English Language Resources for Speakers of Spanish
Capitalisation in English
The English language shares most capitalisation rules with Spanish, but there are some differences that are worth considering. CleverCookie has already given you some examples:
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First person singular:
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Days of the week:
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Months:
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Languages and nationalities:
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The word “Internet”:
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Do you understand what I mean?
We can meet on Monday or even on Tuesday.
I was born in September.
She is Russian but can speak Spanish pretty well.
The Internet is a powerful tool.
But there are a few more on the list:
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Religions:
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Celebrations:
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Members of your family when used as a form of address:
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After a colon, if a complete sentence follows:
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Common nouns when they are part of an official name:
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Historical events, artistical periods and eras:
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Words in titles, except articles and coordinate conjunctions (there is no agreement regarding prepositions but, if you want to do it, capitalise only those prepositions which are more than 5 letters long).
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Divisions within organisations, groups, or programmes
if they are official:
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Job titles when they precede the name:
The name can be left out if the referent is clear.
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Academic titles when the full name is used even if abbreviated:
She is a Catholic and he is a Muslim.
They usually spend Christmas at home and New Year at her in-laws'.
Mum and Dad have bought cookies! Vs. My mum and my dad have bought cookies.
I don’t mind travelling: Planes are part of my life. Vs. My next stop: the beach.
Getting to Paddington Station from Heathrow Airport is not difficult. And remember to visit Westminster Abbey!
The Battle of Hastings took place in the 11th century, during the Middle Ages.
My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me is a book written by Maya Angelou.
I applied for a position in the Biology Department at the University
of Santiago de Compostela. Vs. I applied for a position in the biology
department at the university nearby.
Yesterday, Professor Crystal met Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. He
met the Prime Minister in Downing Street. Vs. Crystal, a professor in
linguistics, met Boris Johnson, prime minister.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English, and I’m now considering a master’s degree. The Master of Arts (MA) degree offer is quite high.