English Grammar: Capitalization

In English grammar, it's far more common to capitalize a word which should not be capitalized, than to fail to capitalize a word which should be capitalized.

Many writers capitalize the names of certain things which they consider important or crucial to their subject, but which are not in the title, such as "Life" and "Death."

Occasionally there is an almost random pattern of capitalization, in which the writer arbitrarily capitalizes words which he wishes to emphasize. For example, one might write, "I went to the House to find Sally, and there was a Dog in the yard that Bit me." In this sentence, only "I" and "Sally" are properly capitalized.

The basic rules of capitalization are very strict about what should and should not be capitalized.

The First Word of Every Sentence

In English grammar, the first word of every sentence should always be capitalized, regardless of whether the first word is in quotes or not. This is wrong:

"He said, "you People just don't Know anything.'"

Corrected, the sentence would read:

"He said, 'You people just don't know anything.'"

Pronouns

In English grammar, the proper pronoun, "I" is always capitalized. Other than that, only pronouns which begin a sentence, or which refer to deities should be capitalized. The following is incorrect.

"I spoke to Jesus Gonzales in my dream, and He responded."

Since Jesus Gonzales is clearly not a deity, "he" should be in lower case. This is an example of proper capitalization, in regards to a deity.

"I spoke to Jesus of Nazareth in my dream, and He responded."

Religion

Similarly, the names of holy people, places and objects are always capitalized in English grammar. However, holy experiences are not capitalized. This is wrong:

"In my Vision, the virgin Mary was holding the holy bible in her hand."

Corrected, this would read:

"In my vision, the Virgin Mary was holding the Holy Bible in her hand."

The names of religions and their followers should be capitalized. This is wrong:

"The christians and the muslims are always at odds with each other."

The properly capitalized sentence would read:

"The Christians and the Muslims are always at odds with each other.