Capitalisation Rules for Nouns
There are rules established in English for when capitalisation is called for. For example, at the beginning of a sentence, a capital letter must be used for the first word. In addition, there are rules set for when nouns call for capitalisation.
For the first person personal pronoun “I”
Examples:
- I proofread every piece of writing for readability.
- You and I both value accessibility.
The titles of works
This can include art, films, books or pieces of music.
Examples:
- Lifting The Fog Of Legalese: Essays On Plain Language
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Titanic
For the names and titles of people
Examples:
- Rudolf Flesch
- Barack Obama
For months of the year and days of the week
In some European languages, such as Italian, capitalisation is used sparingly and not used for days of the week or months of the year. However, in English, both these types of nouns are capitalised.
Examples:
- Tuesday
- November
- Sunday
- April
For public holidays
Public holidays are capitalised, but not bank holidays.
Examples:
- New Year’s Day
- Easter Monday
For countries and continents
Examples:
- Africa
- China
For counties, regions or states
Examples:
- North Yorkshire
- Texas
For geographical nouns
Examples:
- The Nile
- The Alps
For nationality-based adjectives
Examples:
- French cuisine
- Russian literature
For nationality-based nouns
This can relate to languages or a person’s nationality.
Examples:
- His first language is German.
- She has a particular interest in Australian animals.
