19/09/2016
Most important rules for capitalising words in English
Capital letters are used for two main purposes in English:
• to show the beginning of a sentence
• to show that a noun is a proper noun.
1. The first letter of every new sentence is capitalised.
Example: The postman delivered the parcel. It was very heavy.
2. The pronoun I is always capitalised.
Example: My name is Lynne, I am a teacher.
3. Proper nouns ( also called proper names) are the words which name specific people, organisations or places. They always start with a capital letter.
Do not capitalise common nouns.
A common noun is the name for the people, places and things around us, such as woman, cat, tree, table, church, air, river, room, etc. Common nouns can also name non-visible 'things' such as idea, luck, happiness, memory, justice, etc.
These words are not capitalised in English (although they are in German).
Capitalise titles that come before names:
I saw President Obama in Macdonalds yesterday.. otherwise do not capitalise them:
Barack Obama is the first black president of the USA.
Capitalise compass points if they are regions:
Do you like living in the South?. but do not capitalise them if they are directions:
I saw a flock of birds heading south.
Capitalise family words when they are titles or substitutes for a person's name:
The man at the edge of the photo is Uncle Pete.. but do not capitalise them if they are preceded by a possessive:
The man at the edge of the photo is my uncle Pete.
Capitalise building words when they are part of a specific building:
I was born in St Martins Hospital.. otherwise do not capitalise them:
My brother's in hospital after an accident.
Capitalise geographical features when they refer to a specific feature:
The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on Earth.. otherwise do not capitalise them:
Which is the largest ocean?
Capitalise the first word in a piece of direct speech - if the direct speech is a new sentence:
"If you listen, you will learn," the teacher said. "And you will not get a detention.". otherwise do not capitalise it:
"If you listen," the teacher said, "you will learn."
