English is a language that has a numerous set of rules pertaining to each aspect of it.  Be it grammar, punctuation or capitalization. Generally, capitalization is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (upper-case letter) and the remaining letters in lower case. But, sometimes people get confused with the rules of capitalization. Are you the one? If so, we will help you understand the usage of capitalization better.

Follow these rules:

Capital letters are used for two main purposes in English:

- To show the beginning of a sentence
- To show that a noun is a proper noun.

1. Capitalize the pronoun "I"

- The pronoun ‘I’ is always capitalized.

Example:

- He said I am your new English teacher.
- If I see her, I will give her your message.

2. Capitalize proper nouns

Generally, proper nouns refer to people, places, things, pets, organizations, etc. Remember to always capitalize the name of someone or something.

Example:

- I visited Paris on my vacation.
- Poornima gave a present for his birthday.

You must capitalize North, South, East, and West, when it comes in the name of a place (state, country, etc.,) but not when used for giving directions.

Examples:

- My friend lives in South Mumbai.
- We are planning a vacation in South Africa.
- The sun rises in the east.

3. Capitalize days of the week and months of the year

Capitalize days of the week, holidays and months of the year. Don’t capitalize seasons.

Examples:

- She flew to London in September.
- Do you have any time on Friday?
- I love Winters.
- They visited Bheema last Summer.

The last two sentences are wrong. They should be like this:

- I love winters.
- They visited Bheema last summer.

4. Capitalize countries

Capitalize countries, languages, and nationalities and family relationships if it used in place of a name.

Example:

- Have you ever had any really expensive French wine?
- Do you speak Russian?
- Have you given Dad his present yet?
- I think Mom needs some time off work.

5. Capitalize titles

Capitalize titles that come before names. Do not capitalize titles that follow names.

Examples:

- The soldier wrote to General Singh and asked for advice.
- Did you speak to Vice Principal Khanna yet?
- George Washington was the first President of the United States.
- A.K. was elected Mayor in 2000.

The last two examples are wrong as titles have appeared after names. The correct sentences would be:

- George Washington was the first president of the United States.
- A.K. was elected mayor in 2000.

The above examples explain the basic rules of capitalization. Join a course to learn English to get familiar with the rules of capitalization. Also, you can improve your Spoken English with the help of one such course.

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-By Chander Madan


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