When to use capital letters in Spanish, capitalization rules
Usage of Capital Letters in Spanish
Introduction to Capitalization Rules
- The video introduces the topic of capitalization in Spanish, emphasizing its importance and relevance in writing.
- It states that the first word of a text should always be capitalized, regardless of punctuation.
Punctuation and Sentence Start
- After any period (whether it’s a full stop or part of an ellipsis), the next sentence begins with a capital letter.
- Questions and exclamations that form complete sentences also require capitalization at their beginning.
Specific Cases for Capitalization
- If a question or exclamation does not constitute a complete thought, only the first word is capitalized.
- Capital letters are used after colons when introducing quotes or direct speech.
Proper Nouns and Geographical Names
- Proper nouns, including personal names and surnames (e.g., Lola Sánchez), must start with a capital letter.
- Geographic names such as countries, cities, rivers, and mountains are also capitalized (e.g., El Río Ebro).
Additional Capitalization Guidelines
- Street names, commercial brands (e.g., Seat), deities (e.g., Dios), artistic works (books/movies), and institutional names should be written with initial capitals.
- Cardinal directions are capitalized when they denote specific locations but not when used generically.
Historical Periods and Abbreviations
- Names of holidays (e.g., Navidad, Pascua) and historical periods (e.g., Edad Media) require capitalization.
- Acronyms are fully capitalized; for example, OMS stands for Organización Mundial de la Salud. Roman numerals are also written in uppercase.
Exceptions to Capitalization Rules
- Days of the week, months, and seasons are not capitalized in Spanish unless they begin a sentence.
- Gentilic adjectives derived from country names remain lowercase (e.g., franceses for people from France).