When do i capitalize

This is a vexing matter, and policies vary. The usual advice is to capitalize only the "important" words. But this isn't really very helpful. Aren't all words in a title important? Otherwise, styles, methods, and opinions vary; for instance, certain short conjunctions e. A major bone of contention is prepositions. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends capitalizing all prepositions of more than three letters e. Other authorities advise lowercase until a preposition reaches five or more letters.

Still others say not to capitalize any preposition, even big words like regarding or underneath. Hyphenated words in a title also present problems. There are no set rules, except to always capitalize the first element, even if it would not otherwise be capitalized, such as to in My To-go Order some would write My To-Go Order.

Some writers, editors, and publishers choose not to capitalize words following hyphens unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives Ex-Marine but Ex-husband. Others capitalize any word that would otherwise be capped in titles Prize-Winning , Up-to-Date.

Rule 16b. Many books have subtitles. When including these, put a colon after the work's title and follow the same rules of composition capitalization for the subtitle. All sides would agree that the main title should be written, The Stuff of Thought. But depending on which capitalization policy you choose, the subtitle might be any of the following:. Any title of more than two words can be a challenge. How would you capitalize a title such as not yet rich? Since the first and last word in any title are always capitalized, the only question is whether to cap yet.

In this case, yet is an adverb, and adverbs are always capped. So make it Not Yet Rich. Now suppose the title is rich yet miserable. This time yet is one of the seven coordinating conjunctions the others are and , or , nor , but , for , and so. Since coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized in titles, the right answer is Rich yet Miserable.

In the first title, up is a preposition, and short prepositions are not capitalized. In the second title, Up is an adverb and should be capped. In the first example, the preposition off is lowercase. But the word must be capped in the second example because put off , meaning "to postpone," is a two-word phrasal verb a verb of two or more words.

One-word verbs, helping verbs , and phrasal verbs are always capitalized. Off is also capped in the third sentence because the word functions as an adjective in that title, and adjectives are always capitalized.

Although the seven coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized, you may have noticed there are many more than seven conjunctions in English. Most of these are called subordinating conjunctions , because they join a subordinate clause to a main clause. Familiar examples include as , although , before , since , until , when.

There are three approaches to capping subordinating conjunctions: capitalize them all, lowercase them all, or capitalize them if they are words of four letters or more. Take your pick. Enable JavaScript Uh oh! Hide Notice. Capitalization Rules Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. Examples: the Golden Gate Bridge the Grand Canyon a Russian song a Shakespearean sonnet a Freudian slip With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life, and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization.

Examples: herculean from the mythological hero Hercules quixotic from the hero of the classic novel Don Quixote draconian from ancient-Athenian lawgiver Draco The main function of capitals is to focus attention on particular elements within any group of people, places, or things.

Constitution but constitutional , the Electoral College, Department of Agriculture. Capitalize directions that are names; North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions. Capitalize the days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays, but not the seasons used generally.

Use a capital letter only if you can justify it by one of the principles listed here. Laura Hale Brockway is an Austin-based writer and editor. Read more of her work at impertinentremarks. The capital of Botswana is Gaborone. Most of the World War I veterans are now deceased. In the Middle Ages, poor hygiene was partly responsible for the spreading of bubonic plague.

Middle school students often enjoy studying the social changes that took place during the Roaring Twenties. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, England blossomed into an empire. Real-time suggestions, wherever you write.

Capitalization Marina Lukyanchuk. Grammar What Are Modal Verbs? Writing, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox. Write with confidence. Get real-time suggestions wherever you write. The only exception for capitalizing subjects is if the subject is the name of a class, such as British Literature or Algebra II.

Your birthday, anniversary and other special occasions are momentous days, but that doesn't mean they should be capitalized. If you're wishing someone a "Happy birthday," you don't need to capitalize "birthday. No matter what you write, there will be moments when you'll have to decide whether or not to capitalize a word. It only takes a little bit of practice and, the more you read and write, the more these rules will stick.

Once you feel like a capitalization pro, check out these special cases for capitalization. Ever heard of capitonyms? They're the snowflakes of the English language that change meaning when you capitalize them. Have fun out there! All rights reserved. The First Letter in a Sentence It's important to always capitalize the first letter of a sentence.

Proper Nouns and Adjectives Specific people, places or things will generally be capitalized. Examples of proper adjectives include: Adjectives based on place names Irish, Californian, Canadian Adjectives derived from names Shakespearean, Orwellian, Darwinian Adjectives from religions Islamic, Buddhist, Christian You can form proper adjectives from nearly every proper noun.

The Pronoun I It's only necessary to capitalize other pronouns when they begin a sentence. I don't know about you, but I would wait for it to go on sale.

Sandra and I are going to the movies later tonight. Book and Movie Titles Books, movies, poems, and other creative works often require capitalization for their titles. It depends on the style guide you're using, but generally, you capitalize the following words in a title: the first word adjectives nouns verbs the last word Meanwhile, you generally don't want to capitalize: articles a, an, the conjunctions for, and, but, so prepositions with three or fewer letters in, on, at.

Examples of Book and Movie Title Capitalization The first letter of a work of art is always capitalized, even if it's an article, preposition or conjunction. The First Word in Quotations If the sentence is a quotation within a larger sentence, capitalize it, but only if it's a complete sentence. Here are some examples: Capitalized: The waiter said, " My manager will be here shortly," but he never came.

Not Capitalized: The waiter told us that his manager would "be here shortly," but he never came. Capitalized: Ernest Hemingway famously said, " The way to learn whether a person is trustworthy is to trust him.