Sentence capitalizer · Free · Nothing uploaded
Capitalize Sentences
To capitalize sentences, paste your text: the first letter after every full stop, question mark or exclamation mark becomes a capital, and nothing else changes, so NASA and London keep their capitals. This tool also passes over abbreviations such as Dr. and e.g., capitalizes I on its own, and lists every place it could not decide.
The example on the tool: 8 capitals added, NASA and London untouched, and 3 places listed to check.
Result, each capital added marked
Nothing typed yet. The text is kept in this browser only.
Your own abbreviations
- Sentence starts
- 0
- Line starts
- 0
- I on its own
- 0
- After a colon
- 0
- Places to check
- 0
Places to check
Places the tool could not decide on are listed here.
Paste or type text. Each sentence gets its capital as you type, nothing you capitalized is lowered, and the places a rule cannot settle are listed instead of guessed.
To capitalize a sentence is to write its first letter as a capital. It differs from sentence case, which also makes every other letter small: capitalizing sentences changes only the first letters, so names and acronyms keep their capitals.
- No sign-up
- Nothing uploaded
- Rules stated
- Works offline
- Never lowers a letter
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, nothing to install |
| Changes | First letters only; never lowers a letter |
| A sentence ends with | . ! ? or ‽, then a space or a line break |
| Abbreviations | 92 known, in three groups, plus your own |
| Left as typed | Web addresses, file names, iPhone-style brands, numerals |
| Places to check | Listed under the result, never changed |
| Languages | English, Dutch, Turkish and Azerbaijani, and others |
| Where the text is kept | This browser only |
How to capitalize the first letter of every sentence
Paste the text, read the marked result and the places to check, copy it.
Paste or type your text
Into Your text. The result appears under the options at once.
Choose the language and line breaks
Each line starts a sentence for lists and chat; Wrapped text for text pasted from a PDF or an email.
Read the result
Each capital added is marked, so you can see exactly what changed.
Look at the places to check
An abbreviation, an ellipsis or a numeral the tool would not decide on is listed with the words around it.
Fix those in your text if needed
Capitalize the word yourself and the tool keeps it.
Copy the result
Copy the result puts the text on your clipboard, or put it back in the box.
What people capitalize
Text typed fast, by voice or on a phone, where the words are right but the capitals are not.
Chat and messages
A message typed on a phone with capitals turned off, tidied before it is pasted into an email.
Voice typing and transcripts
Dictated or auto-transcribed text, where the sentences are there but the capitals are missing.
Notes and minutes
Meeting notes typed in a hurry, made presentable without retyping the names.
Subtitles and captions
Caption lines, one sentence start per line, acronyms kept.
Comments and reviews
A review or a forum post before it goes up, I’s and all.
Lists
Shopping lists, to-do lists and bullet points with a capital on each item.
Teaching
A text for pupils to compare with their own, or to show where capitals go.
Text from PDFs and emails
Wrapped lines pasted from a PDF, capitalized by sentence and paragraph.
Capitalize sentences or sentence case: what each one changes
Two jobs go by similar names, and they do opposite things to the rest of your text:
Capitalize sentences puts a capital on the first letter of each sentence and changes nothing else. A name, an acronym or a brand you typed with capitals keeps them. This is what the tool on this page does, and it never makes a capital letter small.
Sentence case makes every letter small first, then capitalizes the start of each sentence. Microsoft describes Word’s Sentence case as capitalizing the first letter of a sentence and leaving all other letters lower case, and the sentence case converters in the search results say the same. Your names and acronyms come out small and have to be put back by hand.
| Done with | Comes out | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Typed | the NASA team met in London. it went well. | Nothing yet |
| Capitalize sentences (this tool) | The NASA team met in London. It went well. | Two first letters; nothing lowered |
| Sentence case | The nasa team met in london. It went well. | Two first letters raised, NASA and London lowered |
| Capitalize each word | The NASA Team Met In London. It Went Well. | Every word, which suits a heading, not a sentence |
Use this tool on text that was typed fast without capitals but with its names right: chat messages, notes, a transcript, voice typing, a comment box, subtitles. Use sentence case on text typed in capitals throughout, then put the names back. If a text is both, run sentence case first and this tool second: it will not undo anything.
Every competitor page found for this job says it capitalizes “the first letter of each sentence”, and none says what it treats as the end of one. That is the whole difficulty. A full stop ends a sentence in It rained. We stayed in. but not in Dr. Patel, e.g. apples or 3.50, and it may or may not in pens, paper, etc. the shop. The sections below set out what this tool decides in each case, and where it cannot decide, it does not guess: it leaves the letter as you typed it and lists the place under the result for you to look at.
