8 Rules of Capitalization

1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence. For example:

Everyone likes the new exhibit at the museum.

2. Capitalize the pronoun “I”. For example:

The birthday present is just what I wanted.

3. Capitalize place names: countries, continents, oceans, states, provinces, towns, cities, and street names. For example:

Namibia, Rwanda, and Gabon are all countries in Africa.

4. Capitalize the days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. For example:

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday celebrated on the 5th of May.

5. Capitalize the words in a title, except for prepositions and articles unless they are the first word in the title. For example:

I’ve always wanted to read The Wind in the Willows.

6. Capitalize people’s first, middle, and last names. For example:

Johann Sebastian Bach was a great composer.

7. Capitalize the first word in a quoted sentence. For example:

As Abraham Lincoln said, “Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation.”

 8. Capitalize titles of address, like “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, “Jr.” and “Dr.”, and place modifiers like “St.” and “Ave.” For example:

When my brother got sick, my mother took him to see Dr. Green.

Capitalization Exercises

Correct each sentence by writing it with the correct words capitalized.

1. emus and wallabies are two unusual animals found in australia.

2. my next door neighbor, mrs. brown, has a very large garden.

3. Sadly, i dropped my ice cream on the ground before i could eat it.

4. my favorite book is charlotte’s web.

5. did you know that sally was born on march 11th, 1989?

6. My pet rabbit ran all the way down mulberry street.

7. dr. martin luther king jr. worked hard for the cause of equal rights.

8. “let’s go to the park,” said maria.

Excercise from Montessori for Everyone.