Correct capitalisation errors
Key Notes:
Capitalise the names of people and pets.
| Laura | Sparky |
|---|
Capitalise a title of respect if it is used with a name or as a name. Do not capitalise a title of respect if it is used as a common noun.
| Prince William | Dr Chen |
|---|---|
| a prince | the doctor |
Capitalise the title of a family member if it is used with a name or as a name. Do not capitalise the title of a family member if it is used as a common noun.
| Mummy | Uncle Dave |
|---|---|
| my mother | an uncle |
Capitalise initials.
| J. K. Rowling | US | DVD | BBC |
|---|
Capitalise the names of months, days of the week and holidays, including words like Day and Eve.
| January | Monday | New Year’s Eve |
|---|
Capitalise the names of historical events, periods and documents.
| Battle of Culloden | Renaissance | Magna Carta |
|---|
Capitalise languages, religions, nationalities and ethnic or cultural groups.
| Arabic | Hinduism | Canadian | Hopi |
|---|
Capitalise proper adjectives and words derived from the names of people.
| Italian food | Elizabethan |
|---|
Capitalise the names of places:
- Cities, nations, countries and other political divisions
| London | Hong Kong | Yorkshire | Spain |
|---|
- Places built by people, such as buildings, bridges, streets and monuments
| Linden High School | Clifton Suspension Bridge | |
|---|
- Geographical features, such as bodies of water, mountains, deserts, forests and continents
| Nile River | Gobi Desert | Antarctica |
|---|
Capitalise a direction word (north, south, east, west) if it is used as the name of a particular region. Do not capitalise a direction word if it is not used as the name of a region.
| the South West | the North |
|---|---|
| driving southwest | the northern horizon |
Capitalise the names of formal organisations:
- Government bodies, such as legislatures, courts and official departments
| Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs | Guy’s Hospital |
|---|
- Companies and businesses
| Arcadia | British Airways | Tesco |
|---|
- Nonprofits, clubs, teams and political parties
| Arsenal | Labour Party | Scouts | Red Cross |
|---|
Do not capitalise a word like the or of, unless it is the first word of the sentence.
| the Parliament Act | the Soviet Union |
|---|
Learn with an example
Click to correct the one capitalisation error.
- According to findings revealed by Italian researchers in 2014, king tut suffered from a club foot that prevented him from walking without assistence. This could explain why the egyptian pharaoh was buried with more than one hundred canes.
Italian, King Tut and Egyptian should be capitalised.
| Italian is a nationality. |
|---|
| King Tut is a name with a title of respect. |
| Egyptian is a nationality. |
- The first word of every sentence should also be capitalised.
- No other words in the text should be capitalised.
Click to correct the one capitalisation error.
- The four largest moons of Jupiter, which are known as galilean satellites, where discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.
Jupiter, Galilean, Italian and Galileo Galilei should be capitalised.
| Jupiter is the name of a planet. |
|---|
| Galilean is derived from the name of a person. |
| Italian is a nationality. |
| Galileo Galilei is a name. |
- The first word of every sentence should also be capitalised.
- No other words in the text should be capitalised.
Click to correct the one capitalisation error.
- Beginning around 400 BCE, Babylonian astronomers studied objects in the night sky and used their observations to predict eclipses and other events. They recognised five planets, including mars, which they associated with their warrior-hero god, Nergal.
BCE, Babylonian, Mars and Nergal should be capitalised.
| BCE is a set of initials. |
|---|
| Babylonian is a proper adjective. |
| Mars is the name of a planet. |
| Nergal is a name. |
- The first word of every sentence should also be capitalised.
- No other words in the text should be capitalised.
let’s practice!
