I Didn't Know That! (Rules of Spanish Capitalization)

Question

I didn't know that! Both advanced and beginning students need reminders sometimes. I was surprised, not at what I have learned, but what I have forgotten about Spanish capitalization. Here is a neat reminder! (I love visuals!)

Days and Months: Names of the days of the week and months of the year use lower-case letters. Hoy es martes. (Today is Tuesday.) México celebra su independencia el 16 de septiembre. (Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16.)

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 Sorcerer's 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.

Other titles: Introductory titles are not capitalized, although common abbreviations of them (such as Sr. for señor, Dr. for doctor, D. for don and Srta. for señorita) are. ¿Conoces a la señora 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.)

Religion: Names of religions and their adherents aren't capitalized. Mi madre es católica. (My mother is Catholic.) Estudio el cristianismo. (I'm studying Christianity.)

** numbers:** When an ordinal number is used after a name, it isn't capitalized. Luis catorce (Luis the Fourteenth), Carlos octavo (Charles the Eighth)

Place names: Although the given name of rivers, lakes, mountains and other geographic features are capitalized, the place identifier is not. No vimos el río Amazonas. (We didn't see the Amazon River.) Vivimos cerca de la montaña Rainier. (We live near Mount Rainier.)

Nationalities: Although names of countries and cities are capitalized, words derived from them are not. Soy inglés. (I'm English.) Prefiero los cocos puertorriqueños. (I prefer the Puerto Rican coconuts.)

Languages: Names of languages aren't capitalized. Hablo inglés. (I speak English.) Quiero estudiar alemán. (I want to study German.) (Credit: About.com/Spanish)

Thanks. - gringojrf, Mar 10, 2012

Esta información es para no olvidarla nunca. Gracias Don_José. - Gloriange, Mar 10, 2012

This is good to have. Thanks. - Goldie_Miel, Mar 10, 2012

This is great. Thank you. - inandof, Mar 10, 2012

Answer 1

Hola Don José.

This needs to be in the reference section. It's fantasitic. Thanks so much!

This is the current reference section. You may have to repost. I am not sure.

http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/browse/reference-articles

I agree! =) - NikkiLR, Mar 10, 2012

Answer 2

thanks

Answer 3

Great find.... Thank ou for your input

Answer 4

Pregunta!!!

Can you use "Da." for "doña"?

I have never heard it used that way. - 002262dd, Mar 10, 2012

@MeEncantan: I am pretty sure the abbreviations are: D.ª -or- Dña. :) - cristalino, Mar 10, 2012

thanks!! :) - MeEncantanCarasSonrisas, Mar 12, 2012

Answer 5

Now why was that not available when I first started, it is fantastic,

easy to understand and straightforward , i would like it tattooed on my forehead .

Thanks mate! - 002262dd, Mar 11, 2012

Tattooed backward so all you would need is a mirror, hey! :) - cristalino, Mar 11, 2012

Answer 6

Thak you for great explanation.

Answer 7

Another great explanation, Don José! Muchisimos gracias!

¡MuchísimAs... :) - cristalino, Mar 10, 2012

Answer 8

One more mystery solved by a fellow SD friend. Thanks for posting.