5. Capitalization

Here are some rules of using capital letters (capitalization) for you to know and apply if you want your writing to be clearer and easier to read:

Capitalize

(1) the first word of every sentence:

Before commodities can be sold on the market and money received for them they have to be produced.

(2) the first word of every line of poetry:

Bright blue the sky,

Sun up on high –

That was the little boys picture.

(3) the first word of a direct quotation:

He said, “May I have a glass of water, please?”

(4) names of peoples, nations, races, religions, and languages:

Russian

English

Catholic

South American

Negro

German

(5) the names of particular organizations, buildings, schools, companies:

American Broadcasting System

Abraham Lincoln High School

International Industrial Exhibition

Astoria Hotel

N o t e: The words hotel, hospital, building, school, etc. are not capitalized when you are just writing in general about these things:

He lives in the hotel now. Father was taken to hospital this morning. She is a teacher in a school.

(6) the days of the week and the months of the year:

Tuesday

Saturday

February

Octobe

r(7) holidays:

May Day, Victory Day, the October Revolution Day, Boxing Day, Labor Day, Armistice Day.

(8) names of cities, towns, countries, states, counties:

Minsk, London, Houston, India, Maryland, Kent

(9) names of streets and avenues, boulevards, squares:

Oxford Street, Wall Street, Gorky Street, Lenin Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Linden Boulevard, Times Square, Red Square.

(10) names of rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, bays:

the Mississippi River, Lake Baikal, the Black Sea, the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay.

(11) names of parks:

Central Park, Hyde Park, Memorial Park.

(12) first, middle and last names of people:

Mary, Peter, George Washington, John Henry Jackson, Peter the Great.

(13) first words and every important word in titles of books, plays, magazines, stories, songs, poems, etc. (Don't capitalize in titles such words as of, the, and, but, with, etc.):

The Fight with a Wolf; The Gift of the Magi; Indian Camp.

(14) names of important historical events, historical periods, historical docu­ments:

the Great Patriotic War, Middle Ages, Potsdam Declaration.

(15) words showing a person's title, rank, profession, etc.:

Captain Fisher, Professor Borovik, President Roosevelt, Senator Kennedy, Dr. Smith.

N o t e: When the words are not attached to a specific name, they are not capitalized: The doctor went out on the porch.

(16) words showing family relationship when these are used with the name of the person involved:

Uncle John, Aunt Mary, Cousin Ann, Sister Helen.

The words Mother, Father, Grandmother and Grandfather are always capitalized when they are used instead of their names.

The children stayed at home with Grandmother.

May I go out, Mother?

(17) names of planets, constellations, stars, etc.:

Venus, Jupiter, Great Bear, Little Bear, Saturn, the Sun.

(18) the four points of the compass when they refer to parts of the world:

the North, the South, the West, the East.

N o t e: When these words are used to show direction, they are not capitalized.

Walk three miles east and one mile south and you will come to the station.

(19) abbreviations of titles and degrees, names and initials of persons, names of organizations and companies:

Dr. J.B. Horn; John Brown, M.A., Ph.D.; UNESCO; BBC.

(20) the letter I when you mean yourself:

When he and I were young, we were friends.