capital indicates, capital letters indicate the preeminence or importance of a word. Always capitalize the first word of a sentence. If a complete sentence appears as a quotation, capitalize the first word of the quotation within the sentence. However, do not capitalize the first word of the quotation if the quotation is an incomplete sentence, an indirect quotation, or lowercase in the original text.

Proper nouns are capitalized nouns that name specific persons, places, things, or ideas. Examples of proper nouns include names of individuals, ethnic groups, languages, organizations, corporations, brands, buildings, documents, laws, continents, countries, states, cities, counties, bodies of water, streets, celestial bodies, compass points, ships, planes, trains, spacecraft, historic events, historical eras, days of the week, months, religious terms, school courses, and titles of works. In proper nouns composed of several words, do not capitalize articles, conjunctions, or prepositions fewer than five letters. For example: The United States of America fought the British in the War of 1812." Remember to capitalize articles at the beginning of a title but only when the article is part of the title itself. For instance: I enjoyed Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun.

Capitalize titles used before a proper name and titles used in direct address (Capt. Smith or Dr. Yates). Capitalize a title that describes a family relationship only when it is used with or in place of a proper name. For example: I gave the brooch to Aunt Alex. Only capitalize compass points when they refer to a specific region of the country or world or when they are part of a proper name, as in: I traveled to the Middle East. Do not capitalize the seasons. Capitalize only those school courses that are the name of a language or the titles of a specific course. Do not capitalize the name of a subject.

Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns and must be capitalized. Proper adjectives include adjectives formed from the names of people, places, and ethnic or religious groups: We enjoy Mexican cooking.