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02-Mar-2006, 19:20
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| | Capitals in titles Hi, is there any rule of starting all words in titles, e.g., of books, articles, sections, etc., with a capital letter? It's easy to notice that some journals provide titles with such a rule, and others not. So, is it just a free decision?
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Nyggus | 
02-Mar-2006, 21:24
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| | Re: Capitals in titles The rule -- which is not always obeyed -- is to use a capital letter for every word, except for words which have a grammatical function. And, of course, you must capitalise the first word.
Here are some examples of book and movie titles:
Pride and Prejudice ("and" has a grammatical function)
The Colour of Magic ("of" has a grammatical function -- get the idea?)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Once Upon a Time in America
Shaun of the Dead
The Curse of the Wererabbit
An American Werewolf in London
Note the capitalisation in this title -- it's a children's book:
Five Children and It
"It" is a pronoun, and normally has a grammatical function. In this case, however, "It" refers to a strange creature that grants the children one wish per day, and has a central role in the book. So in just this one case, because "It" is so important to the story, "It" is capitalised. | 
03-Mar-2006, 02:49
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| | Re: Capitals in titles Quote: |
Originally Posted by rewboss The rule -- which is not always obeyed -- is to use a capital letter for every word, except for words which have a grammatical function. And, of course, you must capitalise the first word.
Here are some examples of book and movie titles:
Pride and Prejudice ("and" has a grammatical function)
The Colour of Magic ("of" has a grammatical function -- get the idea?)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Once Upon a Time in America
Shaun of the Dead
The Curse of the Wererabbit
An American Werewolf in London
Note the capitalisation in this title -- it's a children's book:
Five Children and It
"It" is a pronoun, and normally has a grammatical function. In this case, however, "It" refers to a strange creature that grants the children one wish per day, and has a central role in the book. So in just this one case, because "It" is so important to the story, "It" is capitalised. | When do we capitalize 'the', aside from when it's the first word in the title? | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
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