Do You Capitalize “With” In A Title? Learn The Rules

Writing can be a hassle when rules get in the way, and there are so many for the English language—rules for spelling, vocabulary, or sentence structure. Following grammar rules, punctualization, and capitalization every time one wants to write can make someone give up altogether. When the word “with” is in a title, does it get capitalized because it is in a title? Or it wouldn’t get capitalized because it is a preposition?

“With” can have the initial letter in uppercase depending on the position of it in the sentence. But also while keeping in mind the style guide used to be written with; in AMA, AP, APA, and New York Times style, they would always be capitalized because they are prepositions of four letters or more. 

With the different styles guides that exist come different rules, and considering how important the title can be, it is imperative to make sure you are doing it by the book.

What Does Grammar Have To Say About This?

A preposition is a type of word used to express spatial or temporal relations, e.g., in, under, with, towards, before. Prepositions are typically placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase or to modify another word in a sentence.

Prepositions are one of the most important parts of the sentence as they can reference location, time and provide direction or motion. They are six types of prepositions:

• Simple Preposition. When a preposition consists of only one word, we refer to it as a simple preposition. For example, in, out, on, up, with, at, for, from, by, of, off, through, etc.

• Double Preposition. When the preposition consists of more than one word, it is called a double preposition. For example, onto, into, throughout, up to, within, without, upon, etc.

• Compound Preposition. When a preposition consists of two or more words, it is called a compound preposition. For example, in front of, from across, according to, etc.

• Participle Preposition. When a word ends in the present participle form -ing, it becomes a preposition. For example, concerning, regarding, barring, during, touching, etc. 

• Disguised Preposition. This type of preposition occurs when the shorter version of the preposition is used instead. “By” can be changed into “be”; “on” can be changed into “a”; and “of” can be changed into “o.”

• Phrasal Preposition. A phrasal preposition combines two or more words that function as a preposition. For example, along with, according to, in spite of, out of, etc. 

How Do I Use “With”?

A simple preposition such as “with” can be seen in collocations and idioms that people use daily. In collocations, there is the combination of adjective + preposition, and it goes as follows:

• Associated with. The high cholesterol risks associated with eating red meat have been well documented.
• Bored with. I get bored with chores as soon as I start them.
• Blessed with. My husband and I have been blessed with the arrival of a new baby.
• Busy with. The people at work say they are busy with meetings all day, but I see them talking in the kitchen all the time.
• Annoyed with. She’s annoyed with Mark because he likes to listen to really loud music.
• Angry with. He’s always mad at me because I never clean the kitchen.

Idioms are phrases that cannot be taken literally. Otherwise, they wouldn’t make any sense at all. A few idioms with the preposition “with” go as follows:

• With the naked eye. Unassisted vision, without a telescope, microscope, or any other device.
• With regard. As concerns, with respect to something.
• With a vengeance. Used to emphasize the degree to which something occurs or is true.
• With all due respect. Used as a polite way intended to alleviate the effect of what might be some criticism.
• With all one’s might. Used when referring to all one’s power or strength.
• With a bang. Used to refer to something that happens suddenly; it usually has a positive connotation.

Prepositions At The End Of A Sentence

In modern English, the use of a dangling proposition – also known as a stranded preposition- is a symbol of disgust among many teachers.

For example, in the English sentence “Who were you playing with?”, the preposition with has who as a complement; because this is a question, “who” is moved to the beginning of the sentence. Modern rules of English allow for interrogative sentences to end with a preposition and are not against the rules of grammar. Using a preposition to end a sentence is not an error, just a little informal. The not so common and mildly unnatural way of restating that question would be, “With who were you playing?”

When writing a note to a friend or texting messages, ending with a preposition is perfectly fine. Suppose you are writing a research paper or submitting a business proposal and are looking to sound a little more formal. In that case, a preposition at the end of the sentence might not be the best choice.

Prepositions In A Title

According to The Chicago Manual of Style guide, book titles are capitalized headline-style. Headline style means to capitalize the title’s first and last words, parts of speech (nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs), and prepositions when used adjectivally or adverbially. When using this guide, in particular for titles, prepositions should be lowercase. This would be regardless of length, except for when used adverbially or adjectivally.

Some examples of the title “Like someone said, with power comes great responsibility” in different style guides would look like this.

• AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition. “With” is capitalized because it is neither an article, coordinating conjunction, nor a preposition with fewer than four letters.  Like Someone Said, With Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• Associated Press Stylebook, 55th edition. “With” is capitalized because it is neither an article, coordinating conjunction, nor a preposition with fewer than four letters. Like Someone Said, With Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition.  “With” is not capitalized because it is a preposition with four letters. Like Someone Said, with Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, 5th edition. “With” is capitalized because it is neither an article, coordinating conjunction, nor a preposition with fewer than four letters.  Like Someone Said, With Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• MLA Handbook, 9th edition.  “With” is not capitalized because it is a preposition with four letters. Like Someone Said, with Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• The Bluebook, 21st edition.  “With” is not capitalized because it is a preposition with four letters. Like Someone Said, with Power Comes Great Responsibility.
• Wikipedia Manual of Style (MOS:CT).  “With” is not capitalized because it is a preposition with four letters. Like Someone Said, with Power Comes Great Responsibility.

What If You Are Not Following A Style Guide?

If the preposition “with” is at the beginning or the end of the title, it will be uppercase because the last word abides by that rule, but what should you do if that’s not the case?

Reconsidering the title of your publication would be the first step, but time and effort brought you this far and giving up is not the answer. So if changing the title is not an option, playing with the structure could resolve it. If your title reads “Who did you go shopping with yesterday?” and you are unsure whether you can capitalize the preposition or not, place the preposition at the beginning of the question. With this, you’ll make sure to capitalize it as any other word would have to based on the rules of capitalization.