Rules and Examples

Capitalize beginnings of:◦ Sentences◦ Quotations◦ Salutations or Closings

Titles of works◦ First and last words ◦ Other words (except

prepositions and articles) Bullet list items Months and Days Titles of people when

accompanied by a name

Names of: ◦ People◦ Buildings◦ Groups◦ Ships◦ Companies◦ Courses◦ Places

Words that stand in for names

Acronyms

Sentences (all 3 types)◦Cats eat mice.◦Do cats eat mice?◦Your cat ate my mouse!

Quotations◦ Tim said sadly, “My mouse has been eaten.”◦ According to one expert, “Cats do not really eat

mice” (Gates 23). Salutations or Closings

◦Dear Tim, ◦Yours apologetically,

Books Movies Albums Periodicals Television

Shows Articles Episodes Songs Poems Stories

Capitalize the first and last words

Capitalize all other important words

DO NOT capitalize:◦ articles (a, an, the)◦ prepositions (in, out, on, over,

under, to, at, with, for, etc.)◦ Conjunctions (and, also, but, so, or,

etc.)

Of Mice and Men “We Are the Champions” “The Road Less Traveled”

People Places

◦ Cities, Countries, Planets, Counties, States, Regions

Buildings Events Groups Ships Companies Products Courses Holidays

Tom Thompson lives on Fifth Avenue, in New York, in the Thomas Mann Building, where the leader of Journalist Jokester Union first set up a strike against the Village Voice just after one World War II Thanksgiving for not having a Pepsi machine in their lobby.

The first word in each bullet is capitalized.

The main complaints of house cats: Too much noise Not enough food Dogs chasing us around Children poking and pulling us Insolent humans who fail to do our bidding

From January until June, I put up with the antics of the surly kitten.

On Monday morning, I vowed to give the cat away on Friday if things did not improve.

On Wednesday, President Obama went to France.

On Wednesday, the president went to France.

AND

The petition was signed by Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State.

The petition was signed by the secretary of state.

Whenever you can replace a word with a formal name (a proper noun), you should capitalize it, especially in cases of direct address.

Aren’t you ready yet, Mom? Your mom isn’t ready yet! Last week Grandpa took me to the zoo. Last week my grandpa took me to the zoo. Can you hear me, Sir? The doctor said I am as healthy as a house

cat.

Acronyms are initials taken from the first letter in a series of words.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

(PETA)

Seasons ◦ You can visit during winter, spring, summer, or fall.

Generalized/shortened names (i.e. congress, the bureau)◦ The bureau chased him down because he stole records

from the doctor. Job titles without names

◦ The chairman was fired last week. The second part of a split quote

◦ “You will see,” she said, “that not everything is as it seems.”

First word after a colon or semicolon◦ The cat ate: mice, frogs, fish, and a Thanksgiving

turkey.◦ The sun finally came out; everyone headed out of

doors. Compass points

◦ Travel north for 5 miles then head east. Earth if it means “dirt”

◦ The four elements are earth, air, fire, and water. Class names that are not formal course

names◦ I take math and French on Fridays.

http://a4esl.org/q/j/ck/ed-caps.html

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/cgi-shl/par_numberless_quiz.pl/caps_quiz.htm

http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_capitalizequiz.htm

Remember you can also conduct an Internet search for Capitalization Practice for more review