✨ Capitalization Rules: Titles Before Names
Sometimes we use titles before people’s names. A title shows respect or tells us about someone’s job or role. Examples of titles are Doctor, President, Mr., Mrs., Miss, Professor, Captain.
But here’s the rule:
- Capitalize the title when it comes before a person’s name.
- Use lowercase when the title is general (not with a name).
🟢 Rule 1: Capitalize Titles Before Names
When a title is used with a person’s name, it becomes part of the proper noun. That means the first letter must be capitalized.
Examples:
- ✅ Doctor Silva is kind.
- ✅ President Wickremesinghe gave a speech.
- ✅ Mr. Perera is my neighbor.
- ✅ Mrs. Fernando teaches English.
- ✅ Professor Jayasinghe wrote a book.
- ✅ Captain America is a superhero.
❌ Wrong: doctor Silva is kind.
❌ Wrong: president Wickremesinghe gave a speech.
🟡 Rule 2: Lowercase Titles When General
When the title is used without a name, it is not a proper noun anymore. It’s just a common noun, so it stays lowercase.
Examples:
- ✅ The doctor is kind.
- ✅ The president spoke to the crowd.
- ✅ My teacher is helpful.
- ✅ The professor explained the lesson.
- ✅ The captain steered the ship.
❌ Wrong: The Doctor is kind. (unless it’s a name or title in a story)
🧩 More Examples to Practice
- ✅ Mr. Smith is my math teacher.
- ✅ The teacher is strict.
- ✅ Queen Elizabeth was a famous monarch.
- ✅ The queen ruled wisely.
- ✅ General Fonseka is respected.
- ✅ The general led the army.
👉 Notice how the title changes depending on whether it’s used with a name or not.
🔄 American vs. British English Differences
The capitalization rules for titles are the same in both American and British English.
The difference is only in the style of titles used:
| Feature | American English | British English |
| Common titles | Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Prof., President | Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr, Prof, Prime Minister |
| Punctuation | Americans often use a period after abbreviations (Mr., Dr., Prof.) | British English often leaves out the period (Mr, Dr, Prof) |
| Capitalization | Same rule: capitalize with names, lowercase when general | Same rule: capitalize with names, lowercase when general |
Examples:
- American English:
- ✅ Dr. Brown is my dentist.
- ✅ The doctor is kind.
- British English:
- ✅ Dr Brown is my dentist.
- ✅ The doctor is kind.
👉 The only difference is the period after abbreviations, not the capitalization.
🧪 Practice Sentences
Fix the capitalization mistakes:
- wrong: doctor Perera is kind.
fix: Doctor Perera is kind. - wrong: the President spoke to the people.
fix: The president spoke to the people. - wrong: mr. Silva is my uncle.
fix: Mr. Silva is my uncle. - wrong: the Queen was wise.
fix: The queen was wise.
🎯 Summary
- Capitalize titles when used with names.
- Example: Doctor Silva, President Wickremesinghe, Mr. Perera
- Lowercase titles when general.
- Example: The doctor is kind, The president spoke
- American vs. British English → Same capitalization rules, but British English often drops the period after abbreviations.