The general rule for capitalization is always to use capital letters to begin a sentence, proper nouns, and some abbreviations.
Let’s start with Capitalization in Sentences.
When you begin a sentence, always use a capitalized word. This sometimes means that you’ll need to change numerals or numbers to letters:
For example, One hundred and twenty-five votes were required to win the crucial election, or Nineteen Eighty-Four, the famous book, was written by British author George Orwell.
Now, let’s take a look at Word Capitalization.
Capitalizing is required in individual names; for example, My name is Cathy Smith. Also, you should capitalize the attached titles, such as in this example, we meet many interesting people, including Governor Schwartz.
And, of course, capitalization is needed in proper nouns. A proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, organization, or thing. A common noun, on the other hand, refers to a general, non-specific category or entity.
Here are a few examples that help us understand this issue. Proper noun example: I’d like to get a job in United Nations.
Common noun example: Many nations worldwide agree to celebrate Pancake Day.
Or My brothers have a conservative viewpoint on many things. However, they do not belong to the Conservative Party.
The Grand Canyon is up to 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 feet deep. It is the largest canyon in the United States.
Also, specific periods and named events in history are proper nouns and thus capitalized. Centuries, however, stay in lowercase.
For instance, The Great Depression affected virtually every country in the world.
It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
And now, let’s take a look at Capitalization within Quotations.
When the quote forms a complete sentence, we must capitalize the first word.
For example, Marie asked, “Are these books new?” But when the quote is a fragment incorporated into your own sentence, the first word is not capitalized. Marie was surprised that these so-called “new books” were so expensive.
And finally, let’s talk about abbreviations.
There are various types of abbreviations, including acronyms and initialisms. These are formed by taking the initial letter or letters of each word and combining them to create a longer name or phrase.
Usually, acronyms and initialisms are written in all capital letters to set them apart from regular words: NASA, for instance, is an acronym. It stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
We write it in all capital letters. Similarly, Educational Degrees are also written in all capital letters. For instance, a Bachelor of Arts is written as a B.A. or a Doctor of Law and Policy as a DLP.
And, of course, Let’s not forget about courtesy titles such as Mr., Mrs., Jr, Sr, or Dr that also need to be capitalized.
And now, let’s solve a few quizzes.
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