This article is part of the Grammar Goblin’s Content Writing Basics Series. Look out for other articles in the series for more tips on how to write awesome content for your business!
English is a tricky language. When writing content for your business, you want to ensure you get it right. Did you know that using capital letters correctly significantly improves your overall grammar? Six primary types of words should always be written with a capital letter. And in this article, I will also reveal one kind of word that is often capitalized, but that shouldn’t be.
The first word of a sentence should always be capitalized. Proper nouns, including names of people, places, and companies, receive capital letters, as do days, months, and holidays. Seasons are not typically capitalized, nor are the words that follow a colon unless they form a complete sentence.
Knowing where to place those capital letters may seem straightforward, but the rules can get complex pretty quickly. (And let’s not mention all the times the English language feels it’s appropriate to deviate from the rules and do something different!) That’s why we have written this neat and concise article for you. Save, share, and keep it close as you write your content to ensure your work is perfect before you hit “publish.”
Six Types Of Words That Should Always Be Written With A Capital Letter
There are, of course, many more than six words that should be written with a capital letter. But, for the sake of getting you started on your content writing journey, I have chosen what I consider to be the six most crucial for a well-written article or any piece of content.
The six types of words that should always be capitalized include the following:
- The first word of a sentence.
- Proper nouns.
- Quotes that form a complete sentence.
- Days, months, and holidays.
- Cities, countries, nationalities, and languages
- Time periods and eras
Let’s look at each of these in some detail so you can gain a deep understanding of them all.
1. The First Word Of A Sentence
The first word of a sentence should always be capitalized. This is a great rule to remember when things get tricky later on. Even if another rule says that the word shouldn’t be capitalized, it will be written with a capital letter if it begins a complete sentence.
A few examples include the following:
- You can ask Mavis for your file at reception. (“You” is written with a capital “Y” because it begins the sentence.)
- May I book boardroom three for tomorrow afternoon? (“May” is written with a capital “M” since it begins the question sentence.)
- Jonathan will be with you shortly. (“Jonathan” receives a capital “J” because it is the start of the sentence, even though it is also a proper noun.)
2. Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter. In the point above, the third example used a person’s name to start a sentence. In that case, the person’s name is a proper noun and capitalized. It is also the first word of a sentence, so it is capitalized for that reason.
What Is A Proper Noun?
A proper noun is the name of a:
- Person
- Place, E.G., city, country, company
- Political party
- Religion
A proper noun can also be a form of address, like Mom. When using a form of address as a proper noun, it needs to be used as the person’s name. So, you would ask:
“When is Mom coming home?” (“Mom” is written with a capital letter because it is a form of address and so a proper noun.)
If you had to ask, “When is my mom coming home?” “Mom” is written with a lowercase “m” because it is not a proper noun.
3. Quotes That Form A Full Sentence
When we write quotes, they form a complete sentence or comprise a few words. When the quote is a complete sentence, the first word of the entire sentence will be capitalized, just like we mentioned in the first point.
The first word will not receive a capital letter when the quote only has a few words and is not a complete sentence.
Let’s look at an example of each:
Amelie asked: “What is everyone doing after work tonight?” (The quote is a complete sentence. That is why “What” received a capital “W”)
Everyone was “too busy” to do anything that evening. (“Too busy” is not a complete sentence. For that reason, “too” is not capitalized.)
4. Days, Months, And Holidays
Days of the week, months of the year, and all special holidays are written with a capital letter. The seasons trip me up every time, and it is worth mentioning here. For some reason, the seasons of the year are written with lowercase letters and not capital ones.
But, seasons aside, all the days, from Monday to Sunday, are written with a capital letter.
All the months of the year, from January to December, are capitalized.
All holidays, religious and otherwise, are written with a capital letter.
Let’s look at a few examples of each:
- Days of the week examples: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
- Months of the year examples: February, April, September
- Holiday examples: Easter, Halloween, Diwali, Eid
5. Cities, Countries, Nationalities, and Languages
Cities and countries are proper nouns since they are places. That means that, if you remember our point on proper nouns, they are mentioned here as words to always receive a capital letter.
Nationalities and languages go hand in hand with countries and cultures, so it is fitting that they also receive a capital letter.
Interesting Point: Did you know that many Deaf people identify as a part of Deaf Culture? For that reason, Sign Language and Deaf Culture are also capitalized.
Let’s look at some examples of cities, countries, nationalities, and languages:
- City examples: Prague, Cape Town, Nice
- Country examples: Portugal, Hungary, Lesotho
- Nationality examples: Welsh, Austrian, Mauri
- Language examples: British Sign Language, Afrikaans, Belgian
6. Time Periods And Eras
Time periods and eras are clusters of times written together with a capital letter.
- Examples of eras include the Cold War era, World War 1, and the French Revolution.
- Examples of time periods include the Prehistoric, Classical, The Middle Ages, Early Modern Age, and Modern.
One Type Of Word That Should Not Be Written With A Capital Letter
One type of word should almost never be written with a capital letter. This type of word is commonly capitalized by accident, and it is easy to understand why.
The type of word that should rarely be capitalized is the word that comes after a colon. A colon is the two dots that typically come before a list. (:)
It is easy to fall into the trap of capitalizing the word after a colon since it may feel like a new sentence. As you write the words following the colon, however, take the time to check whether or not they form a complete sentence. If they don’t, ensure the first word is not capitalized.
Here is an example of a sentence with a colon. The words following the colon do not form a complete sentence and are not capitalized.
I need to get the following from the store: bread, milk, cheese, and eggs.
An Exception To The Rule
As with so many rules in English, there are exceptions to this one, too.
If the words following the colon create a complete sentence, you need to write the first letter of the first word in a capital letter. This takes us back to the very first point of this article. We always capitalize the first letter of a sentence.
Here is an example of a sentence with a colon. The words following the colon form a complete sentence and are capitalized.
Nathan always films his content with a cap on: His fans only recognize him with a cap on, and he is also balding.
Bonus: Other Ways To Ensure Your Content Is Perfect Before You Publish It
Since this article is part of a series on the basics of content writing, I thought it would be fun to add a short section on how else to ensure your written work is perfect before hitting that publish button.
My number one tip is to proofread!
You can proofread your own work or get someone else to do it for you. If you proofread your own writing, it is a good idea to get to it a few hours or the day after you have written the content.
If someone else proofreads for you, ensure it is someone you trust. Alternatively, hire a professional proofreader if the budget allows.
Grammarly offers free and paid options, and they do an excellent job pointing out grammatical and style errors. Just be aware that they also make some… strange… mistakes, so please don’t accept all the changes they suggest. Use Grammarly with discretion.
Conclusion
Knowing where to write capital letters comes down to knowing and following six basic rules. The first word of a sentence always gets a capital letter, even if it comes after a colon, and if the words of a quote are not a complete sentence, no capital letters are required. Remember to proofread your written content before hitting publish and keep that standard of content high to make a great impression on your audience.
