Punctuation · Capital Letters
Know the eight places a capital belongs
Capital letters aren't random — they mark the start of a sentence, the word "I", and every proper noun (a specific name). In Stage 1 you choose the correctly capitalised sentence, or spot the word that needs (or wrongly has) a capital. Learn the eight rules and the traps below.
Rule 1 Start of a sentence
The first word of every sentence takes a capital — including after a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
The dog barked. It was loud. Why did it bark? ✓
Rule 2 The pronoun "I"
The word I is always a capital, wherever it appears — and so are its contractions.
Yesterday I went out because I'm well and I've rested. ✓
Rule 3 People's names & titles
Names of people, and titles used with a name, take capitals.
Sarah, Mr Patel, Doctor Khan, Aunt Mary, Queen Elizabeth ✓
Trap: "my aunt" (no capital) but "Aunt Mary" (capital, because it's part of her name).
Rule 4 Places
Countries, cities, rivers, streets, mountains, planets and other named places.
London, France, the River Thames, Oxford Street, Mount Everest, Mars ✓
Trap: "I live in a city" (no capital) but "I live in London" (capital).
Rule 5 Days, months & festivals — but not seasons
Capitalise days, months and special days. Seasons stay lower-case.
Monday, July, Christmas, Diwali, Easter ✓ · spring, summer, autumn, winter no capital
Rule 6 Languages, nationalities & some adjectives
Words made from country names keep their capital.
English, French, Spanish, Italian food, a British passport ✓
Rule 7 Titles of books, films & the first word in speech
Capitalise the important words in a title, and the first word someone says.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory · She said, "Come here." ✓
Rule 8 Brand names & organisations
Companies, brands, schools and clubs take capitals.
Cadbury, Nike, Tiffin Girls' School, the Scouts ✓
Big trap: ordinary nouns do NOT take a capital — "a dog", "my school", "the river" (lower-case) unless part of a name.
The 30-second method
How to crack any capital-letter MCQ fast
- Check the very first letter of the sentence — it must be a capital.
- Find every "I" — each one must be a capital.
- Underline the names (people, places, days, months, brands) — each needs a capital.
- Reject ordinary nouns with capitals — "the Dog" or "my School" is wrong.
- Remember seasons stay small — that's the most common trap.
10 worked examples
Read the question, then the answer with the rule that solves it.
1. Which is correct: my friend and i / my friend and I?
my friend and I — "I" is always a capital (Rule 2).
2. Capital needed? we visited paris in april.
We visited Paris in April. — sentence start, place, month (Rules 1, 4, 5).
3. I love summer best. — does "summer" need a capital?
No. Seasons stay lower-case (Rule 5).
4. can you speak french?
Can you speak French? — sentence start + language (Rules 1, 6).
5. my aunt sue lives in spain.
My aunt Sue lives in Spain. — name + country; "aunt" alone is lower-case here, but "Sue" is the name (Rules 1, 3, 4).
6. we go to church on sunday.
We go to church on Sunday. — "church" is an ordinary noun here, but "Sunday" is a day (Rules 1, 5).
7. the dog chased a cat. — any capitals besides the first?
No. "dog" and "cat" are ordinary nouns (Rule 8 trap).
8. she shouted, "stop!"
She shouted, "Stop!" — first word of speech takes a capital (Rule 7).
9. i read charlie and the chocolate factory.
I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. — "I", plus the important words in the title (Rules 2, 7).
10. my birthday is in december.
My birthday is in December. — months take a capital (Rules 1, 5).