What words should be capitalized in a sentence?
In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositions—however, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters.
When do you capitalize the first letter in a sentence?
In English, capital letters are most commonly used at the start of a sentence, for the pronoun I, and for proper nouns. Capitalize the first word in every sentence You should always capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence, no matter what the word is. Take, for example, the following sentences: “ T he weather was beautiful.
When should you capitalize other parts of speech?
Capitalization signals a brand, product, or specific person, so when it is used for other words, you create an unnecessary and unwarranted sense of importance. What About Other Parts of Speech? Nouns, and specifically proper nouns, are the only words you should capitalize aside from the first word in a sentence.
Do you capitalize after certain punctuation?
Capitalize after certain punctuation. Of course, you already know to capitalize at the start of each sentence. There are other interesting sentence structures that require capitalization. After the first word in a quote
Do you capitalize Medicare?
The word Medicare is the name of a specific American governmental health program, and so it is a proper noun that should be capitalized.
What word should be capitalized in this sentence?
In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositions—however, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters.
Do you capitalize medicine in a sentence?
The rule is simple, and it's essentially the same as the rule for capitalizing diseases and most other things: Capitalize medication terms that are made up of proper names, in this case, brand names or trade names, and use lowercase for generics and other medication terminology, such as classes of medications ( ...
What medical terms should be capitalized?
Use capitals for proper nouns and genus names Use an initial capital letter for medical terms only if the term is a proper noun or adjective, or if it is the name of a genus. Otherwise don't use initial capitals for the names of: diseases and viruses.
What are the 10 rules of capitalization?
What are the 10 rules of capitalization?Capitalize the first word of a sentence. ... Capitalize proper nouns and names. ... Capitalize the majority of titles. ... Capitalize events and periods. ... Capitalize “I” as a pronoun. ... Capitalize any locations and direct addresses. ... Capitalize family relationships.More items...
Which word should not be capitalized in the sentence?
Ordinary nouns and pronouns are not capitalized in sentence case.
Do you capitalize medical department names?
Names of departments are capitalized only when using the full formal name, or when the department name is the proper name of a nationality, people, or race. Do not abbreviate to "dept." Capitalize as part of a full official name; lowercase otherwise.
Do you capitalize ibuprofen?
APStylebook on Twitter: "Capitalize brand-name drugs (Advil) but lowercase generic ones (ibuprofen).
Do you capitalize penicillin?
Brand-name drugs should be capitalized, e.g., DRUG A. Generic drugs should be lower-case and italicized, e.g., penicillin.
Should family medicine be capitalized?
Capitalize the specific name of the department when used in the formal title or when used alone in running copy, such as Family Medicine.
Why are generic drug names not capitalized?
Brand names are owned by companies and no one but the company that owns the name can use them, and they're capitalized. Common (generic) names, on the other hand, are not.
Is dementia a capital D?
Capitalization (CAP) Words other than proper names, however, are also capitalized, such as the first word of a term, making it impossible to use this criterion alone (e.g. in the term “Dementia in Parkinson' s disease”, “Dementia” is capitalized, yet is not a proper name).
What are the 20 rules of capitalization?
20 Rules of CapitalizationThe first letter of a sentence. ... The letter I.Titles. ... The names of people. ... Gods, religious figures and holy works should be capitalized, although when describing a group of gods you need only capitalize the region or name of the pantheon and not the non-specific use of the word gods.More items...•
What is capitalization in a sentence?
1. What is Capitalization? In writing, capitalization is the use of capital letters as a type of punctuation. When we say that something is “capitalized,” it means that the first letter of the word or words is a capital (i.e. capital A versus lowercase a).
Should the be capitalized?
For example, although Chicago recommends lowercasing the word “the” in names of newspapers, journals, and magazines when you write them in a sentence, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage and The Associated Press Stylebook recommend using an uppercase "the" in the same situation.
How do you use the word capitalization?
Capitalize the first word of your sentence. She rarely capitalizes her name when she signs her e-mails. The venture was capitalized with a loan of one million dollars. You can capitalize your investment at any time.
When do you capitalize words?
