Capitalize Holidays, Product Names, and Geographic Names

Why Do Some Words Get Capital Letters?

Have you ever looked at a map? You might see words like Texas or Pacific Ocean. Those words start with big letters! That is because they are special names. A long, long time ago, people started using capital letters to show that a word is a name for one special thing.

Let's look at how this idea grew over time!

So why do we capitalize these words? Because they are proper nouns. A proper noun is a name for one specific person, place, thing, or event. Capital letters tell the reader, "Hey! This is a special name!"

The Three Big Rules

There are three kinds of words you need to capitalize. Let's learn each one!

See the Difference!

Look at the picture below. It shows regular words on the left and special names on the right. The special names all start with a capital letter!

Do you see the pattern? The words on the left — holiday, cereal, ocean, country, game — are just regular words. They talk about a type of thing. The words on the right name one specific thing. That is why they start with a capital letter!

How to Decide: Capital or Not?

Here is a simple way to check if a word needs a capital letter. Ask yourself this question:

Let's try it with some examples:

"I ate a cookie." — The word "cookie" just means any cookie. It is not a special name. Keep it lowercase. ✅

"I ate an Oreo." — Oreo is the name of one special kind of cookie. It is a product name. Capitalize it! ✅

"We went to the lake." — The word "lake" just means any lake. Keep it lowercase. ✅

"We went to Lake Erie." — Lake Erie is the name of one special lake. It is a geographic name. Capitalize both words! ✅

Here is a fun diagram that shows the steps to follow:

Follow these steps every time you write. Ask each question. If you answer "yes" to any of them, use a capital letter!

Sorting Words Into Groups

Let's look at lots of examples. The table below sorts words into three groups: holidays, product names, and geographic names.

Notice that every single name in this table starts with a capital letter. Some names have two or more words, like Valentine's Day or Rocky Mountains. When a name has more than one word, you capitalize the important words. Little words like "of" or "the" may stay lowercase if they are in the middle.

Let's Fix a Sentence Together!

Here is a sentence with some mistakes. Let's find and fix them step by step.

Common Nouns vs. Proper Nouns

A common noun is a regular word for any person, place, or thing. A proper noun is the special name for one specific person, place, or thing. Let's compare them!

Here is a tricky part. Sometimes the same word can be common or proper! The word "lake" is common, but Lake Michigan is proper. The word "mountain" is common, but Mount Rushmore is proper. It all depends on whether you are naming one specific thing.

What Else Gets Capitalized?

You are learning some really important rules right now! As you keep growing as a reader and writer, you will learn about even more words that need capital letters. Here is a peek at what comes next:

All of these words follow the same big idea: when a word is a special name, give it a capital letter. The rule you learned today will help you with all of these in the future!

Practice Problems

Try these on your own! Click "Show Answer" when you are ready to check.

What We Learned