Free Capitalization Worksheet

The following worksheet provides you with ten sentences with no capital letters at all. Identify which letters should be capitalized, and then use the answer key to check and see if you are correct and if you get them all.

1. i visitied mr. smith, the chairman of the board, on september 10.
2. president smith gave a speech in which he said "resigning is not an option."
3. may i visit the oval office, president?
4. he loved the book, which was called "a day in france."
5. the federal bureau of investigations (f.b.i.) looks into crimes, and the bureau also protects america.
6. i am originally from the south but now i live in the north.
7. my courses this semester include english, science, and math 100.
8. the state board collects state and federal taxes.
9. september and october are the prettiest months of autumn.
10. the book, "the big red dog" is a hit among children: they enjoy reading about the dogs adventures.

1. I visited Mr. Smith, the chairman of the board, on September 10.

• "I" must always be capitalized in the English language.
• Mr. Smith must be capitalized because it is a proper noun.
• September must be capitalized beause it is the name of a month.

2. President Smith gave a speech in which he said "Resigning is not an option."

• President must be capitalized because it is a title preceding a name.
• Smith must be capitalied because it is a proper noun.
• Resigning must be capitalized because it is the first word in a quoted sentence.

3. May I visit the oval office, President?

• May must be capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.
• I must be capitalized because I must always be capitalized.
• President must be capitalized because it is being used as a direct address.

4. He loved the book, which was called "A Day in France."

• He must be capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.
• A must be capitalized because it is the first word in a title.
• Day must be capitalized because it is a major word in a title.
• France must be capitalized both because it is the name of a country, and because it is a major word in a title.

5. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) looks into crimes, and the Bureau also protects America.

• The must be capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation must be capitalized because it is a title ("of" is not capitalized because it is a preposition within a title.)
• F.B.I. must be capitalized because it is an acronym.
• Bureau must be capitalized, because it is a proper noun (shorthand) for the F.B.I.

6. I am originally from the South but i drove north and now i live in the North.

• I must be capitalized because it is the start of the sentence, and because I must always be capitalied.
• South must be capitalized because it refers to a specific location/ region within the context of this sentence.
• The second North must be capitalized as well, because it too refers to a specific location. However, the first north remains lower case because it is not referring to a specific location.

7. My courses this semester include English, science, and Math 100.

• My must be capitalized because it is the start of the sentence.
• English must be capitalized because it is derived from a proper noun (England).
• Math must be capitalized because it is part of a specific course name (Math 100).

8. The State Board collects state and federal taxes.

• The must be capitalized because it is the start of the sentence.
• State Board must be capitalized because it refers to a proper noun. The words state and federal later in the sentence do not refer to a specific state or federal agency. Since they are not a title, no capitalization of those words is necessary.

9. September and October are the prettiest months of autumn.

• September and October need to be capitalized because they are the names of months. Autumn does not need to capitalized because seasons are not proper nouns.

10. The book, "The Big Red Dog," is a hit among children: they enjoy reading about the dog's adventures.

• The must be capitalized because it is the start of the sentence.
• Each of the words in the title The Big Red Dog must be capitalized because none of them are prepositions.
• The "they" after the colon does not need to be capitalized. The first word of a sentence after a colon should be capitalized only if two related sentences follow the colon.

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