CAPITALIZATION RULES
Aug 14, 2015
CAPITALIZATION RULES
Capitalization signals the
beginning of a sentence or points
out certain words within a
sentence.
RULES IN CAPITALIZATION
Capitalize the first words in declarative, interrogative,
imperative, and exclamatory sentences.
Examples:
DECLARATIVE : A piece of art often reflects the times in which
an artist live.
INTERROGATIVE : Do you find contemporary art difficult to
interpret at times ?
IMPERATIVE : Look around you, for art is everywhere.
EXCLAMATORY : That Impressionist painting is magnificent !
Capitalize the first word in interjections and
incomplete questions.
Examples:
INTERJECTIONS : Oh! Awful!
INCOMPLETE QUESTIONS : Why not ? When ?
Capitalize the first word in a quotation if the quotation is a
complete sentence.
Examples:
• The instructor began by saying, “Music is a way of painting a
picture with melodies.”
• “To play effectively, you must truly understand the piece you are
playing,” the professor continued.
• “If one hears bad music,” Oscar Wilde once observed, “it is one’s
duty to drown it by one’s conversation.”
Capitalize the first word after a colon if the word begins
a complete sentence.
Examples:
COMPLETE SENTENCE : She made one point over and
over: The painting is more lasting than the artist.
LIST OF WORDS OR PHRASES : I saw some famous art
work at the Dresden exhibit: lovely ivory carvings,
beautiful paintings, and a magnificent armor display.
Capitalize the first word in each line of most poetry.
Example:
I mind where we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond,
Where the deep purple hue the Highland hills we view.,
And the moon coming out in the gloomy.
-- Lady John Scott –
NOTE ABOUT I AND O :
You should always capitalize the pronoun
I and the interjection O even in the middle
of the sentence.
Examples:
Father and I agreed on a plan.
Capitalize the first word after a colon in a formal
resolution.
Example:
Resolved: That the Senior Class hold a car wash
next Saturday to raise money for new band
uniforms.
Capitalize all proper nouns.
COMMON NOUNS: judge, town, clock, sister,
ship, teacher, school, table
PROPER NOUNS : Judge Alexander P.
Stevens, Patricia Davis, Mr. Hilario S.
Procorpio
Capitalize each part of a person’s full name.
Examples:
Felicia A. Burton, Luis Teresina
Capitalize geographical and place names.
Examples:
Candaba, F. Carlos Street, Quezon City, Metro
Manila, Lubao, New York
Capitalize the names of specific events and periods of
time.
Examples:
Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, New Year, Christmas Day
Declaration of independence
Capitalize the names of various organization,
government bodies, political parties, races, nationalities,
languages and religious references.
Examples:
National Museum of Art, English, Spanish, American,
Canadian, Mongoloid, Republican Party, Liberal Party
Capitalize the names of awards, the names
of specific types of air, sea, space and land
craft, and brand names.
Examples:
Nobel Piece Prize, Father of the Year, Oscar
Award, Kleenex
Capitalize most proper adjectives.
Examples:
PROPER ADJECTIVES : American, Elizabethan,
Biblical
FORMED FROM PROPER NOUNS : Chinese
PROPER NOUNS : a Chicago accent, a March day,
USED AS ADJECTIVES : O’Neill play
Capitalize a brand name used as an
adjective, but do not capitalize the
common noun it modifies.
Examples:
Westinghouse refrigerator, Levi jeans
Capitalize the first word and all nouns in letter
salutations and he first word in letter closings.
Examples
SALUTATIONS : Dear Eric, Dear Sirs:
CLOSINGS : With love, Yours truly