Capitalization rules

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