What is a sentence? How can we find clearly? Use the following to get an idea of Capitalization Rules.
- Definition: A sentence expresses a complete thought and usually ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.
- Start point: The first letter after end‑of‑sentence punctuation is the beginning of a new sentence and must be capitalized.
- Example: The girl is reading. She enjoys novels.
1.1.1
The core rule
- Rule: Capitalize the first word in every sentence.
- Reason: It signals a clear start for readers and matches standard English conventions in academic and professional writing.
- Examples:
- The girl is reading.
- English helps us communicate.
- Can you help me?
1.1.2
Tricky cases to watch
- After quotations:
- Complete quoted sentence: Capitalize the first word.
- She said, “This book is amazing.”
- Partial quote within your sentence: Do not capitalize unless it starts the sentence.
- She said the book was “amazing and inspiring.” Read more
- Complete quoted sentence: Capitalize the first word.
- After end punctuation in the same line:
- Multiple sentences: Each new sentence begins with a capital.
- It’s raining. Bring an umbrella. Stay warm.
- Multiple sentences: Each new sentence begins with a capital.
- After a colon:
- General rule: Don’t capitalize the first word after a colon unless it starts a complete sentence or a proper noun.
- Bring three things: water, snacks, and a jacket.
- Remember: Practice makes progress.
- General rule: Don’t capitalize the first word after a colon unless it starts a complete sentence or a proper noun.
- Parentheses and dashes:
- Inside a sentence: Keep lowercase if it’s not a new sentence.
- She studies English (every evening) to improve.
- If the parenthetical is a full sentence: Capitalize.
- (She studies every evening.) Her progress shows.
- After an em dash: Capitalize only if it begins a new sentence.
- She paused—Then she spoke clearly.
- Inside a sentence: Keep lowercase if it’s not a new sentence.
- Bulleted and numbered lists:
- Full‑sentence items: Capitalize the first word.
- 1. Read the passage carefully.
- Phrase fragments: Lowercase is acceptable in informal contexts; capitalize for formal or exam settings.
- Full‑sentence items: Capitalize the first word.
- Dialogue tags:
- Tag + quoted sentence: Capitalize inside the quote.
- He asked, “Are you ready?”
- Quoted sentence + tag: The quoted sentence already begins with a capital.
- “We’ll start now,” she said.
- Tag + quoted sentence: Capitalize inside the quote.
1.1.3
Common mistakes and quick fixes
- Starting with lowercase:
- Wrong: the story begins at dawn.
- Fix: The story begins at dawn.
- Sentence after an abbreviation:
- Wrong: She arrived at 7 a.m. then left.
- Fix: She arrived at 7 a.m. Then she left.
- New sentence after parentheses:
- Wrong: She practiced daily (even on weekends). this helped a lot.
- Fix: She practiced daily (even on weekends). This helped a lot.