Capital and lower case letters

The rules for the use of capitals are very complex and changeable. Here are a few leads to help you. It should be noted that the use of capitals is slightly different in French and in English.

The following require a capital letter:

• the first word of a sentence;
• the first word of a quotation, however short it may be:
  
  Il cria : «Non.»
• the beginning of each line of verse in a poem;
• proper names of people;
• the names of towns, countries, rivers, nationalities and races:
  
  …à Paris… le Sénégal… la Tamise… les Français… les Blancs… la République d'Irlande
• titles and occupations which replace a person's name:
  
  …le Président… Madame la Directrice…
• the different forms of address in a letter:
  
  Cher Monsieur, …
  
  Veuilleez agréer, Madame, mes salutations distinguées.
• the names of associations, organizations, etc.:
  
  l'Alliance française… la Compagnie générale des Eaux…
• the names of great historical periods or events:
  
  … la Révolution française… la guerre de Cents Ans…

The following do not require capital letters:

• the names of days of the week and months of the year:
  
  C'était le début du mois de novembre. C'est vendredi.
• adjectives which denote nationality or region:
  
  … un citoyen suédois… une femme africaine…une spécialité alsacienne… la République italienne.
• nouns and adjectives which describe a language:
  
  … la grammaire française... Il parle anglais. L'italien est une langue latine.
• titles or qualities which precede a proper noun:
  
  …le président Chirac…

Capital letters in the names of artistic works

As a general rule:

• capitalize the initial letter of the first word only, provided it is not a definite article:
  
  À la recherche du temps perdu.
  
  Une vie
• capitalize the initial letters of the first two words if they are a definite article followed by a noun:
  
  Le Journal d'une femme de chambre.
• capitalize the initial letters of the first three words if they are a definite article followed by an adjective followed by a noun:
  
  La Double Inconstance

Of course, if the title includes a proper name, a capital is required for the proper name as well:

L'Enfance de Bacchus

The titles of books and works of art must always be underlined or written in italics.