Is Than Capitalized in a Title?

Are you trying to figure out title capitalization rules? Is than capitalized in a title? Here are some important points regarding title case in English grammar!

Grammar in the English language can be challenging. When you learn there are both sentence case and title case you need to follow, it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, with a bit of practice and a few simple rules, you can work your way through this conundrum. 

So, is then capitalize in a title? Than is longer than three letters. Therefore, you need to capitalize this word when you are following title case. At the same time, there are a lot of other rules regarding title case that you need to know. 

How can you figure out when to use a capital letter or a lowercase letter? If you want to use an uppercase letter properly when following title case, take a look at the most important rules below!

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Understanding the Style Guides You Read

Is than capitalized in a title?

When you go through school, you are probably used to flipping through various style guides, particularly when you are trying to write a research paper. Whether you are using the Chicago Manual of Style, rules from The New York Times, the MLA handbook, AP Style (The Associated Press), or APA style (the American Psychological Association), rules for title case are going to be similar.

Therefore, you don’t have to worry about differentiating between these various style books. You should be able to keep a few quick rules in mind to remember when you should capitalize certain words and when you should not. 

Quick Points: Major Words and Minor Words

First, you need to understand the difference between major words and minor words. Major words always need to be capitalized, regardless of how long they are or where they fall on the title. Examples of major words include now I’m kind of pronouns, proper nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. 

On the other hand, minor words should not be capitalized except in very specific situations. Examples of minor words include articles house what prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions do not capitalize minor words in the title unless they meet one of several criteria. 

So, what are examples of those special criteria? You should capitalize words in the title if they meet any of the following conditions:

  • The word is the first word of the title or the last word of the title.
  • The word is part of a hyphenated compound, in which case both terms need to be capitalized.
  • The word is longer than three letters long. 
  • The word follows an end punctuation mark such as a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.

Therefore, if the word is a major word, or if the word meets any of the criteria listed above, then it needs to be capitalized when you are following title case. 

Capitalize Than in a Title

Is than capitalized in a title?
You should capitalize the word “than” because it is longer than three letters

So, you should capitalize the word “than” in a title. First, understand that “than” is either a preposition or conjunction depending on how you use this term. Therefore, you usually would not capitalize these terms because they are minor words.

On the other hand, you should capitalize the word “than” because it is longer than three letters. In title case, you need to capitalize all words that are longer than three letters. This includes the word “than,” regardless of whether it is the first word of a title, in the middle of the title, or at the end of a title, subtitle, heading, or subheading.

Final Word on Is Than Capitalized in a Title?

Ultimately, there are a lot of title capitalization rules you need to follow. It is easy to get confused. In general, you should capitalize major words and any word longer than four letters. You should not capitalize minor words unless they are the first word of a title or the last word of a title.

Based on the information above, is clear that you should capitalize the word “than” in a title because it is longer than three letters. You may have a difficult time remembering these title capitalization rules. That is why you may want to use a grammar tool to help you, such as a title case converter. 

Need help with fixing capitalization issues in your sentences? A good grammar checker is ideal. It’ll help you find and fix odd capitalization issues fast.

To find out more, read our Grammarly review 

FAQs About Is Than Capitalized in a Title? 

How long does a word have to be in order for it to be capitalized in a title?

If a word is four letters long or longer, then it always needs to be capitalized in title case regardless of where it is located.

Are there certain situations where I still need to capitalize short words in a title?

Yes, for example, if a word is the first word of a title or the last word of a title, then it needs to be capitalized. 

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Author

  • Meet Rachael, the editor at Become a Writer Today. With years of experience in the field, she is passionate about language and dedicated to producing high-quality content that engages and informs readers. When she's not editing or writing, you can find her exploring the great outdoors, finding inspiration for her next project.

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