Capitalization Rules in Writing

In every formal writing, you have to follow specific rules. These rules are universal in English writing, one of these is what we call Capitalization Rules. Most of us would think that Capitalization is just simple. You probably know you should capitalize proper nouns and the first word of every sentence but there are some words and letters in a sentence that must be capitalized, for instance, sometimes, you have to capitalize the first word of a quote or the title of a particular passage.

You might be confused right now but this article would help observe proper capitalization and correct some of our mistakes in writing. Here are the Capitalization Rules that we must follow:

• Capitalize the First Letter of a Sentence.

This rule comes first because it is simple and you probably know this already. You must always capitalize not the word but the first letter of a sentence. Regardless of what word it is, may it be a proper noun, improper noun, a date, or a quote, the first letter should be capitalized.

For example:

Correct Sentence:       The movie was great.

Wrong Sentence:        the movie was great.

Wrong Sentence:        THE movie was great.

• No capitalization after the colon and comma.

Colon and comma are not periods. We put a colon to introduce a list, series, quotations, and explanation or separate independent clauses. We use commas to separate a series of words, to connect two independent clauses, and more. We do not capitalize a letter if it is an improper noun but capitalize letters after the colon and comma if it is a Proper noun, name, place, or date.

For example:

Correct Sentence:       She was going to buy three things: a book, a bag, and a wallet

Correct Sentence:       We traveled to the Philippines, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Wrong Sentence:        He was going to buy: Books, Bag, and a Wallet

• Capitalize Names and Proper Nouns

Always remember to capitalize the name of a person and proper nouns. Proper nouns are the specific name of a person, thing, or place. You should capitalize the names of a country, city, company, religion, and other specific name of a thing.

For example:

Correct Sentence:       We went to Japan to visit my sister Anna.

Correct Sentence:       Liza’s religion is Catholic.

• Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays.

Always remember to capitalize days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Also capitalize Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. Holidays must also capitalize like: Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day, and the like.

For example:

Correct Sentence:       Tomorrow is Monday

Correct Sentence:       You have to pay your bills last week of March.

Correct Sentence:       I am excited about New Year’s Eve.

• Capitalize the First Word of a Quotation

When you want to put a quote, always remember that you need to capitalize the letter of the first word of the quotation when it is a complete sentence.

For Example:

Correct Sentence:       The teacher said, “Next Friday is the deadline for your project.”

Correct Sentence:       The Student replied, “Noted teacher.”

Wrong Sentence: The student asked, “when is the deadline for the project?”

Here are other rules that do not need an explanation: capitalize most words in titles and capitalize time periods and events. Those were some of the important capitalization rules in writing you must remember.