Do You Capitalize Titles? How to Capitalize Them

When I saw the title for this article, my first thought was: “I know how to capitalize titles. Just capitalize all major words, easy!” But what about job titles such as CEO, Vice-president, Head of Accounting, or Executive Assistant? What about subtitles?

For titles of books, writings, movies, and TV shows, this is the generally accepted guideline for capitalization: Capitalize the first word of the title, as well as all major words. Major words consist of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Basic Rules of Capitalization

Before we begin to get into the capitalization of specific terms like titles, work titles, and subtitles, we should cover our bases and go over the basic rules of capitalization of the English language:

• Capitalize the first letter of every sentence. This is the most straightforward and universally known capitalization rule! The reason why the first letter of sentences is capitalized is to show the beginning and end of a statement, as well as to provide assistance in enunciation.

Correct example: I live in the suburbs. It’s a peaceful place to raise my children.

Incorrect example: my mom is a very sweet person. she gave mangoes to everyone in the office yesterday.

• Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives. While a common noun is a generic name used for people, places, and things, a proper noun is a term used to refer to a specific person, a specific place, or a specific thing.

An adjective is a term used for a word that describes a noun or pronoun, so a proper adjective describes a proper noun! An example of a proper noun would be “India,” so the corresponding adjective would be “Indian”.

The reasoning behind capitalizing proper adjectives is because it is being derived from the proper noun that is describing, and as the proper noun is capitalized, the proper adjective should be capitalized as well.

Correct example: Oh, you are Spanish? So your Spanish food must be quite authentic!

Incorrect example: Have you read any Shakespeare work? I’m a big shakespearean fan.

• Capitalize the pronoun I. In the English language, the pronoun “I” is the only one that is always capitalized. You will not find this phenomenon in other languages. The reason behind it is that as it is a term that refers to the self, far too important for it to be left in its lowercase form. Also, due to it being a single-letter term, it is considered for it to appear grander in its uppercase form.

Correct example: I am a happy person.

Incorrect example: Did you think that i was gonna care?

• Capitalize acronyms and initials. An acronym is a new word formed from the initial letters of a group of words in a set phrase. This is because an acronym is just an abbreviation of an already existing term. As we have learned, specifically, names are always capitalized.

Correct example: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

Incorrect example: usa (United States of America)

• Capitalize Days, Months, and Holidays. These are always capitalized because they are names of specific terms, and as we have learned, specific terms are always capitalized.

Correct examples: January is the first month of the year.

Incorrect examples: My birthday is during the easter holiday.

Capitalization of the Titles of Works, Movies & Books

In regards to books, written works, TV shows, and movies, they often require capitalization in the titles depending on the style the author wants to portray. Generally, the following rules are followed for capitalization of a title:

• Rule 1. The first and last words are always capitalized.

Correct example: Death of a Salesman

Incorrect examples: the Fault in Our Stars, the Spiderwick chronicles

• Rule 2. The words that are always capitalized in titles are nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. An easier rule of thumb to follow would be capitalizing all significant words in a title.

Correct example: The Crown in the Mist

Incorrect example: confessions of the west

• Rule 3. The words that we do not capitalize in a title are articles, prepositions, and conjunctions unless they are the first word in a title.

Correct example: The Thousand and One Nights

Incorrect example: Strands Of Bronze And Gold

Capitalization of Job Titles

When talking about the capitalization of job titles, it can get confusing. Is it a proper noun because it is an official title? Or is it a proper adjective because it is describing someone’s role? Either way, job titles are capitalized in most cases.

Before embarking on the “what to capitalize” part, we will begin with the “what not to capitalize.” We do not capitalize any job titles or position titles that come after the person’s name. This is because when used after the individual’s name, it becomes a common adjective. If the job title or position title were to be used before the individual’s name, then it would be part of the name. In other words, it would be part of the proper noun, and proper nouns are always capitalized.

Here are some examples to make the distinction clear:

• I don’t know how old Prince Harry is.
• Barack Obama was the first black president of The United States of America.
• Head Editor Arnold Hamilton was not pleased with what was presented to him tonight.
• Sarah Ling, our accounting manager, will be accompanying you today.

What About Job Descriptions?

What about when we are using the name of the person’s job to describe it? And what about the jobs whose titles are descriptive in nature?

Job titles should be capitalized, but references to said job should not be capitalized.

Job titles, because they suggest that it is tied to the person’s name, should be capitalized as part of the name. If the job title is naturally descriptive, such as “Senior Accountant James,” then it is capitalized.

When the reference to the person’s job is placed somewhere else in the sentence and set off from the person’s name, then it is not capitalized.

Here are some examples to visualize the distinction:

• The president will not be in town this week. – As “president” is not being used as part of the person’s name, it is not capitalized.

• Hi! My name is John. I’m the accountant here. – Because the description of the job is separate from the person’s name and merely describes what he does, it is not capitalized.

• Is Manager Molly gonna come into work today? – “Manager” is part of the name in this sentence, transforming the descriptive term into a proper noun, so it is capitalized along with the name.

• Administrative Assistant Lee has not been filling his paperwork on time! – Because the job description is being used as part of his name, it is capitalized.

Capitalization of Occupational Titles

Occupational titles (like Duke, Duchess, and Queen), Government official titles, and some high ranking government officials (Chief, President, Coronel, and Major) follow more or less the same guidelines for the capitalization of job titles, with the added element of what is called the “ego rule.”

The “ego rule” is that you might gloss over some of these rules for respect of the person being mentioned in real life. For example, if the president of your place of work wants his name and job descriptor to be capitalized at all times, then it is acceptable to do so. Titles like “Royal Highness” would fall under this rule.

Examples:

• Her Royal Majesty The Queen of England would like to make a toast.
• I would like to present to you Carly Vega, our Finance Director!
• Thanks to Sally, the Head Nail Technician, the customer’s manicure went perfectly.
• Do you think the Head Waitress would be serving us tonight?

In Conclusion

Now we have learned that in the capitalization of titles, whether those are titles to books, TV shows, or movies, we always capitalize all major words in the sentence—the same thing for subtitles in written work. We should generally capitalize job titles or occupational courtesy titles if the title accompanies a person’s name. In the case of job descriptions, if it is not part of the name, then it is not capitalized.

It can be complicated and confusing to get into the details of capitalization, but in the end, it is an essential tool for any job that requires any sort of writing.