First word of a sentence: The dog ran home.
The word I: Today I read a book.
Names of people: Maria, Mr. Lee
Titles before names: Dr. Brown, Queen Elizabeth
Family names used as names: Thank you, Mom (but my mom)
Names of pets: Rex, Whiskers
Days of the week: Monday, Friday
Months: March, December
Holidays: Thanksgiving, Fourth of July
Seasons: Not capitalized: spring, winter
Cities: Chicago, Tokyo
States: Texas, Ohio
Countries: Brazil, Japan
Continents: Africa, Asia
Oceans: Pacific Ocean
Rivers: Mississippi River
Mountains: Mount Everest
Streets: Maple Street
Planets: Mars, Jupiter
Earth: Earth when it is the planet; earth for soil
Directions as places: The South is warm (but go south)
Languages: Spanish, English
Nationalities: American, Mexican
Names of schools: Lincoln Elementary
Names of companies: Nike, Apple
Titles of books: Charlotte's Web
Titles of movies: The Lion King
Small words in titles: Not capitalized unless first or last: Lord of the Rings
First word of a quotation: She said, "Come here."
First word in a letter greeting: Dear Aunt Sue
First word of a closing: Your friend, Sam
Letters of an acronym: NASA, FBI
Initials: J.K. Rowling
Days and months in abbreviations: Mon., Jan.
Common nouns: Not capitalized: dog, city, school
Sun and moon: Usually lowercase: the sun
Names of gods in myths: Zeus, Athena
Names of organizations: United Nations
Historical events: World War II
Documents: Declaration of Independence
Brand names: Coca-Cola
Names of buildings: Empire State Building
Poem lines: Many poems capitalize each line start
Proper adjectives: French fries, Roman numerals
School subjects: Lowercase unless a language: math, science, but English, French
Class names: Capitalize course names: Algebra I
Names of the days: Sunday
Abbreviations of titles: Mr., Ms., Dr.
Government bodies: Congress, the Senate
Titles of songs: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Names of ships: Titanic
Regions: the Midwest

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/la-capitalization-rules