How to Use Capitalization Correctly: 7 Steps

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 13:47

Having trouble figuring out when to capitalize? It's something many of us learn to do from an early age, but it's definitely hard to master with dexterity. Do you write Professor or Professor? Facebook or facebook?

You have most likely known people who feel the need to capitalize every single word. In fact it is not quite correct. This article will help you use capitalization like a pro.

Steps

Step 1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence

One of the basic rules of grammar states that no matter what it is, the first word at the beginning of a sentence always has a capital letter. After you have a period at the end of a sentence, remember to start with a capital letter in the sentence that follows.

• The first word of a sentence written in parentheses (in the middle of a sentence) must not be capitalized. For example, the word "in" in the previous sentence is not capitalized. However, a sentence written in parentheses that is not incorporated into another sentence must necessarily begin in capital letters. For example: “He couldn't really understand what was going on. (As usual, to be honest) Oh well."

• Even if a complete sentence follows a colon (:), the first word must always begin in lowercase.
• The first word of a quote is capitalized, unless the quote is syntactically joined to the sentence. Usually, a sentence spoken by someone begins with a capital letter, detached from the main sentence. A quote, which consists of a short word or a short sentence, is usually not capitalized when it is part of the sentence, for example: "What was he doing with that" thing "?" In addition, longer quotations can also be found that are syntactically linked to the ruling phrase, for example: "She was sent to" observe and discreetly ascertain what the hell was going on ".
• Although many grammar checking programs could correct it, the first letter of the first word after the ellipsis (…) must not be capitalized if it is part of the same ruling sentence. The grammar checker will recognize the sentence as complete with a period and will try to capitalize the first letter, although it is wrong, unless it is a quotation. When using the ellipsis it means that the writer is continuing the quote from the same source, but has skipped a part. Capitalize only if it makes sense in the context.

Step 2. Proper names are capitalized

This is probably the hardest thing to understand when capitalizing, because you need to be able to distinguish proper nouns, which must be capitalized, from common nouns, which don't require capitalization. Proper nouns are nouns that refer to a unique and specific thing, such as people, places and objects, as opposed to common nouns that can refer to more than one entity that is not unique. For example, "a boy" and "boys" are not capitalized because they are common names, and can refer to "any" boy. However, "Bob" refers to a specific boy and therefore must be capitalized. Similarly, "the village" can refer to any village, while "Hethersett" refers to a particular village. Proper names can be distinguished by the fact that usually you can't put the article in front of it, for example you can say "the city", but it sounds bad to say "Milan". Similarly, you can say "the program", but you will never say "the Skype". Proper names also include names of organizations, religions, particular ideas, and unique things. Below you will find a list of proper names that need to be capitalized that you should watch out for:

• Proper names of people and animals. First names, surnames and middle names of people always go with a capital letter. Even if there are people with the same name when the name used refers to a particular person is to be considered a proper name. When a word is a proper name then it must "always" be capitalized. There are some exceptions, such as for those names that are of foreign derivation such as Dafydd ab Hugh, L. Sprague de Camp, Tim LaHaye or D. J. MacHale. In good manners, everyone has to explain how to spell their name.
• Brands and trademarks. Brands refer to a specific signature of products, which stand out from those of the competition and are usually considered proper names. They are defined as "name, term, design, symbol or any other characteristic that identifies a good sold or a service distinct from the others".

• Specific places and countries. Geographical locations such as countries, pre-established regions, seas, roads, large and small cities and so on are considered proper names because they refer to a particular place. This also includes geographical features such as the Equator, rivers, mountains and public places, structures and buildings. Of fundamental importance are the cardinal points, such as north, east, south and west, which do not need a capital letter, because they are not considered proper names, unless they are part of the name of a particular region, for example "East Anglia" or "Southern California". Here are some examples:

  • "If you go north, you will find North Carolina."
  • "I left from the far south to see you!"
  • "Our home is in the southwestern region of Adelaide." In this case, direction is to be considered an adjective and not a noun.

• The calendar. Days of the week and months are not capitalized, unlike national holidays. For the days of the week and the months it is easy to remember. Holidays such as Easter, Christmas and August 15th must always begin with a capital letter, as well as events of historical importance and historical periods, for example the "Middle Ages" or "World War II".

  • Seasons are not capitalized. The names of the seasons were capitalized a long time ago. Hence, summer, fall, winter and spring are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence or are part of a famous name.
  • The names of centuries, decades and historical periods are capitalized, for example "the eighties", "the seventies", "the sixteenth century".

  

  Step 3. Adjectives referring to geographic locations must be capitalized:

  “Il Pavese”, “il Savonese”. However, unlike English, in Italian the adjectives that refer to nationalities must not be capitalized, for example: eat "Italian style".

  • Nationalities and languages. Another substantial difference between English and Italian consists in not capitalizing nationalities and languages. For example, in Italy it will be written: "speak in English", while in English "Speak in English". However, you need to capitalize when referring to an ancient people such as "the Romans", "the Aztecs".

