Capitalization Rules

When editing your writing, it is very important to pay close attention to capitalizing the proper words.

Capitalization Rules:

1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence. Example: The lessons begin tomorrow.

2. Capitalize the word I, either alone or in a contraction. Examples : Do I get to go? I said that I'm here.

3. Capitalize words such as Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Son, Daughter, and Sis when they are used in place of the person's name. Do not capitalize them when they follow possessive pronouns such as my, your, his, her, our, or your.

4. Capitalize proper nouns. A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Examples: girl - Rebecca, city - Orem, newspaper - Deseret News


5. Capitalize a common noun when it is part of a proper noun. Examples: river - Jordan River, uncle - Uncle Al, street - Main Street

6. Capitalize North, South, East, West, and words such as Northwest when they indicate a section of the world or country. Do not capitalize them when they indicate a direction.

7. Capitalize religions, creeds, and denominations; the Bible and its parts; other sacred books; nouns and personal pronouns referring to the Deity (God). Do not capitalize god when it refers to mythology. 

Examples: Christianity, Protestants, Exodus, Koran, and Jesus and His works

8. Capitalize the days of the week, the months of the year, but do not capitalize the seasons. Example: Monday, March, summer

9. Capitalize names of countries, nationalities, races, languages, and adjectives derived from them. Examples: Germany, Swedes, Indians, French, English countryside

10. Capitalize geographic names and places. Examples: Mount Rushmore, Hudson Bay, Michigan Avenue, Washington D.C.

11. Capitalize the specific name of buildings and other man-made structures, ships, trains, and planes. Examples: the White House, Mayflower, Amtrak, Concorde

12. Capitalize the names of organizations (business, school, professional, social). Examples: Audubon Society, Orem High School, Better Business Bureau, Lion's Club

13. Capitalize holidays, special or famous events, historical periods or eras and famous documents.

14. Capitalize titles preceding personal names, abbreviations of those titles used with proper names, initials, or titles when used alone in place of the name or person. Examples: Mr., Miss, Rev., Dr., W. C. Johanson, Captain

15. Capitalize the abbreviations Jr., Sr., and Esq. following names; the abbreviations A.M., P.M., B.C., and A.D.; and abbreviations of academic degrees.

16. Capitalize the titles of books, newspapers, magazines, and all other kinds of literary works. Capitalize works of art, motion pictures, and musical compositions. Do not capitalize the articles (a,an,the), prepositions, or conjunctions unless they come first or last in these titles. Example: Death of a Salesman, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

17. Capitalize the first word of every direct quotation. Example: He asked, "Can this wait until tomorrow?"

18. Capitalize the first word and all nouns in the salutation of a letter. Example: My dear Mary, Capitalize only the first word of the complimentary close. Example: Yours truly,