Question 1

When do you use capital letters?

Accepted Answer

A capital letter marks a beginning or a name. Use one to start every sentence, for the word I, and for the name of one particular person, place, day, month, festival, language, event, work or brand: Asha, Jaipur, Monday, Diwali, Hindi. Words for a kind of thing stay small: a girl, a city, summer, maths. Capitals show a name, not importance.

Question 2

Do days, months and seasons need capital letters?

Accepted Answer

Days and months are names, so they take capitals: Monday, Friday, June, December. Seasons are not names in English, so they stay small: summer, winter, spring, autumn, the monsoon. Write: We go to Shimla every summer, usually in May. A season takes a capital only at the start of a sentence, or in poetry that treats it as a person.

Question 3

Is it Mum or mum?

Accepted Answer

Use a capital when the word is used as her name: Can I go out, Mum? Ask Mum. Use lower case after my, your, his or our, because then it only says who she is: my mum, your nani, our dad. The test: if you could swap in her first name, write Mum. Informal messages often write mum either way.

Question 4

Do you capitalise doctor, principal or teacher?

Accepted Answer

Only when the title comes before a name, or is used as a name. Doctor Rao, Principal Iyer, Aunty Meena. Good morning, Doctor. On its own, with the, a or our, it describes a job and stays small: the doctor, our principal, a teacher. Write: Doctor Rao is the doctor at our clinic. Teacher is rarely used as a title.

Question 5

Are school subjects capitalised?

Accepted Answer

Most are not: maths, science, history, geography, art. Languages are the exception, because a language is a name: English, Hindi, Tamil, French. So write: I have maths, then English, then science. A subject takes a capital when it is part of a course name, such as Science 101, and many schools capitalise subjects on timetables and report cards as a house style.

Question 6

Are north, south, east and west capitalised?

Accepted Answer

Not when they are directions: drive north, the wind blew from the east, the south of the city. They take capitals when they are part of the name of a region: the North-East, South India, the Middle East, West Bengal. The test: if you could point along it on a compass, lower case; if it names one particular region, a capital.

Question 7

Which words are capitalised in a title?

Accepted Answer

The school pattern: capitalise the first word and every main word (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns), and keep small words such as a, an, the, and, of, in and to in lower case unless they come first. The Jungle Book, The Secret of the Nagas. Guides differ on longer small words like with and about. The first word is always a capital.

Question 8

How do I write brand names like iPhone and eBay?

Accepted Answer

Write a brand exactly as its owner does: iPhone, eBay, YouTube, Amul, Tata, PayPal. Do not correct it to Iphone or Ebay, and do not lower a brand that uses a capital: Amul, not amul. Some people also choose lower case for their own names, and that form is kept too. Copy the name, capitals and all.

Question 9

Is it Yours sincerely or Yours Sincerely?

Accepted Answer

Yours sincerely: only the first word of a closing takes a capital. The same goes for Yours faithfully, Best wishes, With love and Kind regards. In the greeting, capitalise the first word and any name or title: Dear Mrs Kapoor, Dear Sir, Hello Priya. In the email body, the first word after the greeting starts with a capital, as any sentence does.

Question 10

Do languages and nationalities take capitals?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Languages, nationalities and peoples are names: Hindi, Tamil, English, French; Indian, Kenyan, Japanese. The capital stays even when the word describes something: Indian food, a French film, English grammar. So write: She speaks Hindi and Kannada. A word made from a name keeps the name's capital, which is why Indian and Hindi are never written small.

Question 11

What is the difference between title case and sentence case?

Accepted Answer

Title case capitalises the main words: A Guide to the Western Ghats. Sentence case capitalises only the first word and any names: A guide to the Western Ghats. Both are correct house styles. Many American publications use title case for headlines; many British newspapers use sentence case. APA uses sentence case for article titles in reference lists. Choose one and keep it.

Question 12

Do you capitalise after a colon?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the style when a full sentence follows. APA and AP capitalise it: One rule matters: Check the name. Most British styles keep it lower case: One rule matters: check the name. Both are correct, so choose one and keep it. A list or phrase after a colon stays small in every style, and a name always keeps its capital.

Question 13

Does every sentence start with a capital letter?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter, whatever the word is: The bus is late. It was raining. After a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark, the next sentence starts tall again. A small letter after a full stop is one of the most common slips in writing, so check each one.

Question 14

Why is I always a capital letter?

Accepted Answer

In English, the word I is always a capital, wherever it sits in a sentence: Can I come? Riya and I went home. A small i on its own looks like a slip, especially in messages. Other words about you stay small in the middle of a sentence: me, my, mine. Only I stands tall every time.

Question 15

Do names of pets take a capital letter?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A pet's name is a name, just like a person's: our dog Bruno, a cat called Motu. First names and surnames both take capitals: Asha Menon, Kofi Mensah. The word before the name stays small if it only says what kind: my friend Asha, our dog Bruno. Friend and dog could be any friend or dog; Asha and Bruno are one.

When does a word need a capital letter?