English Grammar: Capitalization

Capitalization

a writing system that uses uppercase letters to signal sentence boundaries, proper identity, and emphasis of structured meaning. (The dog ran)

Sentence boundary capitalization

the rule that the first word of a sentence is always capitalized to mark a new complete thought. (She walked home)

Proper noun capitalization

the rule that specific names of people, places, organizations, and entities are capitalized. (London, Amazon)

Proper noun

a word that names a unique entity rather than a general category. (Japan)

Common noun

a general category of people, places, or things that is not capitalized. (city, company)

Title capitalization

a system where major words in titles are capitalized while minor words are not. (The Lord of the Rings)

Hierarchy marking (capitalization)

the use of capital letters to show importance or structural prominence in text. (NASA)

Context-dependent capitalization

capitalization that changes based on meaning or function in a sentence. (Mom vs my mom)

Directional capitalization rule

the rule that directions are lowercase unless they refer to a specific region. (west vs the West Coast)

Season capitalization rule

the rule that seasons are lowercase unless part of a title or proper name. (spring vs Fall 2022 Collection)

Quotation capitalization rule

the rule that capitalization inside quotes depends on whether the quoted material is a full sentence. ("I am ready.")

Colon capitalization rule

the optional rule where the first word after a colon is capitalized if it begins a full sentence. (One thing mattered

Semantic signaling

the function of capitalization to indicate meaning, structure, and importance in written language.