Capitalisation rules for nouns

Capitalisation rules for nouns

Capital letters are used with particular types of nouns, in certain positions in sentences, and with some adjectives. You must always use capital letters for:

The beginning of a sentence

Examples

• Dogs are noisy.
• Children are noisy too.

The first person personal pronoun, I

Examples

• Yesterday, I went to the park.
• He isn't like I am.

Names and titles of people

Examples

• Winston Churchill
• Marilyn Monroe
• the Queen of England
• the President of the United States
• the Headmaster of Eton
• Doctor Mathews
• Professor Samuels

Titles of works, books, movies

Examples

• War and Peace
• The Merchant of Venice
• Crime and Punishment
• Spider Man II

Months of the year

Examples

• January
• July
• February
• August

Days of the week

Examples

• Monday
• Friday
• Tuesday
• Saturday

Seasons

Examples

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

Holidays

Examples

• Christmas
• Easter
• New Year's Day
• Thanksgiving Day

Names of countries and continents

Examples

• America
• England
• Scotland
• China

Names of regions, states, districts

Examples

• Sussex
• California
• Provence
• Tuscany

Names of cities, towns, villages

Examples

• London
• Cape Town
• Florence
• Vancouver

Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes

Examples

• the Atlantic
• the Pacific
• Lake Victoria
• the Rhine
• the Thames

Names of geographical formations

Examples

• the Himalayas
• the Alps
• the Sahara

Adjectives relating to nationality

Examples

• French music
• Australian animals
• German literature
• Arabic writing

Collective nouns for nationalities

Examples

• the French
• the Germans
• the Americans
• the Chinese

Language names

Examples

• I speak Chinese.
• He understands English.

Names of streets, buildings, parks

Examples

• Park Lane
• Sydney Opera House
• Central Park
• the Empire State Building
• Wall Street