Capital letters

The rules

When it's taught at school: From Year 1, with names of days and months in Year 2.

1. 1

   The start of every sentence

   Including a new sentence after a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

   • The bus was late. We ran all the way.
   • What a goal! Everyone cheered.
2. 2

   The word I

   On its own and in short forms.

   • Mum and I baked a cake.
   • I'm sure I've seen it before.
3. 3

   Names of people, pets and places

   These are proper nouns: the name of one particular person, animal or place.

   • Priya and her dog Speedy live in Leeds.
   • We drove from Cardiff to London.
4. 4

   Days, months, festivals and languages

   • My birthday is on a Friday in March.
   • We learn French and Spanish.
   • Christmas is my favourite time of year.
5. 5

   The first word someone says

   Spoken words start with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.

   • Dad said, "Put your coat on."

Common mistakes

• on saturday we went to the park.

  On Saturday we went to the park.

  A sentence starts with a capital letter, and so does a day of the week.

• Ben and i walked to school.

  Ben and I walked to school.

  The word I is always a capital letter.

• We visited london in the Summer.

  We visited London in the summer.

  London is a place name, so it needs a capital. Seasons don't.

Spot the mistake, 11+ style

Real examples of the questions in our papers. Cover the answer and see if your child can find the mistake.

• my best friend / and I walked / to school together / on Wednesday.

  Show the answer

  Part A should be My best friend. A sentence must always begin with a capital letter.

• my dad managed / to persuade / me to / try the curry.

  Show the answer

  Part A should be My dad managed. A sentence must always begin with a capital letter.

• i really / appreciate all / the help / you have given me.

  Show the answer

  Part A should be I really. The word I is always written as a capital letter.

• It's going / to be / sunny on / saturday.

  Show the answer

  Part D should be Saturday.. Saturday is a day of the week, so it is a proper noun and needs a capital letter.

• Hurry up! / we're going / to miss / the train.

  Show the answer

  Part B should be We're going. A new sentence begins after the exclamation mark, so it needs a capital letter.

• Leo shouted, / "look at / that enormous / rainbow!"

  Show the answer

  Part B should be "Look at. The words someone says always begin with a capital letter.

Practise a little every day

The daily spelling workout ends with a short punctuation round at your child's level, and brings back the marks they miss.