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Learn which words get capital letters in titles so your book reports and stories look just right!
Have you ever looked at the cover of a book and noticed that some words start with big (capital) letters and some words start with little (lowercase) letters? That is not an accident! People have followed title capitalization rules for hundreds of years so that titles look neat and are easy to read.
Titles are special. They are the names of books, songs, movies, poems, and more. Just like your own name starts with a capital letter, titles follow their own set of rules about capital letters.
So the big question is: which words in a title get a capital letter and which ones stay small? That is exactly what this lesson will teach you!
There are a few simple rules to follow. Once you know them, you will be a title-writing expert! Let's look at the four most important rules.
Let's look at a real title and see which words are capitalized and which are not. The title below is for a made-up book. The blue words get capital letters. The pink words stay lowercase.
In the title The Cat in the Hat, the words "The," "Cat," and "Hat" all start with capital letters. "In" and "the" (the second "the") stay lowercase because they are small connecting words and are not the first or last word.
When you are writing a title, you can follow these steps for each word. Think of it like a checklist! Ask yourself these questions, one at a time.
Here is the easy way to remember it: if the word is the first word, the last word, or an important word, capitalize it. If it is a small connecting word in the middle of the title, keep it lowercase.
Let's sort words into two groups: important words that get capitalized, and small connecting words that usually stay lowercase. This table will help you see the difference.
| Type of Word | What It Does | Examples | Capitalize? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names a person, place, or thing | Dog, School, Harry | Yes ✓ |
| Verb | Shows an action or state | Run, Is, Fly, Eat | Yes ✓ |
| Adjective | Describes a noun | Big, Red, Happy | Yes ✓ |
| Adverb | Describes a verb | Quickly, Very, Never | Yes ✓ |
| Article | A tiny word before a noun | a, an, the | No ✗ * |
| Preposition | Shows place or direction | in, on, of, to, for | No ✗ * |
| Conjunction | Connects words or ideas | and, but, or | No ✗ * |
* Unless they are the first or last word of the title — then capitalize them!
Let's capitalize a real title together, step by step. Imagine you wrote a story and you need to fix the title. The title is: "the adventures of a tiny bear"
Great job! Two words stay lowercase ("of" and "a") because they are small connecting words in the middle. The other four words are all capitalized.
Even grown-ups sometimes make mistakes with title capitalization! Here are the most common mistakes and how to fix them.
| Mistake | Wrong Way | Right Way |
|---|---|---|
| Capitalizing every single word | Harry And The Big Dog | Harry and the Big Dog |
| Forgetting to capitalize the first word | a wrinkle in time | A Wrinkle in Time |
| Keeping important words lowercase | The cat in the hat | The Cat in the Hat |
| Forgetting to capitalize the last word | Where the Wild Things are | Where the Wild Things Are |
| Not capitalizing verbs (even short ones like "is") | Love is a Gift | Love Is a Gift |
Title capitalization is not just for book titles! You will use these same rules in lots of places as you grow up. Here are some examples.
| Where You'll Use It | Example |
|---|---|
| Book titles | Charlotte's Web |
| Story titles you write | My Trip to the Beach |
| Song titles | Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star |
| Movie titles | Finding Nemo |
| Poem titles | The Road Not Taken |
| Chapter titles | Down the Rabbit Hole |
As you learn more about writing in 4th and 5th grade, you will also discover that there are different style guides (sets of rules) that grown-ups follow. Some styles capitalize a few more words, and some capitalize a few fewer. But the basic rules you learned today will always be the most important ones!
For now, remember: capitalize the first word, the last word, and all the important words. Keep the little connecting words lowercase when they are in the middle. That is a skill you will use for the rest of your life!
Now it is your turn! Try these five problems. Think about the rules you learned, then click "Show Answer" to check your work.
When you write a title — for a book, a story, a song, a poem, or a movie — you need to know which words to capitalize. There are four main rules to follow. Always capitalize the first word of the title. Always capitalize the last word of the title. Capitalize all important words, which include nouns (like "Dog" or "School"), verbs (like "Run" or "Is"), adjectives (like "Big" or "Happy"), and adverbs (like "Very" or "Never").
The only words that stay lowercase are small connecting words in the middle of the title: a, an, the, and, but, or, in, on, of, to, and for. Remember that even these small words get a capital letter if they are the first or last word. Watch out for tricky short verbs like "Is," "Am," "Are," and "Was" — they look small but they are verbs, so they always get capitalized. Now you are ready to write beautiful, correctly capitalized titles!