UNIVERSIDAD METROPOLITANA
VICERRECTORÍA ASOCIADA DE DESARROLLO Y RETENCIÓN
Programa de Tutorías
Capitalization Rules
Purpose • There are a lot of rules that may seem confusing, but in fact, apply to things that are really unique and it is important to know them in order to use them properly.
Rule 1 Capitalize the pronoun I.
Example: Liz and I went to the beach two days ago.
Rule 2 Capitalize the first letter of the first word of each sentence.
Example: The English class is my favorite.
Rule 3 Capitalize the first letter of names of people, organizations, and places.
Example: Lynn has a store in Paris, France named Dots. name of a person
place
store
Rule 4 Capitalize the first letter of adjectives that are made from the names of people and places.
Example: Christie likes Chinese food. China is a place.
Rule 5 Capitalize initials.
Correct: My cousin’s favorite author is E. A. Poe. Edgar Allan Poe
Rule 6 Capitalize the first letter of directions only when they are used to designate actual places, not when they point in a direction.
Correct: When they visited the Northeast, they had to drive south.
It is a place
Rule 7 Capitalize the first letter of the names of months and the days of the week.
Correct: My anniversary will be on a Wednesday next June.
Rule 8 Capitalize the official title of a person (including abbreviations), but only when you use it with the person's name.
Example: Are you going to visit Dr. Smith?
Doctor Smith
Rule 9 Capitalize words used as names or parts of names.
Correct: Did you call Uncle James?
Rule 10 Capitalize the first letter of important words in a title of a book, magazine, story, essay, etc.
Example: My story’s title is “The Adventures of Johan”
Rule 11 Capitalize historical events and documents.
Example: The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787.
Historical document
Rule 12 Capitalize the name of languages, races, nationalities, and religions.
Example: I learned Portuguese with a Brazilian teacher.
language
nationality
Rule 13 Capitalize acronyms.
(An acronym is a word formed by the first, or first few, letters of words in a long name.)
Example: SONAR may be used as a means of acoustic location.
sound navigation and ranging
Rule 14 Capitalize initials.
(An initialism is similar to acronym, but a word is not formed from the letters.)
Correct: ADA is the American Dental Association.
Prepared by: • Cristabel R. Ocasio Ilarraza • Nirazatte L. González Abella