Capitalization Rules Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: L.3.2.A

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

Capital letters help provide concrete signals for readers. Anything that could help you communicate your message more effectively to your audience is something that you should use regularly in your work. There are many different traditional rules of capitalizing letters. Capital letters are used for many different purposes, but they are primarily used to indicate where a sentence begins. They are also used for important words with a title and to indicate proper names. The worksheets in this section will help students become more familiar with the rules of capitalization and enhance their ability to communicate their thoughts in written form.

Capitalization Rules Worksheets:

Checklist - Check off each situation in which a letter should be capitalized.

Practice - Correct everything that you see may need some work.

Sentence Level - Rewrite the entire sentence, making changes as needed.

Proper Nouns - Circle the words that are proper nouns. It may help to draw them, if you get stuck.

First Letter of Sentences - Remember not all nouns require a capital.

Writing Days and Months - Rewrite all the dates that you are given in proper syntax.

Nationality - Rewrite each sentence.

Practice - This makes for a nice review sheet for students.

Titles of Books - When you write the title of a book, all of the important words in the title get capitalized. Small words like a, an, and the only get this treatment if they are the first word in the title.

Stick to the Rules - You will see how there is no life in those sentences.

Scavenger Hunt - Find at least 24 things in your classroom whose names should be capitalized. Write them on the lines. How many rules are represented on your list?

Plain Words - Put all that you have learned together to complete this worksheet.

In Action - Now you must answer questions putting these skills to work.

Corrections - You will play the role of teacher here.

Names of Holidays - See how you can apply what you have learned today.

What Are The Capitalization Rules?

The English language is incredibly complex. You might think you know all the capitalization rules, such as capitalizing the first letter of a name or every first letter in the sentence. However, there is so much more to capitalization, and exceptions are made in a few cases.

 

Capitalize the First Letter in a Sentence

An easy and obvious rule of capitalization is to capitalize the first letter.

Examples:

  • The door is open.
  • The book is on the shelf.
  • The mirror is dirty.




 

 

Capitalize Names and Proper Nouns


Proper nouns are names of people, things, or places and need to be capitalized in a sentence, no matter where they are placed. Proper nouns include names of companies, countries, political parties, and religions. Words like Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma are also capitalized when they're referring to a person instead of their name.

Examples:

  • You have to come and see this, Mom.
  • I am going to visit the Eiffel Tower this weekend.
  • The weather in Texas is unbearable.
  • I speak two languages; English and French.

 










Capitalize the Majority of Titles

You also need to capitalize the majority of titles in English. When addressing them, you also need to capitalize the first letter of someone's profession, such as Doctor, Secretary, Judge, etc. This leaves conjunctions, prepositions, and articles in lowercase.

Example: You will have to visit Doctor Andrews.

 



Don't Capitalize After a Colon


Another common capitalization rule is not to capitalize after a colon. Since the sentence after a colon isn't a new sentence, it doesn't need capitalization. But there are a few exceptions. If the sentence after a colon starts from a pronoun, it needs to be capitalized. Similarly, if there are two or more complete sentences, the first letter will also be capitalized.

 

Examples:

  • There are two choices at this time: run away or fight.
  • He wanted to see three cities in Italy: Rome, Florence, and Venice.

 








Capitalize Locations


An unusual capitalization rule is to capitalize locations if they are part of a name. For example, North America, Southern California, etc., will be capitalized. But if they are not part of the name, they will remain in lowercase.

Examples:

  • We went to Southern California for our holidays.
  • The northern part of the United States isn't the most hospitable place.

 








Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays


The first letters of days, months, and holidays of a year are capitalized because they are proper nouns. People often capitalize seasons as well, but since they are not proper nouns, they are not capitalized.

Examples:

  • I am dreading Monday.
  • I wish Christmas could last for months.
  • I enjoy winters because of the snow.

 








Capitalize First Words in Quotes


Another capitalization rule is to capitalize the first word in quotes, but only if it's part of a larger sentence and is a complete sentence. You don't need to capitalize it if it's just a partial quote.

Examples:

  • Sarah answered, "My sister and I are going to the shopping mall."
  • Hemingway said the way to learn if someone is "trustworthy" is "to trust him."

 











Other common capitalization rules include:

  • Capitalize trademark names.
  • Capitalize events and periods.
  • Capitalize initials and acronyms.