Rules of Capitalization
> Beginning of a Sentence:
- Capitalize the first letter of a word
beginning a sentence.
> The Pronoun I:
- Capitalize the pronoun I, no matter
where it appears or how it is used in a
sentence.
> Proper Nouns:
- Capitalize proper nouns, including the specific names of: persons, places, schools, streets, parks, buildings,
religions, holidays, months,
days, nicknames, agreements,
websites, historical periods.
> Common Nouns:
- Do not capitalize common nouns that
make general reference.
> Proper Adjectives
- Capitalize most adjectives that are
derived from proper nouns.
- **Exceptions do not capitalize the adjectives that originally derived from proper nouns but have become common adjectives through usage.
> Geographic Locations:
- Capitalize the names of specific places such as: continents, countries, provinces, cities, mountains, valleys,
lakes, rivers, oceans, geographic regions,
- **County and State:
- Capitalize county and state only when
they immediately follow proper
nouns.
> Organization Names:
- Capitalize the principal words in the
names of all business, civic, educational,
governmental, labour, military,
philanthropic, political, professional,
religious, social, and sports organizations.
- Capitalize “the” only when it is part of an organization’s official name.
- **Generally, do not capitalize committee, company, association, board, and other shortened name forms when they are used to replace full organization names.
- If these shortened names are preceded by the word the in legal or formal documents, they may be capitalized.
> Academic Courses:
- Capitalize names of numbered
courses and specific course titles.
- **Do not capitalize names of academic subject areas unless they contain a proper noun.
> Academic Degrees
- Capitalize abbreviations of academic
degrees that stand alone or follow an
individual’s name.
- **Do not capitalize general references
to degrees.
> Common Nouns with Abbreviations:
- Although abbreviations often use capitalized initials, terms are not capitalized when spelled out unless they are proper nouns.
> Seasons
- Do not capitalize seasons unless they
are combined with a year
> Business Correspondence Components
- Capitalize specific words in business
correspondence components that are
included in letters, memos, and email
messages.
-In subject lines do not capitalize article
or conjunctions and prepositions with
three or fewer letters unless they
appear at the beginning or end of the
line.
> Titles of People
- Many rules exist for capitalizing
personal and professional titles of
people.
a. Capitalize courtesy titles (such as
Mr., Mrs., and Dr.) and other
personal titles when they precede
names.
Examples
- When Rawlings Men’s Wear closed its downtown store, it opened an online store.
- In recent years many retailers have made the switch from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce.
Pronoun “I”
- If I were you, I’d continue my education.
- If you gave ma chance, I’m sure that I could change your mine.
Proper nound
- Jackson Turner, United States of America, Saturday, Sunday, January, Easter, Facebook.
Common nouns
- a young man on the basketball team, holidays, weekend days, a mall,
Proper adjectives
- Danish pastry, Victorian furniture, Roman numeral.
**- china dishes, diesel engine, french fries, italic type.
Geographic Locations
- New York State, Rocky Mountains, Ontario, the Maritimes.
Organization Names
- Bank of Montreal, Canadian Red Cross, Nations Hockey League.
- The Bay, The World Bank.
**- Did you know that the company will pay certain medical benefits? (ordinary document)
- the Association is herein authorized to disburse funds. (Formal document)
Academic Courses and Degrees
- Marina took Accounting 186, English 122, and Principles of Management last summer.
- All accounting majors must take business English and business law.
**- My most interesting classes are history, business management, and French.
- Aleksandar hopes to earn BSc and MSc degrees.
- New employees include Joanne Duncan, MSW, and Thomas Wong, RN.
**- The university offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Common Nouns with Abbreviations
- Are you contributing go the company-subsidized registered retirement savings plan? (RRSP spelled out is not a proper noun)
Seasons
- Last winter we drew lots of summer vacations.
- Eric Spiesel began working on his degree online during the Fall 2020 semester.
