Are Prepositions Capitalized In Titles? Rules To Consider

One of the most important things to learn when communicating in the English Language is the use of Parts of Speech. Parts of speech help us know the accurate word to use, where it belongs and, defines correct word order and punctuation. One of the parts of speech is a preposition, and it is used in every sentence.

No, prepositions are not always capitalized in titles. The writing style determines if you can capitalize a preposition in a title. You should only capitalize a preposition in a title if it is used adverbially or adjectivally. Prepositions containing four or more letters are capitalized in titles.

The English language is full of rules, and unless you understand these rules, you would have issues communicating fluently. Remember, communication is beyond speaking; writing is also a form.

Are Prepositions Capitalized In Titles?

Prepositions are only capitalized in titles if the preposition is composed of at least four letters. In another case, all prepositions are written in lowercase regardless of the number of individual letters. Another time to capitalize prepositions is when they are used adverbially or adjectivally.

So, if a preposition in a title is less than four words, you do not capitalize it, and if the preposition in the title is used ordinarily, you do not capitalize it. Prepositions can also be capitalized if it is the first word in a title. On rare occasions, the first word in the title could be a preposition, and you must capitalize it.

We mentioned earlier that there are different writing styles, and the rules of these styles determine what you can capitalize in a title or not. When writing in AP Style, you must capitalize the preposition in the title if it has more than four letters. In the Chicago Manual of Style, you do not capitalize prepositions in a title.

In APA Style, prepositions with three letters or less must not be capitalized in a title. So, the first thing to do when writing is to identify the writing style you are using, and then you can know the rule to follow. It would help if you did not interchange the rules of different writing styles.

Rules For Capitalizing The Term

There are different rules for capitalizing prepositions in a title, so you need to know the rules, especially when using different writing styles. The English language rules are vast and can be confusing, so you need to have a clear understanding of these rules before you write.

One of the rules of capitalizing prepositions in a title is that the preposition must contain at least five letters. Prepositions with four or more letters must also be capitalized in a title. You should also capitalize prepositions if they play the role of adverbs or adjectives in a title.

When using AP writing style, and you have propositions of four or more letters, like above, between, and below in a title, you must capitalize them. Other prepositions like but, at, on, up, to, and by have two to three letters, so you will not capitalize them in AP style titles.

Another rule is that you can only capitalize prepositions with at least five letters or more in a title. So, except you have prepositions like about, against, following, throughout, and around in a title, you cannot capitalize the preposition. This rule is applicable in general writing style.

However, the rule for capitalizing prepositions in titles differs from the Chicago Manual of Style. In this writing style, all prepositions are written in lowercase; you do not have to capitalize any preposition, regardless of the number of letters it has and the role it plays in the title sentence.

Another rule for capitalizing prepositions in a title is; if the preposition acts like an adverb or adjective (this means you can only capitalize a preposition if used adjectivally or adverbially). So, before you can apply this rule, you have to identify the preposition’s role.

The final rule for capitalizing prepositions is when using the APA writing style; all prepositions with three letters or less must not be capitalized. So, prepositions like but, by, on, out, in, and at cannot be capitalized in any title when using APA writing style.

Exceptions / Edge Cases / Alternative Rules

Previously, both prepositions and conjunctions were not capitalized in titles by writers. Until recently, with the advancement and evolution of languages, changes had to be made.

One of the major alternative rules to the capitalizing of prepositions is that if the preposition is the first word in the title, you have to capitalize it, regardless of the writing style you are using.

So, the only exception to all the rules we mentioned about capitalizing prepositions in a title is if the preposition is the first word in the title sentence. The preposition may not act like an adverb or an adjective; it can contain only two letters, you still have to capitalize it.

Regardless of the writing style you are using, remember that in AP style, the preposition must contain four letters or more for you to capitalize it. However, if it contains three letters and is the first word, you must ignore the AP style title rule and capitalize. The same goes for APA writing style and the Chicago Manual of Style.

Examples of Word Used In Sentences

To have better clarity on how to capitalize prepositions in a title, we will look at some illustrative examples.

1. I asked John the title of the book he was reading; he replied, “In The Morning The Sun Shines.”
2. What Do Androids Dream of When They Sleep?
3. Some of my favorite best James Bond movies are “No Time to Die,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “A View to Kill,” “From Russia with Love,” and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”
4. Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is one of June’s favorite books of all time.
5. One of the classiest and best sitcoms of all time is “Two and a Half Men,” which dives into the lives of two brothers.
6. My favorite Harry Potter movie is “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” James responded to the new guy in class.
7. The book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon is one of the best stories ever written.
8. Our New English teacher advised us to read “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde to have a clue of the farcical comedy of old.
9. Children of this digital age do not appreciate a book as good as “Love in the Time of Cholera.”
10.  “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is on the list of best novels of all time.

From the above examples, you will notice some things; in the first example, “in” is the preposition, and it is capitalized because it is the first word in the title. The same applies to examples 10 and 3 – the first, second, fourth, and fifth movie titles apply the alternative rule.

While in examples 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, all the prepositions are not capitalized because they contain less than five letters in each preposition. This is the general rule for capitalizing prepositions in a title.

Final Thoughts

The use of part of speech, proper punctuation, and proper capitalization are very important in every language. These three elements affect the effectiveness of the person communicating and passing the message across perfectly. Capitalizing titles is another thing to learn; prepositions are not to be capitalized in a title, except the alternative rule applies.