Resources › For Adult Learners When to Use Uppercase or Capital Letters Do you know when to capitalize words? Print gillnisha/Pixabay For Adult Learners Tips For Adult Students Getting Your Ged By Deb Peterson Deb Peterson Education Expert B.A., English, St. Olaf College Deb Peterson is a writer and a learning and development consultant who has created corporate training programs for firms of all sizes. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on July 03, 2019 In older literature and poetry written in the 1800s and before, many random words are capitalized. When we see this old writing, it looks odd, doesn't it? Many people still misuse uppercase letters, perhaps capitalizing words to give them importance or emphasis, though this is not correct. Do you know which words to capitalize to demonstrate a proper grasp of the English language? There are only three instances when you need capital letters: proper names, titles, and the beginning of sentences. 01 of 04 Proper Names TheDigitalArtist/Pixabay Proper names are always capitalized. This includes names of people, places, specific things, institutions, organizations, groups, historical periods, historical events, calendar events, and deities. Examples: Institutions: Columbia College, the Eastman School of Music Governmental matters: Congress (lowercase congressional), the U.S. Constitution (lowercase constitutional), the Electoral College, Department of Defense, Federal Communications Commission Historical events: the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 Holidays: Groundhog Day, Easter Structures: the Twin Towers, the Eiffel Tower Natural and manmade landmarks: Mount Vesuvius, the Hoover Dam Nicknames: Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson, Bill "Spaceman" Lee Organizations: American Center for Civil Justice Days of the week and months of the year: Wednesday, January, Saturday Abbreviations of proper names: CSI, NASA, FEMA Companies: Pillsbury Company, Microsoft Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth Religions and names of deities: Muslim, Jewish, God, Jehovah Races, nationalities, and tribes: Caucasian, African-American, Eskimo Special occasions: the Olympic Games, the Sundance Film Festival Streets and roads: Interstate 44 02 of 04 Titles http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizarmada.jpg/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capitalize titles that precede a name, but do not capitalize titles that follow a name: Mayor Stacy White; Stacy White, the mayorQueen Elizabeth; Elizabeth, the queen of England You will see this often with corporate titles. Our tendency is to capitalize all titles: Accounting Manager Martha Grant; Martha Grant, manager of accounting The titles of books, movies, and other works are capitalized except for articles, short conjunctions, and short prepositions: "Pirates of the Caribbean""When We Were Romans" Read More Guidelines for Using Capital Letters By Richard Nordquist 03 of 04 Sentences Amanda Linn/Pexels The first word of every sentence is always capitalized. This is pretty self-explanatory and universally understood. Capitalize the beginning of a sentence when it is part of a quote: The teacher said, "Your use of uppercase letters is improving." If a phrase fits into the larger sentence, it does not require capitalization: The doctor told us the nurse would “be here shortly,” but she never came. Always use uppercase for the pronoun "I." 04 of 04 Using All Caps itkannan4u/Pixabay Typing in all capital letters is akin to shouting at someone in person. It's commonly used by online hustlers to try to grab your attention. Whether you are using email, Twitter, or some other online form of communication, shouting in all caps is considered inappropriate and bad netiquette. It also evokes stronger reader emotions. There are exceptions to the rule. It's acceptable for subject lines and headings to appear in all caps. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Peterson, Deb. "When to Use Uppercase or Capital Letters." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/when-to-use-uppercase-capital-letters-31734. Peterson, Deb. (2023, April 5). When to Use Uppercase or Capital Letters. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/when-to-use-uppercase-capital-letters-31734 Peterson, Deb. "When to Use Uppercase or Capital Letters." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/when-to-use-uppercase-capital-letters-31734 (accessed March 29, 2024). copy citation