¿Mayúscula o minúscula? Posted by Magda on Feb 13, 2011 in Spanish Grammar
Hi everybody,
Today we’ll be clarifying some spelling rules related to the use of capital letters in Spanish, since they don’t always correspond with the way English is capitalized. There are only a few DOs and DON’Ts, so they will be easy for you to remember.
You should always write a capital letter in the following cases:
-At the beginning of a text or sentence (after every full stop, exclamation mark, or question mark).
-After a colon, if you’re quoting word by word.
Me dijo: “No pienso venir más.”
–After the heading in a letter or email.
Querida Teresa:
He recibido tu carta…
–People’s names and surnames:
María, Miguel Ángel, Santiago García López…
-Proper names of animals and unique locations, such as countries, rivers, mountains, etc.
Mi gata Nara, España, el río Duero, los Pirineos…
-Articles and adjectives when they are part of a proper noun.
Buenos Aires, Estados Unidos, El Salvador, Dos Hermanas
-A person’s title, when the name of the person is not mentioned.
El Papa, el Presidente del Gobierno, el rey Juan Carlos…
-Abbreviated common titles.
D.,Sr.,Dña.,Sra.,Vd., usted…
-Names of companies and institutions.
el Tribunal Supremo, el Museo Nacional del Prado, Caja Granada…
-Titles of books, movies, and other works of art, unless the title is too long, in which case only the first word will be capitalized.
El Quijote, El Guernica, La guerra de las galaxias…
–Finally, remember that, in Spanish, days of the week, months, and seasons are not capitalized.
lunes, martes, enero, febrero, primavera, verano…
I hope this was useful. Take care, and until next time!
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About the Author: Magda
Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!
Comments:
Ana:
Great blog! I really like your way to explain