Capitalization (TM)
Capitalization
Capitalization is writing the first letter of a word in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. The following examples show the most important rules for capitalization.
Words that begin sentences should be capitalized.
The patient’s vitals are normal.
Proper nouns, including names of people and specific places, should be capitalized. The names of general locations (river, school) are not capitalized.
My sister Maria moved to Florida so she could live near the ocean.
The names of holidays are capitalized. Do not capitalize the word day unless it’s part of the holiday’s official name.
We will be opening presents on Christmas day; on Memorial Day we’ll go to the parade.
Titles should be capitalized when used as a part of a person’s name, but not when they stand alone.
Richard Atwell, the governor of Virginia, will be hosting a dinner to honor President Green.
Titles of works of art, including books, movies, and songs, should be capitalized. Do not capitalize prepositions or conjunctions.
She went to the store to buy a copy of the book The Comfort Garden: Tales from the Trauma Unit.
The pronoun I should always be capitalized.
He and I have never understood one another.