Title capitalization rules can be difficult, and capitalizing the right words is important. So, is our capitalized in a title? Learn more in this article.
English grammar can be difficult. When you are sitting in a high school classroom, you may think you are never going to use these rules; however, no matter what type of assignment you are writing, professionalism is important. You need to master the sentence case and title case to make a positive impression on the reader. Therefore, is our capitalized in a title?
Yes, you do need to capitalize the first letter of the word “our” when you are following the title case. Even though it is shorter than four letters, it still needs to be capitalized because it is an adjective. An adjective is a major word, so it always needs to be capitalized no matter where it falls in the title, subtitle, header, or subheader.
What should you know about lowercase and uppercase capital letters and title case? Learn more about when you should capitalize words in headers, subheaders, and titles!
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Contents
Exploring Different Style Guides
There are multiple style guides, and while each of them is a bit different, they are all relatively similar when it comes to title case. You might be following a stylebook from the New York Times, the MLA handbook, the Chicago Manual of Style, or even the guidelines from the American Psychological Association or the Associated Press.
Fortunately, AP Style, APA Style, and MLA style are all pretty similar. You need to think about the length of the word and the part of speech of the word to learn what words need to be capitalized.
Want to learn more? Read our article about style guide templates. It’ll help you pick the right one.
We also explain how to write a style guide for a business.
Parts of Speech Play a Major Role
In title case, words are divided into major words and minor words based on their part of speech. For example, nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs are all considered major words. In contrast, short prepositions, articles, subordinating conjunctions, and coordinating conjunctions are considered minor words. In general, you should not capitalize major words, but you do need to capitalize minor words.
There are a few other rules you must consider as well. Other pointers include:
- You always need to capitalize the first word of a title and the last word of the title, regardless of whether you have a major word or a minor word.
- You should always capitalize words that are longer than three letters.
- You need to capitalize the first letter of the word if it follows end punctuation. Examples of end punctuation include periods, question marks, and exclamation marks.
- You should also capitalize both words if they are part of a hyphenated compound.
If you can follow these pointers, you should be able to capitalize words correctly in title case. You may even want to use title capitalization tool or a converter to help you practice.
Always Capitalize Our in Title Case
You should capitalize the word “our” when you are following title case. It is true that this word is three letters or shorter; however, this word is an adjective. Therefore, it falls under the category of a major word. No matter where it falls in a title, it needs to be capitalized. This includes headings, subheadings, subtitles, and titles. You might also find our explainer on if during is capitalized in a title helpful.
Final Word on Is Our Capitalized in a Title?
Even though it can be a challenge to get used to title capitalization rules, you can master them with a bit of practice. Remember to always capitalize the first word of the title and the last word of the title. Then, you always need to capitalize words that are longer than three letters.
There are still situations where you need to capitalize words that are shorter than four letters. For example, the word “our” is an adjective, which makes it a major word. Therefore, you always need to capitalize it, regardless of where it is located in the title. If you can follow these rules, you can make a positive impression on everyone who reads your work.
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FAQs About Is Our Capitalized in a Title?
How can I figure out which words I need to capitalize based on the part of speech of the term?
You always need to capitalize major words regardless of how long they are or where they are located in the title. Examples of major words include nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.
When do I need to follow title case when I am writing an essay, blog post, or article?
In general, you should follow title case if you are dealing with a title, a subtitle, a header, or a subheader. If you are publishing work online, you should use title case in subheaders such as H1 or H2, but not H3 or lower.
Further Resources
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