This document provides guidelines for proper capitalization in the English language. It discusses capitalizing the first word of sentences, pronouns, names of family relations, titles of works, names of specific people and places, directions, days of the week, months, holidays, historical events, religions, nations, academic courses, brand names, titles preceding names, and political entities in some publications. The document stresses consulting authoritative references like dictionaries for guidance on capitalization.

1. CAPITALIZE THIS! . . . a guide to the proper care and feeding of capital letters

2. Capitalize the first word of every sentence — unless that sentence is in parentheses incorporated within another sentence. Capitalize the personal pronoun I . Glacial till or debris ( s ome geologists call this material “garbage”) is often deposited in formations called morains .

3. Capitalize the names of family relations when they are used as substitutes for names: I went to visit my U ncle Ted and A unt Margaret. but . . . . I went with my m om and d ad to visit my a unt and u ncle. G randma and G randpa live with D ad and M om now. Notice the role of the modifying pronoun here.

4. In titles , capitalize the first , last , and all important words . Usually, we don’t capitalize articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. I n the L ake of the W oods W ar and P eace I K now T his M uch I s T rue

5. Capitalize names of specific persons, places, and geographical locations. Don’t capitalize directions. My brother C harlie, who used to live in the M iddle E ast and write books about the O ld W est, now lives in H artford, C onnecticut. and proper nouns . . . . They moved up n orth, to the s outhern shore of Lake Erie. but

6. Capitalize names of days of the week, months, and holidays. Don’t capitalize the names of seasons. V alentines D ay, which is always on F ebruary 14, falls on T uesday this year. more on proper nouns . . . . Next f all, before the w inter storms begin, we’re heading south. but

7. Capitalize the names of historical events. Capitalize the names of religions and religious terms. The B attle of the B ulge was an important event in W orld W ar II . still more on proper nouns . . . . G od, C hrist, A llah, B uddha, C hristianity, C hristians, J udaism, J ews, I slam, M uslims and The R eformation took place in the s ixteenth c entury.

8. Capitalize the names of nations, nationalities, languages, and words based on such words. We usually don’t capitalize “white” and “black.” S omalia, S wedish, E nglish muffin, I rish stew, J apanese maple, J ew’s harp, F rench horn still more on proper nouns . . . . There are very few b lacks in this predominantly w hite community. but

9. Capitalize the names of academic courses when they’re used as titles . B rand names . . . . He took C arpentry 101, but he did much better in his e conomics and English l iterature courses. even more on proper nouns . . . . F ord, K leenex, L evi’s (not j eans), x erox on a X erox copier, A dvil (but a spirin) and

10. Capitalize titles when they precede names. . . . usually not after a name . . . . D ean Arrington introduced P resident Carter to S ecretary Bogglesworth. The titles of people and offices . . . . Joe Chuckles, who was c hairman of the b oard of d irectors in 1995, has since retired. but

11. You can capitalize the names of political entities in in-house publications to avoid confusion. You would not capitalize those names in a newspaper report, say. The C ounty and C ity have agreed to reimburse the f ederal g overnment for sewer expenses. The titles of people and offices (2) At the last c ouncil meeting, the c ounty agreed to reimburse the f ederal g overnment. but

12. Consult a good dictionary! . . . like the online Merriam-Webster’s: The best advice on capitalization:

13. This PowerPoint presentation was created by Charles Darling, PhD Professor of English and Webmaster Capital Community College Hartford, Connecticut copyright November 1999