The rules of capitalization can be confusing.

All words referring to a country or its people begin with capital letters.

American history (NOT american history)

Indian philosophy (NOT indian philosophy)

French literature (NOT french literature)

More examples are given below: British, French, Italian, Scottish, English, Chinese, Japanese etc.

Capitalize ‘I’.

Capitalize the first letter of the first word in a new sentence or question.

Capitalize proper nouns. Examples are: Peter, Alice, John, the Nile etc.

The Nile is the longest river in the world. (NOT The nile is the longest river in the world.)

Do not capitalize common nouns. Examples are: boy, girl, student etc.

He is a clever boy. (NOT He is a clever Boy.)

Capitalize the names of particular institutions or organizations.

She teaches at a university. (NOT She teaches at a University.)

She teaches at the University of Texas. (NOT She teaches at the university of Texas.) (The name of a particular university has to be capitalized.)

Exercise

Correct the following sentences.

1. Do you speak chinese?

2. The japanese are known for their hospitality.

3.  He bought a new Shirt for his birthday.

4. The amazon is the largest river in the world.

5. Let’s visit james this afternoon.

Answers

1. Do you speak Chinese?

2. The Japanese are known for their hospitality.

3. He bought a new shirt for his birthday.

4. The Amazon is the largest river in the world.

5. Let’s visit James this afternoon.