This Capitalization Rule Is ALMOST Always True

Doesn’t that just title sum up English grammar? “Here’s a rule, but it’s not quite always true…”

It’s an unfortunate reality that the rules of English grammar are very much like swiss cheese: full of holes (and possibly a little bit stinky). Luckily, this rule about the capitalization of pronouns only has TWO exceptions, so they’re not too tricky to master!

The (Almost) Infallible Rule: Pronouns Are Never Capitalized

The not-quite-always-true rule is that pronouns are never capitalized in English.

Of course, that rule doesn’t count the obvious situations like when a pronoun begins a sentence or is part of a title—in those situations, a pronoun would be capitalized, just like any other word would be. But aside from that and with only TWO exceptions, all pronouns are always lowercase.

Did you spot the first exception in that list?

Exception #1: “I”

The very first personal pronoun in that list breaks the rule. I is always capitalized in English—not any of the other personal pronouns—just I. It doesn’t matter where it is in the sentence, I should always be capitalized.

My brother asked if I would take him trick-or-treating.

“Have you heard if Wendy is coming to the party?” I asked.

The rule to always capitalize I might sound obvious to native English speakers, but English is actually one of the ONLY languages that always capitalizes its first-person-singular pronoun. Per Thesaurus.com, “Even though it feels natural to English speakers, capitalizing I is unusual. In fact, English is the only language that does it.”

So WHY do we do it? When I was searching for an answer, I came across many theories. One possibility is that the lowercase i is just so small that it’s easy to miss, so capitalizing it helps it stand out. Another option is that writers like to feel important, so we capitalize the pronoun that refers to us (to be honest, that tracks 😂).

I wasn’t always capitalized, though. In fact, in Old and Middle English, the first-person-singular pronoun was closer to the German word ich, spelled ic in English. As pronunciation changed over the years, the c was dropped, and around the late 1300s, writers began to use a slightly taller version of i in manuscripts to mark that it was its own word and not a mistake in the writing.

Up until around the 1700s, there were very few capitalization rules in English, so it’s tricky to tell exactly why I stayed capitalized over all these years. The simple idea that capitalization makes this tiny word easier to read certainly holds some credence, so that’s the story I’m going with.

Exception #2: Reverential Capitalization

There’s one more exception to the “never capitalize pronouns” rule, and that’s reverential capitalization.

Reverential capitalization is the capitalization of pronouns that refer to deities. Here are a couple of examples:

The people prayed to God that He would deliver them.

Allah and His followers

Normally, we would not capitalize he or his, but as these pronouns refer to deities, they are sometimes capitalized.

It wouldn’t be an English grammar rule without a little controversy, though, so I must admit that not everyone agrees with the standard of capitalizing pronouns for deities.

The Chicago Manual of Style, which prefers a down style of capitalization, recommends not capitalizing pronouns referring to God or Jesus unless a particular publisher requests otherwise. Chicago points out that most English translations of the Bible do not capitalize pronouns referring to God or Jesus.

However, the 21st century version of the King James Bible does use reverential capitalization, as does the U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual.

In the Index to English, authors Ebbitt & Ebbitt note that, while names of deities are capitalized, “with pronouns referring to God and Jesus, practice is divided.”

In short, either option—reverential capitalization or not—can be correct. Just make sure you’re consistent! The only ways to be wrong are to (1) go against what your publisher wants or (2) only apply the rule sometimes in your text.

The Chicago Manual of Style listed these rules about religious capitalization, which I found interesting:

• Names of deities, whether in monotheistic or polytheistic religions, are capitalized.
  • Allah
  • Astarte
  • Freyja
  • God
  • Jehovah
  • Satan (but the devil)
• Alternative or descriptive names for God as supreme being are capitalized.
  • Adonai
  • the Almighty
  • the Holy Ghost
  • the Lord
  • Providence
• Designations of prophets, apostles, saints, and other revered persons are often capitalized.
  • the Buddha
  • Jesus, the Son, the Good Shepherd
  • Muhammad; the Prophet
  • Saint John
  • the Virgin Mary
  • exception: the apostles
• Words for transcendent ideas in the Platonic sense, especially when used in a religious context, are often capitalized.
  • Good
  • Beauty
  • Truth
• Terms for divine dwelling places, ideal states, places of divine punishment, and the like are usually lowercased (though they are often capitalized in a purely religious context).
  • heaven
  • hell
  • limbo
  • nirvana
  • the pearly gates
  • exception: Eden
  • exception: Elysium
  • exception: Hades
• Religious titles are generally only capitalized when used as part of a name.
  • the rabbi; Rabbi Avraham
  • the sheikh; Sheikh Ibrahim
  • the Dalai Lama (traditionally capitalized); but previous dalai lamas
  • the archbishop; Archbishop Williams
  • the bishop; the bishop of Toledo; Bishop Donnelly
• When used to refer to the institution of religion or of a particular religion, church is usually lowercased unless a particular author or publisher prefers otherwise
  • church and state
  • the early church
  • the church in the twenty-first century
• Church is capitalized when part of the formal name of a denomination (e.g., the United Methodist Church).

Proper Nouns (Religious and Otherwise) ARE Capitalized

Although pronouns are hardly ever capitalized, don’t forget that all proper nouns SHOULD be capitalized. This includes the names of all people, places, months, historical events, documents, organizations, companies, religions, holidays, languages, named vehicles, and nicknames.

Sources:

• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Ebbitt, D. R., and W. R. Ebbitt. Index to English. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• “Why Do We Capitalize the Pronoun ‘I’?” Thesaurus.com, June 16, 2022. https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/whycapitali/.