Spanish follows very different capitalization rules than English. Therefore learning capitalization in Spanish as a native English speaker can be a difficult learning (and unlearning) process. This lesson will give direct explanations and examples to make the rules of capitals in Spanish easy to understand. Following capitalization rules will make it easier for students to communicate at a native level and have better communication with Spanish speakers.
Punctuation and Capitalization in Spanish
As a general rule, Spanish uses much less capitalization than English. However, like English, a capital letter in Spanish is required for the first word of a new sentence, including a sentence in quotations.
When writing a letter in Spanish, the writer adds a colon instead of a comma after "Dear . . ." in the opening address. The first word of the letter after the opening is capitalized, following the rule that it's the first letter of a new sentence. For example, "Dear Sara, How are you?" in English is "Querida Sara: ¿Cómo estás?" in Spanish.
Spanish also has several unique features of punctuation that have an effect on capitalization. For instance, Spanish uses "¿" and "¡" at the part of a sentence where the question for exclamation begins. Sometimes that is at the beginning of the sentence, in a clause, or even before a word of affirmation at the end of a sentence. In those cases, there is no change to capitalization mid-sentence. There is likewise no change in capitalization for ellipses marks unless the first word after the ellipses is a new sentence and breaks into a different subject.
| English | Spanish translation | Explanation of Spanish capitalization |
|---|---|---|
| I'll do the dishes today. You should do the dishes tomorrow. | Voy a lavar los platos hoy. Tú deberías lavarlos mañana. | Letters at the start of both sentences are capitalized. |
| I have a lot of work ... I am busy. | Tengo much trabajo . . . estoy muy ocupado. | The sentence after the ellipses is still part of the same subject, so in this case, "estoy" is not capitalized. |
| The letter reads: I have been called for jury duty. | La carta dice: He sido llamado para servir como jurado. | The "h" in "He sido" is capitalized because the sentence is referring to an official announcement. |
| Pedro said, "The academic level is high." | Pedro dijo: "El nivel académico es alto." | The quoted sentence has the first letter capitalized. |
| Where do you live? | ¿Dónde vives? | The first letter of a new sentence is always capitalized. |
| Where do you live now? You used to live in Miami, right? | ¿Dónde vives ahora? Solías vivir en Miami, ¿verdad? | "¿" shows the beginning of a question, which can occur part-way through a sentence. The first sentence was a complete question, whereas only "right?" or "¿verdad?" was part of the question in the second sentence. |
Names using a Capital Letter in Spanish
Spanish only capitalizes the proper names of people, places, or things. Names of people, including nicknames, are always capitalized. The same rule applies to countries, cities, states, etc., as places are proper nouns. The names of languages are not capitalized unless they are also a subject of study in class. For instance "I speak Spanish" is hablo español but "I had Spanish classes in high school" is tenía clases de Español en la secundaria. See the table for more examples of when to use capitalization and why.
| Example in English | Translation in Spanish | Rule for Spanish Capitalization |
|---|---|---|
| I pray to God. | Rezo a Dios. | the name of a religious entity |
| Traveling to Mars might be possible in the future. | Viajando a Marte quizás será posible en el futuro | the name of planets |
| We call my cousin Bebo. | Mi primo le llamamos Bebo. | nicknames |
| I am studying English in school. | Estoy estudiando Inglés en la escuela. | when the subject is also the name of a language |
| Paris is known as the City of Light. | Paris es conocida como la Ciudad de la Luz. | common names that designate a person/city |
| In December, we celebrate Christmas. | En diciembre celebramos la Navidad. | holidays |
| I like the book ''Water for Elephants.'' | Me gusta el libro ''Agua para elefantes.'' | the first word of a book, movie, etc. title |
Using All Capitals in Spanish
In Spanish, all words at the beginning of a new sentence are capitalized. People's names and nicknames are always capitalized in any part of a sentence.
- Carlos vive en Bogotá la capital de Colombia.
- Carlos lives in Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
- Mi primo Ian solía a viajar a China todos los veranos.
- My cousin Ian used to travel to China every summer.
Titles like señor (sir, Mr.), señora (ma'am, Ms.) are not capitalized unless they are abbreviated before someone's name
- Perdona señora, ¿Podrís ayudarme con esto?
- Excuse me, ma'am, can you help me with this?
- Mi profesor favorito en la universidad fue Dr. Izurieta.
- My favorite professor in college with Dr. Izurrieta.
- Lo siento, Sr. Gonzalez no está disponible ahora.
- I'm sorry, Mr. Gonzalez is not available right now.
For book titles in Spanish, only the first letter of the title is capitalized.
- Matar un ruiseñor
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Juego de tronos
- Game of Thrones
- Cien años de soledad
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
Unlike books, magazine titles capitalize the first letter of each word in the title.
- La Razón
- The Reason
- El País
- The Country
Holidays are always capitalized unless part of the title includes an article or preposition
- Día de los Muertos
- Day of the Dead
- Nochebuena
- Christmas Eve
- Acción de Gracias
- Thanksgiving
When learning the rules of capitalization in Spanish, English speakers need to be aware that many words capitalized in English are not capitalized in Spanish. These include months, days of the week, languages, religions, and nationalities.
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