Capitalization Rules

There are three common rules for using correct capital letters. We should capitalize the first letter of:

[1] the first word in every sentence

We capitalize the first letter of the first word in every sentence; for examples,

• Thida is a student.
• The boy is asleep.

We also capitalize the first letter of the first word in the direct quotation; for examples,

• He asked, "Where are you going?"
• She said, "We are proud of you."

[2] proper nouns

We capitalize the first letter of each word of the names of specific people, places, dates, and things. Look at the examples below.

• Names of specific people: Thida, Vutha, Kosal, Bill Clinton, etc.
• Names of specific places: Russian Market, Wat Phnom, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, etc.
• Names of specific dates/days: Monday, Tuesday, January, February, Khmer New Year, Independence Day, etc.
• Names of specific organizations, companies, and groups: Canadia Bank, Microsoft, Cambodia Angkor Airline, etc.
• Names of languages, nationalities, and religions: Cambodia, Khmer, English, England, Buddhism, etc.
• Names of  courses: Writing Skills, Introduction to Economics, etc.
• Names of  commercial products: Pepsi, Coca Cola, Nokia, Lumia, etc.

[3] important titles

When we write the title of a book, movie, television program, magazine, newspaper, article, story, song, paper, poem, and so on, we capitalize the first word and all important words. However, do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and prepositions (in, on, at, etc.). Look at the examples.

• The Tale of Two Cities (Novel)
• US Investors Cite Corruption as Major Issue (News headline) 
• Love the Way You Lie (Song)