HSPT: Capitalization: capitals mark specific names
Learn which words take capital letters, including the tricky cases: school subjects, titles, compass directions and place names.
How do you tell which words in a sentence need capital letters?
Short answer
Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the name of one specific person, place, day, month, holiday, language or thing. General words, ordinary verbs, seasons, most school subjects and plain compass directions stay lowercase.
Know first: Common and proper nouns, Titles such as Mr., Dr. and Aunt
Step 1 of 5
Capitals mark names, not importance
A proper noun names one particular person, place or thing: Chicago, Friday, Lake Erie, Mrs. Okafor. A common noun names a general kind: city, day, lake, neighbor. Proper nouns get capitals. Common nouns don't, unless they begin the sentence.
For each word, ask one question: is this the name of one specific thing, or a general word anyone could use? Verbs, adjectives and other ordinary words are never names, so they stay lowercase.
| Category | Capitalize | Keep lowercase |
|---|---|---|
| Places | Chicago, Texas, Canada | the city, a state, our country |
| Time | Friday, March, Thanksgiving | weekend, spring, summer |
| School | French, English, Lincoln Middle School | science, math, art, middle school |
| People | Doctor Lin, Mayor Grant, Aunt Rosa | the doctor, our mayor, my aunt |
| Geography | the Rocky Mountains, the Nile River | the mountains, a river |
| Directions | the South, the Midwest (regions) | drove north, east of town |
Languages are capitalized because they come from the names of peoples and places. Other subjects are general words.
Step 2 of 5
Sort names from general words
Worked example: A title, a direction and a lake
Choose the correctly capitalized sentence.
- AAunt Rosa drove North to see Lake Superior.
- Baunt Rosa drove north to see Lake Superior.
- CAunt Rosa drove north to see Lake superior.
- DAunt Rosa drove north to see Lake Superior.
- 1
Find the names
Aunt Rosa is a title right before a name, and it starts the sentence, so Aunt is capitalized. Lake Superior is the full name of one lake, so both words are capitalized.
- 2
Check the general words
North here only tells which way she drove. It doesn't name a region, so it stays lowercase. Drove and see are ordinary verbs.
- 3
Explain the wrong choices
The first capitalizes a plain direction. The second leaves the first word of the sentence lowercase. The third capitalizes only half of the lake's name.
Answer
D. Aunt Rosa drove north to see Lake Superior.
Find the wrong step
A student corrects this sentence: my brother takes french and Science at lincoln middle school.
- 1
Capitalizes My because it starts the sentence.
- 2
Capitalizes French because it's a language.
- 3
Keeps Science capitalized because it's a school subject, like French.
What went wrong
Among school subjects, only languages are capitalized. Science is a general word.
- 4
Capitalizes Lincoln Middle School because it's the name of one school.
The fix
My brother takes French and science at Lincoln Middle School.
Step 3 of 5
Find the names yourself
Check yourself · Question 1
Choose the correctly capitalized sentence.
Answer: C
Thanksgiving names a holiday and November names a month, so both are capitalized. Celebrate is an ordinary verb.
Check yourself · Question 2
Choose the correctly capitalized sentence.
Answer: A
The Midwest names a region of the country, so it's capitalized. South of Atlanta only points a direction, so south stays lowercase.
Trap answer: Our family moved from the Midwest to a town South of Atlanta.
Direction treated as a region
- Why it looks right
- Midwest is capitalized in the same sentence, so the other direction word seems to need a capital too.
- Why it's wrong
- The Midwest is the name of an area. South of Atlanta tells which way the town is from the city, so it's a plain direction.
- The right answer
- Capitalize Midwest and leave south lowercase.
Check yourself · Question 3
Choose the correctly capitalized sentence.
Answer: B
Coach comes right before a name, so it's capitalized. The mayor has no name after it, so it stays lowercase.
Common mistake
Capitalizing words that feel important.
- Why it's tempting
- Words like Team, Science or Summer seem big or special, so a capital looks right.
- Do this instead
- Importance doesn't decide it. Ask whether the word is the name of one specific person, place, day, month, holiday or language. If it isn't, keep it lowercase.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Capitalize names of specific people, places, days, months, holidays and languages, plus the first word of the sentence.
- Capitalize a title only right before a name, and capitalize every main word of a full place name.
- Keep seasons, most school subjects, plain directions and ordinary verbs lowercase.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, which words were names of specific things, and which tempting capital was on an ordinary word?