Rules for Capitalization(1) Capitalize the beginning of a sentence:
Father could not go with us.
(2) Capitalize all proper names:
(a) Names of persons: George, Henry, Mary Brown
(b) Names of places: New York, Washington, Little Rock, Chicago, San Francisco, Cape of Good Hope
(c) Names of continents and countries: United States, Canada, North America, Europe
(d) Names of states, cities, streets: Texas, Illinois, Arkansas, Philadelphia, Main Street, Jackson Boulevard
(e) Names of rivers, mountains: Red River, Mt. Washington, Pikes Peak, Mount Everest, Bald Mountain
(f) Names of schools, buildings, churches, business houses: Lincoln School, Empire State Building, Acme Market
(3) Capitalize proper adjectives: American, Canadian, Mexican, European
(4) Capitalize initials and abbreviations of proper nouns: J.H. Kennedy, Mt., St., Co.
(5) Capitalize titles with names: Uncle David, Aunt Alice, Cousin Bob, General Pershing, Superintendent Wright
(6) Capitalize words used to designate the Supreme Being: God, Savior, Jehovah
(7) Capitalize the days of the week, months of the year, and holidays: Wedesday, February, Christmas, Fourth of July
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Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation: The coach said, "I shall expect each boy to be present for practice after school, Monday."
(9) Capitalize the words I and O: I see no reason for waiting. O Frank, come here.
(10) Capitalize the first and last words in the titles of books, poems, stories, etc., and all other words except prepositions, conjunctions, and articles.
A Tale of Two Cities
The Psalm of Life
A Thrilling Experience
The Place of Sports in Our Schools
The Servant in the House
(11) Capitalize the names of the points of the compass when they refer to a certain section of the country: the South, the North, but-
The south window is broken.
(12) Capitalize the first word and principal words in the salutation of a letter: Dear Mr. Franklin, My dear Mr. Franklin, Dear Cousin, Dear Sir, My dear Sir
(13) Capitalize the first word in the complimentary close of a letter: Very truly yours, Yours truly, Very sincerely yours, Sincerely yours
(14) is how I was taught: Capitalize the first word of every line of poetry:
A train is a dragon
That roars through the dark;
He wiggles his tail
As he sends up a spark.
Good luck with your writing. jt