Capital Letters

Capital letters are big letters. We use them at the start of sentences and for special names.

What You'll Learn

• When to use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence
• When to use a capital letter for names of people

When to Use

1. Starting a sentence: "The boy is happy."
2. Writing a name: "My friend is Ali."
3. Writing the word "I": "I like to play."

How to Form

Every sentence starts with a capital letter. Names of people also start with a capital letter.

Remember: A capital letter is the big form of a letter. a becomes A, b becomes B, m becomes M.

Key Rules

1. Every sentence starts with a capital letter: "My dog is cute." The first word always gets a capital letter.
2. Names start with a capital letter: People's names are special. We write Ali, Mei Ling, Sarah -- not ali, mei ling, sarah.
3. The word "I" is always a capital letter: We always write "I", never "i". "I like ice cream."

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Words that often need a capital letter:

names of people, the first word in a sentence, the word "I"

Look for these:

• A full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark -- the next word needs a capital letter
• A person's name -- it always starts with a capital letter

Tip: After a full stop, the next letter is always a big letter!

Practice Tips

1. Check every sentence: Read your sentence. Does it start with a big letter? If not, change it.
2. Circle the names: Find all the names in a story. Do they all start with a big letter? If not, fix them.

Quick Reference