LEARN ENGLISH / English Grammar - Level 04 - Lesson 04 : Capital and Small Letters

 Lesson: Capital and  Small Letters

1. The Big Idea

Every English letter has two forms:

• Capital letter (also called uppercase): A B C D
• Small letter (also called lowercase): a b c d

Most of the time you write in small letters. You use a capital letter only in certain places. Capitals help the reader see where sentences begin and which words are special names.

2. The Two Forms Side by Side

Capital	Small	Capital	Small	Capital	Small
A	a	J	j	S	s
B	b	K	k	T	t
C	c	L	l	U	u
D	d	M	m	V	v
E	e	N	n	W	w
F	f	O	o	X	x
G	g	P	p	Y	y
H	h	Q	q	Z	z
I	i	R	r

Note: Some letters look similar in both forms (C c, O o, S s, V v, W w, X x, Z z). Others look very different (A a, B b, D d, G g, R r).

3. When to Use a Capital Letter

Rule 1: The first word of a sentence

• The weather is nice.
• Where do you live?
• Open the window.

Rule 2: The word “I”

The word I is always a capital, even in the middle of a sentence.

• Today I am happy.
• You and I are friends.
• ✗ i like tea → ✓ I like tea.

Rule 3: Names of people

• Sara, Omar, Fatima, John
• Mr. Smith, Dr. Ali

Both the first name and the family name begin with a capital: Ahmed Bennani.

Rule 4: Names of places

Type	Examples
Countries	Morocco, France, Egypt
Cities	Fes, Paris, London
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe
Rivers, seas, mountains	the Nile, the Mediterranean, Mount Everest
Streets	Main Street

Rule 5: Days, months and holidays

• Monday, Friday, Sunday
• January, March, June
• Ramadan, Eid, Christmas

Note: The seasons are not capitalized: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

Rule 6: Nationalities and languages

• Moroccan, French, American
• English, Arabic, Spanish

This is different from some languages, so watch for it. I speak English is correct, but I speak english is wrong.

Rule 7: Titles of books, films and songs

Capitalize the important words.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• The Lion King

Small words in the middle stay small: a, an, the, of, in, on, and, but, for.

Rule 8: Names of companies and brands

• Google, Apple, Toyota, Netflix

Rule 9: Abbreviations and initials

• USA, UK, UN, TV, DVD
• Mr. A. Bennani

Rule 10: Titles and names of people in direct address

• Doctor Khadija will see you now.
• President, Queen, Professor (when used with a name)

4. When NOT to Use a Capital Letter

Use small letters for:

Type	Correct examples
Common nouns	a boy, a city, a river, a school
Seasons	spring, summer, autumn, winter
Directions	north, south, east, west
Subjects at school (except languages)	math, science, history, biology
Colors	red, blue, green
Most words in the middle of a sentence	I have a dog and a cat.

Common vs. proper nouns

A proper noun is the name of one specific person, place or thing, and it takes a capital. A common noun is a general word, and it takes a small letter.

Common noun (small)	Proper noun (capital)
a girl	Sara
a city	Fes
a country	Morocco
a river	the Nile
a language	English
a day	Monday
a teacher	Mr. Hassan

5. Special Cases

Directions and regions

• Small letters: Go north for two miles.
• Capitals when part of a name: I live in the Middle East. / She visited North Africa.

Family words

• Small: My mother is a teacher. (with my)
• Capital: I love you, Mom. (used as a name)

The first word after a quotation mark

• She said, “We are late.”

Writing emails and letters

• Dear Sara, (greeting)
• Best regards, (first word of the closing)
• Capitalize your name at the end.

6. Capital vs. Small in Everyday Use

Situation	Example
Start of a sentence	Today is Monday.
Names	Yousef lives in Rabat.
Social media and texting	Often all small, but not in school, work or formal writing.
All capitals	Used for EMPHASIS, signs (STOP, EXIT) and abbreviations (NASA). Don’t write whole paragraphs in capitals.

7. Tips for Arabic Speakers

• Arabic has no capital letters. In English, you must remember them every time.
• Days, months and nationalities are capitalized in English, so Monday, June, Moroccan and English all begin with capitals.
• The pronoun “I” is always capital. This is a very common mistake: ✗ i am a student → ✓ I am a student.
• Don’t capitalize every noun or every important word in a sentence. English only capitalizes proper nouns and the first word.
• Practice by copying. Copy a short paragraph and circle every capital letter. Ask yourself why each one is there.
• Writing direction: Remember that English is written from left to right, and each sentence begins with a capital on the left.

8. Practice

Exercise 1: Write the capital form

Write each letter as a capital: a, d, g, k, m, q, r, t, y

Exercise 2: Capital or small?

Choose the correct word:

1. My friend lives in (paris / Paris).

2. We meet every (monday / Monday).

3. I speak (english / English).

4. It is very hot in (summer / Summer).

5. (i / I) like coffee.

Exercise 3: Correct the sentences

Rewrite each sentence with correct capital letters:

1. my name is omar and i live in fes.

2. she is from egypt and speaks arabic.

3. we have an exam on friday in march.

4. dr. karim works in a hospital in casablanca.

5. i read the book the little prince in the summer.

Exercise 4: Common or proper noun?

Write C (common) or P (proper) for each:

1. river 2. Nile 3. teacher 4. Ms. Salma 5. country 6. Morocco

Exercise 5: Find the mistakes

Find and fix the 6 mistakes:

yesterday, i went to the market in Fes with my Mother. we bought apples, oranges, and Bread. my brother ali met us there.

Answers

Exercise 1: A, D, G, K, M, Q, R, T, Y

Exercise 2: 1. Paris · 2. Monday · 3. English · 4. summer · 5. I

Exercise 3:

1. My name is Omar and I live in Fes.

2. She is from Egypt and speaks Arabic.

3. We have an exam on Friday in March.

4. Dr. Karim works in a hospital in Casablanca.

5. I read the book The Little Prince in the summer.

Exercise 4: 1. C · 2. P · 3. C · 4. P · 5. C · 6. P

Exercise 5: Yesterday, I went to the market in Fes with my mother. We bought apples, oranges and bread. My brother Ali met us there. (The mistakes: yesterday, i, Mother, we, Bread, ali.)