Rules of Capitalization in Spanish

Rules of Capitalization in Spanish Spanish uses far fewer capital letters than does English. With only two exceptions - Spanish capitalizes Sol and Luna when they refer to the Earths sun and moon, respectively - whenever Spanish capitalizes a word, the corresponding word in English is capitalized. But the opposite is far from true; there are numerous instances where English capitalizes that Spanish does not. What Spanish does capitalize are proper names for people, places, holidays, newspapers, and magazines; abbreviations of personal titles such as Dr. (Dr.), Sr. (Mr.), Sra. (Mrs.), and Srta. (Miss); and the first word in the titles of books, plays, movies, and similar works. Here are the most common cases where English capitalizes that Spanish does not: Calendar Names of the days of the week and months of the year use lower-case letters. Hoy es martes. (Today is Tuesday.) Mà ©xico celebra su independencia el 16 de septiembre. (Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16.) Composition Titles In formal written Spanish, titles of movies, books, plays, and similar works capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. La guerra de las galaxias (Star Wars), Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone) Note: In informal written Spanish, and on book covers and movie posters, it is not unusual to see such composition titles capitalized as in English. Personal Titles Introductory titles are not capitalized, although common abbreviations of them (such as Sr. for seà ±or, Dr. for doctor, D. for don and Srta. for seà ±orita) are.  ¿Conoces a la seà ±ora Wilson? (Do you know Mrs. Wilson?)  ¿Conoces a la Sra. Wilson? (Do you know Mrs. Wilson?) La reina Victoria fue mi abuela. (Queen Victoria was my grandmother.) Religions Names of religions and their adherents arent capitalized. Mi madre es catà ³lica. (My mother is Catholic.) Estudio el cristianismo. (Im studying Christianity.) Ordinal Numbers When an ordinal number is used after a name, it isnt capitalized. Luis catorce (Luis the Fourteenth), Carlos octavo (Charles the Eighth.) If Roman numerals are used, they are capitalized. Place Names Although the given name of rivers, lakes, mountains and other geographic features are capitalized, the geographical identity is not. No vimos el rà ­o Amazonas. (We didnt see the Amazon River.) Vivimos cerca de la montaà ±a Rainier. (We live near Mount Rainier.) Nationality Although names of countries and cities are capitalized, words derived from them are not. Soy inglà ©s. (Im English.) Prefiero los cocos puertorriqueà ±os. (I prefer the Puerto Rican coconuts.) Languages Names of languages arent capitalized. Hablo inglà ©s. (I speak English.) Quiero estudiar alemn. (I want to study German.) Sample Sentences on Spanish Capitalization Habà ­ negociaciones de paz entre el gobierno del presidente Juan Manuel Santos y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. (There were peace negotiations between the government of Presidente Juan Manual Santos and the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia. The presidents title isnt capitalized, but the formal name of FARC is because it is considered a proper noun.) Los musulmanes catalanes son ms que una comunidad. (Catalonian Muslims are more than a community. References to the geographic origin or religious affiliations of people are not capitalized.) El rà ­o Danubio atraviesa varios paà ­ses de Europa antes de desembocar en el Mar negro. (The Danube River crosses several European countries before emptying into the Black Sea. Only the given names of the river and sea are capitalized.) El rey Lear es una tragedia de Shakespeare. King Lear is a Shakespeare tragedy. (Rey is not capitalized, even though it is part of the play title as well as a personal title.) Herodes murià ³ el aà ±o 4 a. de C. (Herod died in 4 B.C. Only the letter standing for the name of a person is capitalized in this abbreviation. The abbreviation stands for antes de Cristo.) El doctor Romero es un conocido veterinario de Buenos Aires. El Dr. Romero es un conocide veterinario de Buenos Aires. (Dr. Romero is a well-known Buenos Aires veterinarian. His title is capitalized when abbreviated but not otherwise.) Herodes murià ³ el aà ±o 4 a. de C. (Herod died in 4 B.C. Only the letter standing for the name of a person is capitalized in this abbreviation. The abbreviation stands for antes de Cristo.) Las Naciones Unidas es una organizacià ³n internacional formada por 192 paà ­ses independientes. (The United Nations is an international organization formed by 192 independent countries. Names of organizations are capitalized as in English.) El budismo es una religià ³n oriental que tiene muchos creyentes occidentales. (Buddhism is an Eastern religion that has many Western believers. Names of religions are not capitalized, even when named after a person. Neither are geographical words such as oriental unless they refer to a specific entity, such as in Europa Oriental for Eastern Europe.)