Aug 16 2011
Words Which Should Not Be Capitalized in a Title
Everything but articles, coordinating conjunctions and prepositions should be capitalized in titles.
Which words should not be capitalized in a title?
- Articles: a, an, & the.
- Coordinate conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet & so (FANBOYS).
- Prepositions, such as at, around, by, after, along, for, from, of, on, to, with & without. (According to the Chicago Manual of Style, all prepositions should be uncapitalized in a title. NIVA and I recommend capitalizing prepositions 5+ letters long).
Which words should be capitalized in a title?
- The first and last words should always be capitalized, even if they’re in the above list.
- All nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs should be capitalized.
- Subordinate conjunctions, such as after, as, because, how, who, if, than, what, why, that, when, where, whether & while.
- Commonly missed words: it (pronoun), is (verb), be (verb) and their/our/my (adjective) should all be capitalized.
In most nonprofessional settings (such as schoolwork and blogging), you’ll be fine as long as you’re pretty close. In professional publishing, it’d be advantageous to know the finer points, but I think a minor error would be excusable in a novel manuscript.
- INCORRECT BUT PROBABLY CLOSE ENOUGH: Keep it Close. (Pronouns like it should be capitalized).
- INSTANT REJECTION: the legend of Slaughter hill. This author obviously didn’t proofread and/or is entirely clueless.
Pffft, my method was always to not capitalize tiny words like ‘of’ and ‘as’ if they weren’t first.
That’s usually correct, Grenac, but some short words (such as it, be, are, is, my, our, and B. Mac) should be capitalized in a title. However, I think that’s definitely close enough for school/nonprofessional use.
I get ‘that’ wrong every time, so I’m v. happy to see that it’s on both lists. (Now I have to figure the difference between a proposition and a subordinate conjunction.)
Completely unprofessional, I know (I deserve slaps), but I repeat the title over in my head and capitalise all the words that feel like they should be important.
Whether By Luck or Some In-Built, Subconscious Comprehension of English Grammar, It Serves Me Quite Well (but is clearly why I sometimes make mistakes).
Yes! A wonderful reference article. I think I needed this.
Thank you!!!
I am yet to write an external examination and this is exactly what I need. Thanks!!
This is ridiculous, just write a script and be done with it.
“This is ridiculous, just write a script and be done with it.” I agree that writing the script/manuscript is the most important thing, but proofreading also matters. In a different context (a split-test for a marketing agency), we added ~$1 million in annual sales for a client by using standard title capitalization in their coupons.
This is a very useful article, and it’s really helped me make sense of something I occasionally struggle with. Thanks B. Mac!
Should the word ‘other’ be capitalized in a title?
“Should the word ‘other’ be capitalized in a title?” Yes. (It could be used as an adjective or a noun, and both are capitalized).
This tool will automatically capitalize your titles: http://capitalizemytitle.com/
Bobby, I think it’s helpful. Nice work!
Hah! You’re all just lackeys to the Capitalist system!
(Sorry, I cuoldn’t resist. I’ll get my subordinate conjunctions and leave).
“You’re all just lackeys to the Capitalist system!” I’m a marketer. I’m running the crazy train! 🙂
The title “the legend of Slaughter hill” would be acceptable for a poem. In fact, it’s more interesting that way.
“The title “the legend of Slaughter hill” would be acceptable for a poem. In fact, it’s more interesting that way.” If the editorial assistant knew it was intentional, maybe. But I feel the title “Legend of Slaughter Hill” (regardless of capitalization) suggests amateurism rather than the sixth coming of e e cummings. It sounds like a self-published horror story or, possibly, Carrie fan-fiction.
I am in the process of submitting a manuscript to an agent. I have always believed that titles of movies and books are capitalized or italicized-even when referring to them in a manuscript. I just wanted to verify that belief.
I’d recommend capitalizing and italicizing the title of a book or movie within your manuscript. Fortunately, this issue is low-stakes, bordering on no-stakes. If your manuscript is otherwise publishable, a prospective agent or publisher would certainly not pass on it because of a non-italicized title.
At one point I took a semester of Grammar and Punctuation. The instructor simply wrote down a list of the words you don’t capitalize in a title. How I wish I kept that, it was very clear and easy to refer to. This is not.
