Do You Capitalize The Days Of The Week? When and When Not To

It’s very common for you to use the days of the week in various sentences. Sometimes, when writing an email or preparing your presentation, you are bound to come across this question if the days of the week are capitalized or not. When and when not to capitalize days of the week to avoid making a grammar error?

Well, it is critical for you to remember that days of the week i.e Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. are always capitalized in a sentence regardless of when and where they are used in that particular sentence. As these are proper nouns, they must be capitalized in a sentence.

Now, we will go into the details of the different sentences in which the days of the week are capitalized. While also explaining the various rules for capitalizing the particular terms along with various exceptions and alternative rules for such terms in a sentence.

Doesn’t capitalization affect days of the week when used differently in a sentence?

Commonly, it is very tricky to intercept this fact that days of the week could be capitalized. Merely due to the reason that these words don’t seem like proper nouns or a specific name such as Johnny or Gretel. However, when we write, we think about the question twice that do you capitalize the days of the week. When and when not to capitalize if that’s the case.

As the rules of the grammar are clear, it is important for you to know that proper nouns are always, in every single circumstance, capitalized except for a few proper nouns that will be explained later on that are not capitalized in a sentence. Days of the week such as Monday, Thursday, Friday, etc. are proper nouns so they must follow the grammatical rule of being capitalized.

An easy example of sentences to illustrate is given:

• Monday is never liked by anyone.
• I prefer to work and play on Sunday.

In the first sentence, “Monday” has been used as a subject and is capitalized. However, “Sunday” is used as an object but it is still capitalized because it is a proper noun.

Are There Rules For Capitalization Of The Days Of The Week?

In general, there are many different rules for capitalization of the various terms other than the days of the week. These rules vary accordingly for each term and specify the reason for each term to be capitalized. If someone might inquire that do you capitalized the days of the week; when and when not to capitalize as such accordingly, then you may remember the following general criteria for capitalization:

Starting letter/character of a sentence

The first word, character, or the starting letter in every sentence is always capitalized. For instance, “Initiate the process promptly.” In this sentence, the starting letter of the sentence is capitalized whereas all the remaining words and characters are written in small alphabets.

Proper Nouns

When a sentence has a proper noun, it is always capitalized accordingly. Even if there are multiple proper nouns, all proper nouns will be capitalized. For example, “George has a bad habit of beating his brother James.” Now in this sentence, both proper nouns “George” and “James” are capitalized.

Days, months, and seasons

Days, months, and seasons are all considered as a proper noun which must be capitalized when used in the sentences. These are specifically categorized separately as they may seem like common nouns but are proper nouns for the rules of capitalization to apply. For example, “My mother’s birthday is in the month of March.” In this example, it is clearly illustrated that the month has been capitalized.

The first letter following a colon

Another rule of capitalization is that the first or starting letter present right after a colon is also capitalized. For instance, “Carly’s late arrival at the annual meeting made no significant impact: She had nothing to present or add.” In this sentence, the starting letter “S” of she was capitalized as it was following right after the colon. A colon represents a new sentence that again follows the basic rule that the starting letter/character of a sentence is capitalized.

Starting non-space character of a quoted sentence

In each quoted sentence, the first non-space character is also capitalized when it is being used in the sentence. The best example of this is through the following illustration:

•  Sarah told Jamie,” You have no right in making such baseless accusation.”

In this example, the first non-space character “Y” of the word “you” was capitalized when it was used in the quoted sentence. A quoted sentence generally acts as a new sentence that requires the first rule, as mentioned above in point 1, to be followed to comply with proper grammatical sentence structures.

First-person pronoun

“I” or otherwise known as the first person pronoun when used in different sentences is always capitalized. Regardless of where and when the pronoun is used, the letter “I” is used as a first-person pronoun will be capitalized in the sentence. For example, “Someone found that I stole from the cookie jar.” In this example, the letter “I” has been capitalized.

Trademarks

It is crucial to remember that trademarks are proper nouns and the first letter of these nouns must be capitalized. Commonly, there will be different companies and different firms that have a special name for their business and these names represent their overall business with just one word. These names used by the companies and firms are trademarked and are considered as proper nouns. Thus, the first letter or character of them must be capitalized.

For example, “Apple has a wide range of technological products.”

With such types of different rules, one can hardly question the fact that do you capitalize the days of the week. When and when not to capitalize on other such terms that fall in the rules of capitalization?

However, just like every other rule, this grammar rule also has some exceptions to the general principles.

What Are The Exceptions To The Rules Of Capitalization For Days Of The Week?

Even though it may seem that the above-mentioned rules are unbreakable but there are certain circumstances when the exception to the rule stands more prominently. Unlike the fact that do you capitalize the days of the week; When and when not to capitalize these other terms as mentioned above have certain criteria to prevent them from being capitalized. These exceptions vary according to their different uses in a sentence.

Certain common nouns treated as proper nouns

Certain common nouns are treated as proper nouns if they refer to a very explicitly known person. The explicitly known person means that the absence of reference about the individual still indicates a very specific person. This can be the case for the high ranked officials of the government. To illustrate better, here are some examples:

• The Governor of Houston made a speech in the National Assembly.
• He told Father that he wasn’t comfortable with his new mother.

In the first example, the word “Governor” was capitalized as the name referred to an explicitly specific person and the same is the case in the second example where the word “Father” is directly referred to as “My father”. The word “mother” indicates a relationship hence it is not capitalized.

If the word “Governor” was used as a prefix of a proper noun, the first letter of the word “Governor” would still be capitalized unless it is used as a suffix. For example:

• Claire, the governor of New York, has decided to resign from her designation.
• It was critical for Governor Claire to take action regarding the wrong actions.

Again, in the first example, since the proper noun has been used, hence the suffix only adds additional information to the already specified pronoun. Whereas, in the second example, the prefix places an emphasis on the proper noun itself and that is why it is capitalized in the sentence.

Seasons of the year

The first alphabet of different seasons of the year is not capitalized unless they are used as specific titles. Even though these seem like proper nouns yet they are still not capitalized when used in a sentence. For instance, “I hate going to the beach in summer.” In this sentence, the word “summer” was not used as a title hence it was not capitalized.

A different example of this would be,” How I am excited for the Summer 2020 semester!” In this sentence since the word “Summer” has been used in a title, therefore it is capitalized accordingly.

Compass Directions

Another exception to the general rule of capitalization is the compass directions. In a sentence, if directions such as North, East, South, and West are used for compass navigations, then they will not be capitalized. For example, “Jacky was last seen three miles east from his house.”

All these exceptions from the main rule of capitalization don’t apply to the days of the week that are capitalized in every circumstance.

Examples for the Days of the Week

Here are some of the examples in which when the days of the week are used as subjects:

• Friday gives a rejuvenating pleasure to the mind and soul.
• Monday is the worst day to go to work.

In both of these examples, the days of the week are the initial words or subjects in the sentence. Therefore, according to the rules of capitalization, the first letter or alphabet of the first word in the sentence is capitalized.

Other examples of the days of the week are given below in which they don’t act as the subject or the first word of the sentence:

• I find it annoying to go to the gym on a Sunday.
• I like to relax and enjoy my Saturdays peacefully.

In both of the examples, the days of the week are still capitalized, according to the rules of capitalization, as they are considered as proper nouns that are identifying them as specific.

Does It Mean That The Days Of The Week Will Always Be Capitalized?

Yes, even if you are asked that do you capitalize the days of the week, when and when not to capitalize them you can confidently respond to them by saying that days of the week are always capitalized.