    It should be noted that nationality should never be capitalized under any circumstances, for example: “French” nose, “Swiss” cheese and so on

  

  Step 4. Personal titles must be capitalized when they are used specifically as titles, but not when they refer only to rank in general

  This also includes the more common familiar Mr and Mrs titles and military ranks as a lieutenant colonel and sergeant. When used as titles, the first letter is capitalized, whether the title is abbreviated or not, for example: "Mr. Rossi" or "Mr. Rossi”, in any case, the specific proper name follows the title. If "Captain" does not precede a name it is still capitalized because it replaces the name. Here are some examples:

  • • "I disagree Senator Bandyandy." (directly addressed to a person)
    • "Senator Bandyandy didn't like presiding over the organizing committee in May" (before personal name)
    • The senator made a speech at the dinner held in honor of his six years of service. (common name)
  • The real title is also capitalized. Any royal, imperial or office position is included in the title rule, even if it is more complicated. You can write both "the king" and "the King", because it is right either way, depending on the context in which they are used. When referring to a specific king, and it is obvious, it must be capitalized, for example the King of Denmark. The British always refer to their queen as "the Queen", because it is obvious which queen they are referring to. This title replaces her name, not least because not many people can afford to call her “Elizabeth” !. Royal titles such as "His Majesty" are also capitalized.
  • Familiar names can also fit under the title rule. They are in fact capitalized when they are used in place of the name or when they precede the name, for example "Zio Franco". As a rule, familiar terms are common names, for example: "I have a sister". However, when using the substitute for a first name, is considered a proper name. Remember: all names are capitalized. When used in front of the name they refer to the personal title. The rule is also to be applied when "family" names are used in a medical or religious context, as in the case in which they are titles, for example "Father Joseph".

  

  Step 5. Pay attention to capital letters in abbreviations

  Initials and abbreviations are often written in large letters, although the difference depends on the words in general. An initial is a term often used as an acronym that is designed to pronounce a series of initial letters together, for example the F.ederal B.ureau of THEnvestigation or the B.ritish B.roadcasting C.orporation. In fact, they can also be written in large, such as FAQ or USA, or in full, interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) or laser (Light TOmplification by S.timulated ANDmission of R.adiation). If you're not sure how to spell a word, check the search engine to find out what should be capitalized.

  Whether the word "internet" should be capitalized or not is still an open debate. Although it depends on the way it is used, for example as a source, it seems that for now it can be considered as a common name

  

  Step 6. Publications follow different ways to be capitalized, which depend on guidelines and various rules

  The titles of books, films, songs and albums, historical documents, laws, newspapers, etc. are treated differently. You write "War and Peace" and not "War and Peace", right? However, many titles do not follow the same rule, but similar characteristics, such as wikiHow. As a rule, the first word (whatever it is) of a title is capitalized, for example “I promessi sposi”.

  The titles which are all capitalized follow a matter of personal organization. While the initial letter must be capitalized at the beginning of each title, by convention or all the following words are put in upper or lower case. Always check your style or publication guide for titles

  

  Step 7. Words with a capital letter in the middle

  Some names follow different rules for capitalization, often they are brand and site names. For example, Apple products have names like iPad, iPod, but also software like MediaWiki and sites like deviantArt and even wikiHow! These names are written in reference to other rules. wikiHow can be written at the beginning of a sentence without capitalization, because it is always written with a lowercase w.

  • Whenever possible, avoid capitalizing a name, which usually never capitalizes, at the beginning of a sentence, to avoid writing "IPod" or "WikiHow".

    For example, you can change the phrase “iPod is a device that students can use for learning purposes” to “In high school, students use iPods for learning purposes”

  Advice

  • If you don't know how to write the initial, abbreviation or capitalization of words like iPod, an easy way to find out is to type the word in the search engine and compare the results.
  • Capitalize greetings and farewells in letters or emails, for example, D.greetings instincts.
  • Beware of words that can change their meaning based on capitalization or not. You won't meet them very often. One of the most common examples are the names of celestial bodies. When "Sun" and "Moon" are capitalized, they usually refer to the "sun" that the Earth orbits around, and the "moon" that orbits us. Also, when "Earth" is capitalized it refers to our planet, rather than the ground "earth". In the religious sphere, "God" refers to the only god of monotheistic religions such as the Christian one, rather than to a god in general. Some people decide to capitalize "Earth" all the time as a sign of respect. Choose the one that's right for you, your job or style guides.
  • Unlike English, the first person singular is not capitalized in Italian.
  • Although many programs and browsers have a spell check feature, it is always important to learn how to capitalize correctly. The program, in fact, can detect simple errors such as the missing capital letter at the beginning of the sentence, but it will not know if you have written a title correctly, if you are referring to a queen or the Queen or if you write wikihow or wikiHow.

  • When you write messages you can also overlook capital letters and not waste much time, but try not to write ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for too long, because you will give the idea of shouting. Furthermore, this writing makes the text more difficult to read. Try to use only an exclamation point where possible!

    This is especially true when writing essays, emails, internet articles, etc. If you can, choose a single exclamation point, the Bold, “italics” or underlining. This way you will give a very professional look to your work.

  • When you write an address, the proper names of streets or streets must be capitalized, for example: V.ia V.erdi o C.bear R.oma, but you can also write it via V.erdi o cbear R.oma.
  • What is written in a list or after the bulleted list must be capitalized, complete sentences or not.

  Warnings

  • There are many, many minor rules and exceptions to these guidelines. Many of these rules are sometimes questioned and people tend to have different opinions on what should be capitalized. This is just a short guide to the basics. If you have any doubts, check the texts of the same area to understand how to capitalize correctly. Help yourself with a search engine and compare the results. The most important thing is to write a text full of meaning. Repeating the mistake of capitalizing once more may seem more professional rather than inserting it inconsistently.
  • Above all, follow guidelines given at work or in a field of study and be alert for any changes in preferences. The rules for capitalizing in the workplace, in a publication and in a study setting can be a good way to organize publications, and together with other rules, they demonstrate that you can get published… or paid!