Under Chicago style, these words should not be capitalized in a title unless they come first or last. If the following list is much more helpful than the article above, I’d recommend getting a refund on anything you paid for that class on grammar and punctuation.
a
aboard
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
among
an
and
anti
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
but
by
concerning
considering
despite
down
during
except
excepting
excluding
following
for
from
in
inside
into
like
minus
near
of
off
on
onto
opposite
or
outside
over
past
per
plus
regarding
round
save
since
so
than
the
through
to
toward
towards
under
underneath
unlike
until
up
upon
versus
via
with
within
without
yet
can i capalize ‘to’?
Unless it’s the first word of a title, “to” shouldn’t be capitalized in a title (e.g. “View to a Kill”). Please see above list.
This is so helpful! Thank you such I always though it and is shouldn’t be capitalized! 🙂
Is ‘does’ capitalized?
Yes – “does” gets capitalized because it’s a verb.
I should remember this when I am writing in English. In my native language, you never capitalize adjektives, nouns, adverbs, or verb. Unless they are the first word in sentence.
Should the non-standard contraction “outta” be capitalised?
Yeah, “Outta” should be capitalized.
Gerund? Dallas Is Pleased to Welcome Senator Smith, or Dallas is Pleased To Welcome Senator Smith?
No capitalization for “to” – it’s a preposition. Also, if we’re getting really nitpicky, I think “to welcome” is infinitive rather than gerund. (I think the gerund is a verb used as a noun, e.g. “Smoking is legal” or “If we were major campaign donors, Senator Smith would be pleased to give us a welcoming like you wouldn’t believe”).
should did be capitalized
Yes, “Did” is a verb.
Can I capitalize was?
“Can I capitalize was?” Yes, verbs (like “was”) should be capitalized in a title.
If the word “so” is being used as an adverb and not a conjunction, can it be capitalized in a title?
Yes, I would capitalize So as an adverb, e.g. A River So Deadly.
Can I capitalize “can”?
Yes, do capitalize “Can”. It’s either a verb or noun.
The band The The should actually be known as The the.
Ooh, great situation with The The. “the” is usually uncapitalized when used as an article, but the second “The” in The The should be capitalized because it appears to be a noun.
Alternatively if The were a non-English word (e.g. a Vietnamese dish) capitalizing it would make sense, even though “the” usually doesn’t get capitalized.
Also, I think capitalizing every word in a band makes sense. Hell, KISS capitalized everything. 😄
What or who is NIVA?
how about home ?
“Home” should be capitalized in a title. (It’s usually used as a noun, and nouns are capitalized. “Home” can also be used as an adjective or verb, and both of those are capitalized as well).
What about the word “NOT” in a title?
Souls Are Not Inherently Immortal
Souls Can Be Destroyed
“Not” should be capitalized in a title (it’s an adverb).
What about “All”?
Yes, “All” should be capitalized in a title.
It feels so wrong to capitalize “if”, but I trust you!
“It feels so wrong to capitalize “if”, but I trust you!” I agree a capital If looks unintuitive, but it is widely capitalized in book titles. (E.g. searching for books on Amazon which use “if” in their title, 28 of the first 30 capitalized if. Methodology: I looked at books where “if” was not the first/last word, and I excluded one title entirely uncapitalized).
Can I capitalize the word “away” in the title: “… Moves away from Their Site..”
Yes, “away” should be capitalized in a title. It’s an adverb.
What about genuine???*
Yes to “Genuine”. Adjectives are capitalized in titles.
Hey B. Mac. I sent you an email on October 1st. I haven’t gotten a response yet. Thank you.
Ken, I’ve sent you an email. (Thanks for waiting, I haven’t seen many ~1940s movies recently and I needed to review).
McKenzie! You’re awsome! I found that this website was published on August 16th, 2011, and the last time you replied is about 21 days ago! I think you wrote that you are a marketer? I hope you succeed! I was writing an New York Times essay! =)
my, their, and our are not adjectives. they are possesive pronouns
Thank you
You really ought to mention that these rules apply to the US. In other countries, American rules for title-case come over as very ugly. In the UK you’re much more likely to see titles as in, for example
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
where only a few important keywords are capitalised.
This is Chicago style (mentioned maybe 25 words in). Please disregard if your publisher/organization does not use Chicago style.