Title Case is a capitalization style commonly used for titles of books, articles, songs, and other works. This guide breaks down the rules so you can apply them correctly every time.
What Is Title Case?
Title Case (also called "headline case") capitalizes:
- The first and last words
- Major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns)
- Keeps minor words lowercase (articles, coordinating conjunctions, short prepositions)
Example: "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" → "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps over the Lazy Dog"
Standard Title Case Rules
✅ Capitalize these:
- First word of the title
- Last word of the title
- Nouns (dog, tree, happiness)
- Verbs (run, jump, think, be, is)
- Adjectives (quick, brown, lazy, beautiful)
- Adverbs (quickly, silently, very, quite)
- Pronouns (he, she, it, they, this, that)
❌ Keep these lowercase (unless first or last word):
- Articles: a, an, the
- Coordinating Conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
- Short Prepositions (fewer than 5 letters): at, by, for, in, of, on, to, up, as
Quick Reference Table
| Word Type | Capitalize? | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| First/Last word | ✅ Always | "The", "Dog" |
| Nouns | ✅ Yes | "Fox", "World" |
| Verbs | ✅ Yes | "Jumps", "Is" |
| Adjectives | ✅ Yes | "Quick", "Brown" |
| Adverbs | ✅ Yes | "Quickly", "Very" |
| Pronouns | ✅ Yes | "He", "They" |
| Articles | ❌ No | "a", "an", "the" |
| Conjunctions | ❌ No | "and", "but", "or" |
| Short prepositions | ❌ No | "in", "of", "on" |
Try It Yourself
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