We use capitalized letters (also known as uppercase) to denote something specific or of importance. There are eight main rules for capitalization:
| Capitalization Rule | Examples |
| The first word of a sentence | The man jumped. The dog slept all day. |
| Names (and proper nouns) | Is Bobby coming to the game? I love eating at McDonalds. Is that the new PlayStation? |
| Don’t capitalize after colons (unless a proper noun follows) | All of my energy is focused on one thing: jump roping. There exists one thing that can divert my attention: Taco Bell. |
| The first word of a complete quote (but not fragments) | Jared asked, “What makes you happy?” Becky responded she was “too busy” to answer that. |
| Days, months, and holidays, (but not seasons) | During August, I climb a mountain every Saturday. I love Christmas but not winter. |
| The first word, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in titles | I love The Lord of the Rings. Mr. Smith’s favorite song is What Is Love by Haddaway. |
| Cities, countries, nations (nationalities too), and languages | I’m from Germany but am fluent in English. The capital of England is London. |
| Periods, eras, and historical events with proper names (but not centuries) | The Dark Ages was a tragic part of the Middle Ages. The Jazz Age is an important piece of American history. |
Questions
In the following questions, fix all capitalization errors. Some words are capitalized when they shouldn’t be, while others aren’t when they should be.
Example:
- I went to the Supermarket to get a rack of pepsi.
- I went to the supermarket to get a rack of Pepsi.
- I’m from germany but love italian music.
- Bob and tess love the big mac from mcdonalds.
- There is one thing about soccer i love: Scoring goals.
- During Summer, August is the rainiest month.
- Have you ever seen the movie the godfather?
- In switzerland, there are many great christmas markets.
Answers
- I’m from Germany but love Italian music.
- Bob and Tess love the big mac from Mcdonalds.
- There is one thing about soccer I love: scoring goals.
- During summer, August is the rainiest month.
- Have you ever seen the movie The Godfather?
- In Switzerland, there are many great Christmas markets.