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Names of People, Places, Organisations & Brands
People, places, teams and brands all take a capital — how to spot a name and give it the big letter it needs
Proper Nouns & Proper Adjectives — The Core Rule
The one rule under all the others — names take capitals, and so do the adjectives built from them, like "French"
Capitalising the First Word of a Sentence
The very first capital-letter rule — start every sentence with one, even after a question mark or a quote
Parentheses & Brackets
The curved ones for asides, the square ones for edits — how brackets tuck extra information into a sentence
Hyphens & Compound Adjectives
A "well-known writer" needs a hyphen; "the writer is well known" doesn't — the little dash that clips words into one
Dashes (En & Em)
Two dashes, two jobs — the short one for ranges, the long one for a dramatic pause; here's which to reach for
Quotation Marks — UK vs US Compared
Inside or outside the quotes? Single or double? The British and American rules for speech marks, side by side.
Quotation Marks (US English)
Double quotes, with the comma or full stop tucked inside — how American English handles speech marks.
Quotation Marks (UK English)
Single or double quotes, and where the full stop goes — how British English handles speech marks.