Capitalization Rules in Spanish

How Capitalization in Spanish Differs from English

In Spanish, capitalization rules are more conservative compared to English. While English capitalizes many words such as days of the week, months, and languages, Spanish does not. Understanding these differences is crucial for writing correctly in Spanish.

When to Use Capital Letters in Spanish

• The first word of a sentence
• Proper nouns (e.g., names of people, cities, countries)
• Titles of books, movies, and works of art (only the first word and proper nouns)
• Abbreviations (e.g., Sr., Sra., Dr.)
• The pronoun 'Usted' when used in formal writing

When Not to Use Capital Letters in Spanish

• Days of the week (e.g., lunes, martes)
• Months of the year (e.g., enero, febrero)
• Languages and nationalities (e.g., español, francés)
• Religions and their adjectives (e.g., católico, judío)
• Adjectives derived from proper nouns (e.g., español, mexicano)

Examples of Correct and Incorrect Capitalization

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Capitalizing days of the week and months (e.g., writing 'Lunes' instead of 'lunes')
2. Capitalizing languages and nationalities (e.g., writing 'Español' instead of 'español')
3. Using capital letters for adjectives derived from proper nouns (e.g., writing 'Mexicano' instead of 'mexicano')

Practice Makes Perfect

To master capitalization in Spanish, practice by writing sentences and checking them against these rules. Over time, these differences will become second nature.