Capitalization
Geographic locations
Titles and names
Buildings and other places
Geographic Locations
Capitalize specific names. Do not capitalize
general names. This also applies to names of
geographic places.
San Francisco but not city.
Geographic Locations
Capitalize specific names that are
used as adjectives.
French bread
Geographic Locations
Directions, such as north, southeast,
easterly and western, are not capitalized
when they refer to a direction.
We drove south to the coast
and then northeast.
Geographic Locations
They should be capitalized when they name a
specific region of the country or of a city.
We visited Tempe, which is in the
Southwest.
Titles and Names
Capitalize words used as titles
that refer to a specific person.
Senator Jones
Doctor Smith
Titles
Titles are oftentimes used by themselves as if
they were a name.
This occurs when you are speaking directly
to someone.
Will my leg heal, Doctor?
Tell me how you will reduce taxes,
Mayor?
Titles
If a title is used only to refer to an occupation,
do not capitalize it.
The lawyer presented the
case to the jury.
Titles of written works
Capitalize the first word and all important
words in titles of books, plays, poems and
other written works.
I read the book Little Women.
Did you hear the orchestra play
Appalachian Spring?
Buildings and other places
Capitalize the names of buildings and other
places when they stand for specific buildings
or places.
Empire State Building
White House
Len’s Laundromat
Main Street
Reminder
When uncertain whether a word should be
capitalized or not, replace it with a person’s
name.
If the sentence makes sense, capitalize the
title. If not, do not capitalize the word!
Quotations
First word of every sentence should be
capitalized. When you write a quotation,
follow the same rule.
Tara asked, “Should we buy tickets now,
or wait till later?”
Reminder
If the quotation could stand alone as
a complete sentence, it should begin
with a capital letter.
If the quote is not a complete sentence,
don’t begin with a capital letter.
Quotations
If the quotation is divided by words
introducing the speaker, capitalize
the first part of the quote, but do not
capitalize the second part because
it is a fragment.
“A car crash occurred on Main Street,”
the newscaster said, “and six people
were injured.”
Abbreviations and Initials
Capitalize the letters that make up
abbreviations and initials.
CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
NFL (National Football League)
Larry Samuels, Ph.D. (Doctor of
Philosophy)
Dates
Capitalize names of days of the week,
months and holidays. Do not capitalize
seasons.
Her vacation begins next Friday, March 3.
I love to take my vacations in the summer.
I always have a picnic on Labor Day.
School Subjects
Capitalize the names of school subjects only
when they refer to specific courses.
If you are referring to a general kind of class,
do not capitalize it.
I am taking a math class and English 101.
You always capitalize words that name a
specific language, such as English and
Spanish.
Organizations
Social organizations and government
names are always capitalized.
James’ wife works for the American
Embassy in Sierra Leone.
All profits will go to the American
Red Cross.