- A1 Core: Apply the golden rule - only capitalize names and sentence beginnings
- Recognize that days, months, and languages stay lowercase in Spanish
- Use opening punctuation marks (¿ and ¡) before questions and exclamations
- Write people's names with capitals but keep titles lowercase (señor García)
- Format basic Spanish sentences with correct capitalization
- A2 Extension: Apply capitalization rules to professional writing and titles
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Spanish Writing Style: Capitalisation & Punctuation Made Simple
What You'll Learn
Overview / Usage
Spanish uses fewer capital letters than English! 🎉 Good news - this makes Spanish writing simpler. Plus, Spanish gives readers helpful warnings with special punctuation marks (¿ and ¡) so they know what's coming.
🎯 A1 Focus: The Golden Rule
"When in doubt, DON'T capitalize!"
Spanish only capitalizes two things: names and sentence beginnings. That's it!
💡 Why Spanish Writing is Easier
English capitalizes days (Monday), months (January), languages (English). Spanish keeps them all lowercase: lunes, enero, español. Much simpler!
Structure & Formation
Step 1: The "Less Is More" Capitalisation Rule
Spanish is much more relaxed about capitals than English. Think of it as being polite - only shout (capitalise) when absolutely necessary!
🧠 The Golden Rule
"When in doubt, DON'T capitalise!"
Spanish only capitalises what's truly special - names and sentence beginnings
✅ DO Capitalise These
Sentence beginnings: El gato es negro.
People's names: señor García
Place names: Madrid, España
Institutions: Universidad de Madrid
❌ DON'T Capitalise These
Days: los lunes
Months: en enero
Languages: lengua española
Languages in sentence: hablo español
Titles: señor García
Step 2: Spanish's Special "Warning System" - Double Punctuation
🚨 Why Spanish Uses Opening Marks
Spanish is considerate! It warns readers at the beginning: "Hey, get ready for a question!" or "Excitement coming!"
¿❓
Question Sandwich
¿Cómo te llamas?
Opening warns → Question → Closing confirms
¡❗
Excitement Sandwich
¡Qué bonito!
Opening warns → Exclamation → Closing confirms
Step 3: Common Question Words That Signal ¿...?
🔍 Question Word Signals
When you see these words, you know a question is coming! They're your signal to use ¿ at the beginning:
¿Qué...?
What?
¿Qué hora es?
¿Quién...?
Who?
¿Quién eres?
¿Cuándo...?
When?
¿Cuándo vienes?
¿Dónde...?
Where?
¿Dónde vives?
¿Por qué...?
Why?
¿Por qué estudias?
¿Cómo...?
How?
¿Cómo estás?
¿Cuál...?
Which?
¿Cuál prefieres?
¿Cuánto...?
How much/many?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
💡 Pro Tip: These question words often have accents (á, é, ó) when used in questions, but lose them when used in statements. For example: ¿Cuándo vienes? (When are you coming?) vs. Cuando vengas (When you come).
Step 4: Master the Special Characters
¿ Inverted Question Mark
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Dónde vives?
💡 Keyboard: Alt + 168 (Windows) or Option + Shift + ? (Mac)
How to say it:
¡ Inverted Exclamation Mark
¡Hasta mañana!
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
💡 Keyboard: Alt + 161 (Windows) or Option + 1 (Mac)
How to say it:
Examples
Practice with Real-World Examples
Let's see these rules in action with examples you'll actually use in daily Spanish writing!
✅ ❌ Before & After Transformations
❌ English-style mistake:
El Señor García habla Español los Lunes.
El Señor García habla Español los Lunes.
✅ Correct Spanish:
El señor García habla español los lunes.
El señor García habla español los lunes.
❌ Missing opening mark:
Cómo te llamas?
Cómo te llamas?
✅ Complete question sandwich:
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Cómo te llamas?
❌ Over-capitalised title:
El Señor De Los Anillos
El Señor De Los Anillos
✅ Spanish title style:
El señor de los anillos
El señor de los anillos
🎯 Perfect Punctuation Practice
Questions with Double Marks
¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Dónde está la biblioteca?
¿Cuántos años tienes?
Exclamations with Energy
¡Qué bonito día!
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
¡Hasta mañana!
📄 Download Study Guide
Get a comprehensive PDF study guide with all capitalisation rules, question words, special characters, and practice exercises.
Gotchas / Common Mistakes
Watch Out for These Sneaky Traps!
😱 "I'm Shouting Everything Like English!"
The Problem: Capitalising every important word like in English titles
❌ Wrong: Hablo Español Y Francés En La Universidad
✅ Right: Hablo español y francés en la universidad
💡 Fix: Remember "less is more" - only names and sentence starts get capitals!
😅 "I Keep Forgetting the Opening Warnings!"
The Problem: Using only English-style ending punctuation
❌ Wrong: Cómo estás? Qué bonito!
✅ Right: ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bonito!
💡 Fix: Spanish warns readers in advance - always use ¿¡ at the start!
🤔 "English Titles Look Wrong in Spanish"
The Problem: Using English Title Case for everything
❌ Wrong: El Señor De Los Anillos, Harry Potter Y La Piedra Filosofal
✅ Right: El señor de los anillos, Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal
💡 Fix: Only the first word and proper names get capitals in Spanish titles!
😵 "Wait, Do I Capitalise Names or Not?"
The Problem: Confusion about when names need capitals
❌ Wrong: el señor garcía, doctor martinez
✅ Right: el señor García, doctor Martínez
💡 Fix: Titles stay lowercase, but actual names always get capitals!
💡 Pro Success Strategies
🧠 Mental Model
Think of Spanish as a "humble" language - it doesn't shout unless something is truly special (like a person's name).
⚠️ Warning System
Spanish loves to warn readers: "¿Question coming!" or "¡Excitement ahead!" Use both opening and closing marks.
📚 Study Method
Read Spanish newspapers online - notice how they capitalise much less than English news sites.
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
Learn the key combos: ¿ (Alt+168), ¡ (Alt+161) on Windows, or use the international keyboard layout.
🔍 Double-Check Habit
Before hitting send, scan for over-capitalisation - your Spanish will instantly look more natural!
🎯 Practice Routine
Write one Spanish email or text per day focusing only on correct capitalisation and punctuation.
🧠 Remember This
Spanish capitalisation is like good manners - subtle and respectful. Spanish punctuation is like a helpful friend - it warns you what's coming. Master these two concepts and you'll write like a native!
Quick Test / Mini Quiz
📝 Interactive Writing Skills Quiz
Time to test your Spanish writing skills! These questions cover the most common mistakes English speakers make.
1
🔍 Spot the capitalisation! Which word needs a capital in: 'el señor garcía'?
2
✋ Greeting check! How do you correctly write 'good morning' in Spanish?
3
❓ Punctuation puzzle! How does Spanish handle questions?
4
📅 Calendar confusion! When do days of the week get capitals in Spanish?
5
🌍 Language logic! How do you write 'Spanish language' in Spanish?
6
📚 Book title test! How should you write 'The Lord of the Rings' in Spanish?
7
📆 Month madness! Which is correct for 'January 15th'?
8
👋 Complete the greeting correctly: '____ buenos días, ____ garcía!'