They’re easy to remember. In English, capital letters are most commonly used at the start of a sentence , for the pronoun I, and for proper nouns.
When should a season be capitalized?
A season should be capitalized when it’s being used as part of a proper noun as in Winter Olympics . In poetry and other literature, personification is giving an animal, inanimate object, or abstract notion the qualities and attributes of a human. When a season is used this way, it should be capitalized.
Is "LoL" capitalized?
Some acronyms have been incorporated as recognizable words that should not be capitalized ( laser, or “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation;” when in doubt, it’s best to consult a dictionary. Of course, in informal conversations (like texting), acronyms ( lol, brb, idk, etc.) aren’t always capitalized.
When to join two independent clauses into one sentence?
When an explanation takes the form of a second independent clause that follows a main independent clause, you can join the two clauses into a single sentence with a colon. Here is an example: Jenny had an idea: she would pick up a cake on her way to her friend’s house.
Do you capitalize the first letter of a sentence?
You should always capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence, no matter what the word is. Take, for example, the following sentences: “ T he weather was beautiful. I t was sunny all day.” Even though the and it aren’t proper nouns, they’re capitalized here because they’re the first words in their sentences.
Do you capitalize "proper"?
Capitalize proper nouns. A proper noun is the special noun or name used for a specific person, place, company, or other thing. Proper nouns should always be capitalized.
Do you capitalize the title of a book?
Capitalize most words in a title. The titles of books, songs, newspapers, and works of art should all be capitalized. Examples include Moby Dick, “ J ailhouse R ock,” New York Times, and The Last Supper.
What are the rules for capitalizing?
11 Common Capitalization Rules. 1. First Word of a Sentence. This is one of the first rules you learn when writing in English. You always capitalize the first word of a sentence. No matter if it’s a statement, question or exclamation, it should start with a capital letter! 2.
Is a quote capitalized?
First Words of a Quote. When it comes to quote s, capitalization also depends on context. If you are using a quote as a complete sentence in itself or as dialogue, then it’s capitalized. For example, you would write: He said, “Capitalization rules can be confusing.”. But, if you insert the quote as part of your own writing, ...
Do you capitalize academic subjects?
When referring to the title of a specific course in university, then you would capitalize it, but you do not capitalize academic subjects. For example, you may say, “I am enrolled in Nutrition as part of the health science program at University of the People .”
Do you capitalize "Jr"?
When you’re writing your own or someone else’s name, it should be capitalized, including suffixes like “Jr.”. The same goes for proper nouns. Titles of people can be a tricky case, however. When you are using the title to represent a specific person or as their designation before their name, then it is capitalized.
Can you get better at capitalizing in English?
The truth of the matter with English rules is that you can only get better with practice. And practice takes time! You’re bound to run into exceptions to rules and questionable circumstances, too. However, if you can try to remember these capitalization rules, then you are setting yourself up for success to be able to write more fluently and properly.
Do you capitalize the first word of a list of items?
When you use a colon to initiate a list of items, you do not capitalize the first word. The same goes for semicolons that are used to connect two independent sentences. Even though the sentence that comes after a semicolon is a complete thought, it’s being paired with the first sentence, so the first letter remains as lowercase.
What is a proper noun?
(There’s a reason it used to be called grammar school). A proper noun is a specific person, place, or thing.
Do you capitalize a job title before or after a name?
Job titles seem specific and general at the same time (you can be a doctor or Dr. Smith, right?). In general, job titles that come BEFORE a name are capitalized, while those that come AFTER a name are not.
How to capitalize a sentence?
In sentence case, lowercase most words in a title or heading. Capitalize only the following words: 1 the first word of the title or heading 2 the first word of a subtitle 3 the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation in a heading 4 nouns followed by numerals or letters 5 proper nouns (such as the names of racial or ethnic groups)
What is the first word of a subtitle?
the first word of a subtitle. the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation in a heading. nouns followed by numerals or letters. proper nouns (such as the names of racial or ethnic groups)
Is "major" capitalized?
In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase. In sentence case, most major and minor words are lowercase ( proper nouns are an exception in that they are always capitalized).
