Quiz: Should You Capitalize This?

Proper nouns represent a specific name (such as President Biden or Iowa), rather than a generic name (like "presidents" or "states"). Capitalizing proper nouns differentiates them from the generic variety, helping them to stand out as unique.

Seasons are only capitalized when they're part of a formal name (like the Winter Olympics). Otherwise, lowercase them.

There are more than 100 pronouns. "I" is the only one that is always capitalized.

You only have to capitalize the name of the magazine, not the word "magazine" itself. If magazine is part of the formal name though, you would capitalize it.

The title should be lowercase if it follows the name. That's because it's a job description, not a formal title.

The title of a government official is always capitalized when used with a name formally (e.g., "Gov. Brian Kemp lives in Georgia"). But keep it lowercase if is just being used as a job description ("Brian Kemp is the governor of Georgia").

English is derived from a place (England), which is a proper noun. So, that subject is capitalized, as are other languages like French or Italian. Math and physics should be lowercase, unless at the beginning of a sentence, of course. However, do capitalize specific course titles, like Algebra 2 or AP Calculus.

Dog breeds are capitalized if the name (or part of it) is a place or person. But if it's not, then the word is lowercase. For example, "Labrador" is a place, so it's capitalized, but retriever is not. "Doberman" is a proper noun because the breed is named after a person. You would capitalize "Jack Russell" because it's a person's name but not "terrier." Some dog breeds are not capitalized because they lack proper nouns, such as cocker spaniel and miniature schnauzer. Confused yet?

Always capitalize the first word of a sentence. No matter what.

If you're turning south at the Piggly Wiggly, don't capitalize the direction. If you're heading to the South for a gallon of authentic sweet tea, capitalize away.