Most mistakes come from English habits. The list to unlearn is short.
English speakers write Lundi, Janvier and Français far more often than French does, because English capitalizes all three. Capitalization in French follows a narrower rule: a capital marks the start of a sentence, a proper noun or a title, and little else.
Here are the words French leaves in lowercase, the one distinction to learn by heart (un Français, un livre français), and what happens to accents on capital letters.
French uses a capital for the first word of a sentence, for proper nouns (people, places, institutions) and for the first word of a title. Most other words stay in lowercase, including some that English always capitalizes.
One you meet in the first lesson: je stays lowercase in the middle of a sentence, unlike the English I. Demain, je pars.
Lundi, mardi, dimanche; janvier, septembre, décembre; le printemps, l'été, l'hiver. They only take a capital at the start of a sentence: le lundi 12 octobre, but Lundi, je travaille.
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Monday | lundi |
| September | septembre |
| French (the language) | le français |
| a French book | un livre français |
| a Frenchman | un Français |
| Mr Martin, in a sentence | monsieur Martin, or M. Martin |
Names of languages are common nouns in French: le français, l'anglais, l'espagnol. Elle parle italien. J'apprends le japonais depuis un an.
The same word changes case with its job.
Les Français parlent français uses both in one sentence. As an adjective, the word also agrees like any other, as explained in French adjective agreement: une voiture française, des films français.
Titles used inside a sentence stay lowercase: monsieur Dupont, madame la directrice, le président de la République. In a letter, the greeting takes capitals: Madame, Monsieur,
For places and institutions, the specific word takes the capital and the generic word does not.
| Capital | Lowercase | Why |
|---|---|---|
| un Français | un livre français | person, then adjective |
| la mer Méditerranée | la mer | the name, not the kind of place |
| l'océan Atlantique | l'océan | the name, not the kind of place |
| la rue de la Paix | la rue | the name, not the kind of place |
| l'Assemblée nationale | nationale | first noun only |
| Madame, (greeting) | madame Durand (in a sentence) | greeting, then title |
French capitalizes far fewer words in titles than English: usually the first word and any proper noun. À la recherche du temps perdu has a single capital. When a title opens with Le, La or Les, usage often capitalizes the first noun as well: Le Petit Prince, Les Misérables.
A capital letter keeps its accent: École, État, À bientôt. Leaving it out is a typewriter habit, and it can change the meaning. UN POLICIER TUÉ and UN POLICIER TUE do not say the same thing at all. The page on French accents covers each accent in detail.
Before you capitalize, ask whether the word names one specific person, place or institution. If it does not, French probably wants lowercase. For the rest of the rules that trip up English speakers, see French grammar rules, explained. Apostrophe· dictates sentences that put these words in context, so the lowercase becomes a reflex.
Are months capitalized in French?
No. Janvier, février, septembre and the rest are written in lowercase, except at the start of a sentence: le 3 octobre.
Are days of the week capitalized in French?
No: lundi, mardi, dimanche. Only the start of a sentence takes a capital.
Do you capitalize languages in French?
No. Languages are common nouns: le français, l'anglais, elle parle espagnol.
Why is Français sometimes capitalized?
When it names a person: un Français, une Française, les Français. As an adjective or as the language, it stays lowercase: un film français, il parle français.
Is je capitalized in French?
No, unlike the English I. Je only takes a capital at the start of a sentence.
Apostrophe· reads you a sentence, corrects it word by word, and explains the exact rule behind each mistake.
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