English
Writing
Punctuation
Capitalisation: First Words and 'I'

Capitalisation: First Words and 'I'

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Content Capitalisation: First Words and 'I'

Capitalisation – Definition
Using Capital Letters

Capitalisation Rules
Important Marks in Sentences

Capitalisation – Example
Capitalisation – Summary
Frequently Asked Questions – Capitalisation

Learning text on the topic Capitalisation: First Words and 'I'

Capitalisation – Definition

Capitalisation means using big (capital) letters at the start of certain words. We use capital letters at the start of sentences and for specific names and words.

Capitalisation is using capital letters at the start of certain words.

Using Capital Letters

There are certain rules that help us decide if we need a capital letter or not. Have a look below for the rules:

Capitalisation Rules

Rule	Description	Examples
First Word in a Sentence	Every sentence starts with a capital letter.	The cat is sleeping. She likes to read. We went to the park.
Names of People and Places	Names of people and places always start with a capital letter.	Tom lives in London. Alice visited Paris. Mr. Smith teaches in New York.
Days of the Week	The names of the days always start with a capital letter.	Monday, Tuesday, etc. Wednesday is my favourite day. We will meet on Friday.
The Pronoun 'I'	When you talk about yourself, always use a capital 'I'.	I am happy. I have a dog. I love ice cream.

Important Marks in Sentences

In some cases, you will see that punctuation plays an important role in capitalisation. After these marks of punctuation, the first letter of the word will always be capitalised.

Full Stop (.): Used at the end of a sentence.
- Example: I like to play.
Question Mark (?): Used at the end of a question.
- Example: Are you coming?
Exclamation Mark (!): Used to show excitement or surprise.
- Example: Wow! That's great!

Capitalisation – Example

Let's practise capitalisation with a few sentences.

Rewrite this sentence with correct capitalisation: "the dog ran to john."

Which words should be capitalised: "i went to the park on saturday."

Correct this sentence: "is mary coming with us?"

Capitalisation – Summary

Key Learnings from this Text:

We use capital letters very often in our writing. The key rules for capitalisation are:

First word in a sentence: Always use a capital letter.
Names of people and places: Start with a capital letter.
Days of the week: Always use a capital letter.
The pronoun 'I': Always capitalise 'I'.
End of a sentence: Use a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

By understanding these rules, you can write sentences correctly and understand when to use capital letters.

Frequently Asked Questions – Capitalisation

What is capitalisation?

When do we use a capital letter?

Give an example of a sentence with correct capitalisation.

Which days of the week need a capital letter?

How do we write the pronoun 'I'?

What punctuation marks are used at the end of a sentence?

Correct this sentence: "jane and i went to the park."

When should we use an exclamation mark?

What is the capital letter for the name "george"?

Where does a full stop go in a sentence?

Capitalisation: First Words and 'I' exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the learning text Capitalisation: First Words and 'I'.

Can you find the capital letters?

Hints

Think about letters you see at the beginning of a sentence, these are capital letters.

Use this picture of the alphabet in capital letters to help you.

Solution

Here we can see the capital letters highlighted.
They are T, I, H, K and M.
The letters a, e, r and q are lower case letters.
When do we use capital letters?
Hints

This sentence has capital letters in the correct places:
Sam and I like to paint.

Do all of the capital letters look correct in this sentence?
i cAn rUn.

There are two true options and one false option.

Solution
These options are true. We use capital letters...
- for the first word in a sentence
- for the word I.
This option is false. We don't use capital letters...
- in the middle of a word.
Can you find the mistakes?
Hints

We always use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence.

The word I always needs to be a capital letter.

There are four mistakes to highlight.

Solution
1. I should always be a capital. The correct sentence is: I see Koko.
2. The o in going should not be a capital. The correct sentence is: We are going to the park.
3. The first T should be a capital as it is the first letter in the sentence. The second t should be lower case. The correct sentence is: The swings are the best.
Can you complete the sentences?
Hints

We always start sentences with capital letters.

I should always be a capital letter.

There are four capital letters to fill in and two lower case letters.

Solution
Here are the correct sentences:
- Koko is my friend.
- Koko and I like to paint.
- We can paint a rainbow.
Which sentences have capital letters in the correct places?
Hints

We use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence.

We always write I with a capital letter.

We don't use capital letters in the middle of a word.

There are two correct choices.

Solution
These sentences have capital letters in the correct places:
- I am six.
- Tom is ten.
These sentences do not have capital letters in the correct places:
- i Got uP. This should be: I got up.
- hE got His bag. This should be: He got his bag.
Can you complete the story?

Hints

Always start a sentence with a capital letter.

Always use a capital letter for the word I.

Solution

Once there was a squirrel named Sammy. He liked to play with his friends. One day, Sammy found a big acorn. "I will plant this," he said. Sammy was very happy.