When do you capitalize english language

Times and events. Specific periods and named events in history are proper nouns and thus capitalized. Centuries, however, stay in lowercase. Days of the week e. Wednesday , months of the year e. August , and holidays and festivals e. Christmas , Ramadan are capitalized. However, the four seasons are common nouns and therefore not capitalized unless they appear as part of a proper noun.

North, east, south, and west are not capitalized when they refer to a direction or general area. This also applies to derivative adjectives and adverbs:. However, capitalization is required for these words when they are part of a proper name or when they refer to a distinct region. Scribbr Plagiarism Checker. In academic writing, some types of nouns are often incorrectly capitalized. The table below shows academic terms that should not be capitalized. Note, though, that proper nouns within these terms are still capitalized as usual.

However, note that the names of existing tests, inventories and questionnaires should be capitalized. When the quote forms a complete sentence, capitalize the first word. When the quote is a fragment incorporated into your own sentence, the first word is not capitalized. When a colon introduces a list or any phrase that is not a complete sentence, do not capitalize the first word unless it is a proper noun. She filled the picnic basket with a variety of snacks: cookies, bread, dips, and fruits.

When a colon introduces a complete sentence, capitalization rules vary between style guides. According to APA style , the first word after the colon should be capitalized. Example I am an English language teacher.

I have a pet peeve that relates to my English language students. This is especially true when they write the word English. I think that these English learners may not realize how important this rule is in English. Or, maybe they think that if they use English as an adjective, it should not be capitalized.

English is always capitalized. They teach their students that an adjective that is derived from a proper noun e. Maybe I should have my English learners write this sentence out times in English : The word English is always capitalized. Written by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub. Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry. Nobody has the right to obey. Words like middle school or elementary school are common if you're not talking about a specific school, so they are not capitalized.

This rule also applies to nouns that follow proper adjectives , such as "Apple computer" and "Honda sedan. Even though we capitalize days, months and holidays, not every word related to a calendar falls under this capitalization rule.

We don't capitalize the four seasons of winter , spring , summer , or fall or autumn unless it's part of a title or proper noun.

If you're telling someone to go in a certain direction, you don't need to capitalize that direction. There are specific direction capitalization rules about when you should capitalize east , west , north , and south , but if you're describing the direction, you won't capitalize it.

Whether you're majoring in political science or mechanical engineering, you don't need to capitalize the first letter of your academic focus. The same goes for a subject that you're studying, such as math or language arts.

The only exception for capitalizing subjects is if the subject is the name of a class, such as British Literature or Algebra II. Your birthday, anniversary and other special occasions are momentous days, but that doesn't mean they should be capitalized. If you're wishing someone a "Happy birthday," you don't need to capitalize "birthday. No matter what you write, there will be moments when you'll have to decide whether or not to capitalize a word. It only takes a little bit of practice and, the more you read and write, the more these rules will stick.

Once you feel like a capitalization pro, check out these special cases for capitalization. Ever heard of capitonyms? They're the snowflakes of the English language that change meaning when you capitalize them. Have fun out there! All rights reserved. The First Letter in a Sentence It's important to always capitalize the first letter of a sentence. Proper Nouns and Adjectives Specific people, places or things will generally be capitalized. Examples of proper adjectives include: Adjectives based on place names Irish, Californian, Canadian Adjectives derived from names Shakespearean, Orwellian, Darwinian Adjectives from religions Islamic, Buddhist, Christian You can form proper adjectives from nearly every proper noun.

The Pronoun I It's only necessary to capitalize other pronouns when they begin a sentence. I don't know about you, but I would wait for it to go on sale. Sandra and I are going to the movies later tonight. Book and Movie Titles Books, movies, poems, and other creative works often require capitalization for their titles. It depends on the style guide you're using, but generally, you capitalize the following words in a title: the first word adjectives nouns verbs the last word Meanwhile, you generally don't want to capitalize: articles a, an, the conjunctions for, and, but, so prepositions with three or fewer letters in, on, at.

Examples of Book and Movie Title Capitalization The first letter of a work of art is always capitalized, even if it's an article, preposition or conjunction. The First Word in Quotations If the sentence is a quotation within a larger sentence, capitalize it, but only if it's a complete sentence.

Here are some examples: Capitalized: The waiter said, " My manager will be here shortly," but he never came. Not Capitalized: The waiter told us that his manager would "be here shortly," but he never came.