CHAPTER 6 Capitalization^129
Old English: my aunt jane takes the kids by bus to toy outlet to choose some
treats.Eighteenth-century Modern English: My Aunt Jane takes the Kids by Bus to
Toy Outlet to choose some Treats.Tw e n t y- fi rst-century English: My Aunt Jane takes the kids by bus to Toy
Outlet to choose some treats.Modern Rules of Capitalization
Capitalization custom varies among languages. The full rules of capitalization for
English are complicated, but they have changed over time, generally to capitalize
fewer terms. To the modern reader, an eighteenth-century document seems to use
initial capitals excessively. Compared with Old English and English used in the
eighteenth century, current capitalization strives to clarify the text. For example, a
capital letter signals the beginning of a new thought. Capitals also clarify by distin-
guishing between common nouns and proper names... and those are just two
among many rules! Here are capitalization rules you need to master.
RULES OF CAPITALIZATION
- Capitalize the fi rst letter of the fi rst word in a sentence.
Books make a great gift. - Capitalize the pronoun I and the interjection O or Oh.
I decided to stay home for dinner.
And Oh! that even now the gust were swelling (“Dejection,” a poem
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)- Capitalize the fi rst letter of the fi rst word in each new line of poetry if the
poet has capitalized it.
What is so rare as a day in June? - Capitalize the deity, place names, street names, persons’ names and initials,
organization names, languages, and specifi c course names.