Capitalizing proper nouns and proper adjectives

Page contents:

  • Proper nouns and adjectives

  • Product names

  • Titles before names

Capitalize proper nouns (those naming specific persons, places, and things) and most proper adjectives (those formed from proper nouns). All other nouns are common nouns and are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence or are used as part of a proper noun: the street where you live, but Elm Street.

Proper nouns and adjectives

Here, proper nouns and adjectives appear on the left and related common nouns and adjectives on the right.

PEOPLE

Ang Lee the film’s director
Nixonian political

NATIONS, NATIONALITIES, ETHNIC GROUPS, AND LANGUAGES

Brazil, Brazilian their native country, his citizenship
Italian American an ethnic group
Cantonese one of the nation’s languages

PLACES

Pacific Ocean an ocean
Hawaiian Islands tropical islands

STRUCTURES AND MONUMENTS

the Lincoln Memorial a monument
the Eiffel Tower a landmark

SHIPS, TRAINS, AIRCRAFT, AND SPACECRAFT

the Queen Mary a cruise ship
the City of New Orleans the 6:00 train

ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, AND GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

United Auto Workers a trade union
Library of Congress a federal agency
Desmond-Fish Library the local library

ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND COURSES

University of Maryland a state university
Political Science 102 my political science course

HISTORICAL EVENTS AND ERAS

the Whiskey Rebellion a revolt
the Renaissance the fifteenth century

RELIGIONS AND RELIGIOUS TERMS

God a deity
the Qur’an a holy book
Catholicism, Catholic a religion, their religious affiliation

TRADE NAMES

Nike running shoes
Cheerios cereal

Product names

Some companies use capitals in the middle of their own or their product’s names. Follow the style you see in company advertising or on the product itself—eBay, FedEx, iPad.

Titles before names

Capitalize titles used before a proper name. When used alone or following a proper name, most titles are not capitalized. One common exception is the word president, which many writers capitalize whenever it refers to the President of the United States.

Chief Justice Roberts John Roberts, the chief justice
Professor Lisa Ede my English professor
Dr. Edward A. Davies Edward A. Davies, our doctor

For Multilingual Writers: English capitalization