How it decides where a sentence starts
The tool looks for the places a sentence starts, then capitalizes the first letter it finds there. Here is every kind of place, typed into the tool with the setting the row names, and what came out. The last column counts the places the tool listed for you to check instead of changing:
| The rule | Typed in | Comes out | To check |
|---|---|---|---|
| A full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, then a space | it rained. we stayed in! did you? yes. | It rained. We stayed in! Did you? Yes. | 0 |
| Capitals you typed are kept | the NASA launch was moved. ask BBC news. | The NASA launch was moved. Ask BBC news. | 0 |
| Quotation marks and brackets are passed over | he said “stop.” “why?” (see below.) maybe. | He said “stop.” “Why?” (See below.) Maybe. | 0 |
| Spanish ¿ and ¡ are passed over | hola. ¿qué tal? ¡muy bien! | Hola. ¿Qué tal? ¡Muy bien! | 0 |
| A title before a name never ends a sentence | ask Dr. Patel. she is in St. Mary's. | Ask Dr. Patel. She is in St. Mary's. | 0 |
| Neither does e.g., i.e. or cf. | bring fruit, e.g. apples or pears. then go. | Bring fruit, e.g. apples or pears. Then go. | 0 |
| An abbreviation that may end a sentence is left, and listed | we sell pens, paper, etc. the shop opens at 9 a.m. on monday. | We sell pens, paper, etc. the shop opens at 9 a.m. on monday. | 2 |
| Decimal points, web addresses and file names | it costs 3.50 today. example.com is down. see notes.txt for more. | It costs 3.50 today. example.com is down. See notes.txt for more. | 1 |
| A brand that starts with a small letter | i bought it on eBay. iPhone sales rose. | I bought it on eBay. iPhone sales rose. | 1 |
| I on its own, and in I’m, I’ve, I’ll and I’d | you and i know. i'm sure i've seen it, i think. | You and I know. I'm sure I've seen it, I think. | 0 |
| An ellipsis is a pause, not an ending; four dots end a sentence | well... maybe. wait.... no. | Well... maybe. Wait.... No. | 1 |
| A numeral starting a sentence is left, and listed | we scored. 3 goals came late. | We scored. 3 goals came late. | 1 |
| Each line starts a sentence (the default) | milk eggs - bread | Milk Eggs - Bread | 0 |
| Wrapped text: only a blank line or a bullet starts one | the report was late again next week - fix it | The report was late again Next week - Fix it | 0 |
| After a colon: left as typed by default | one rule: always check. | One rule: always check. | 0 |
| After a colon, with the setting on | one rule: always check. | One rule: Always check. | 0 |
| Dutch: IJ is one letter; after ’s the next word takes it | 's avonds werkt hij. ijsland is koud. | 's Avonds werkt hij. IJsland is koud. | 0 |
| Turkish and Azerbaijani: i becomes İ | istanbul büyük. izmir de. | İstanbul büyük. İzmir de. | 0 |
A sentence ends with a full stop, a question mark, an exclamation mark or an interrobang, followed by a space or a line break. A closing quotation mark or bracket may come between. Without the space nothing ends, which is why 3.50, example.com and the inside of e.g. are safe. An opening quotation mark, a bracket, an asterisk, or Spanish ¿ and ¡ are passed over to reach the first letter.
What is never capitalized, even at the start of a sentence: a web address, an email address or a file name, because Example.com is a different-looking address; a word that is written with a small first letter and a capital inside it, such as iPhone or eBay, which The Chicago Manual of Style lets keep its small letter at the start of a sentence; and a letter whose capital is two letters, such as German ß. A sentence that starts with a numeral is left as well and listed, because Chicago (18th edition, 9.5) spells such a number out or rewords the sentence; since 2024 it accepts a year written in figures there.
An ellipsis of three dots marks a pause or something left out, so a small letter after it is left as typed and listed. Four dots, or an ellipsis after a full stop, end the sentence.
Lines. By default every line starts a sentence, which suits a list, a chat, subtitles or a poem. Bullets and numbers at the start of a line are passed over, so - bread becomes - Bread. Text pasted from a PDF or an email is often broken into lines in the middle of sentences; choose Wrapped text and only the first line of a paragraph, or a line starting with a bullet or a number, starts a sentence.
Abbreviations: which it passes over, and which it asks you to check
A full stop after an abbreviation is the one place no rule can always get right. In We sell pens, paper, etc. The shop opens at nine, the stop ends a sentence; in pens, paper, etc. and a stapler, it does not. Only the meaning tells them apart. Word and LibreOffice handle this with a list of exceptions that you edit, and LibreOffice’s own bug tracker records that the hard part is not capitalizing the right words but not capitalizing the wrong ones. This tool sorts abbreviations into three groups:
| Group | What happens | Abbreviations |
|---|---|---|
| Titles before a name | Never the end of a sentence. Nothing after them is capitalized. | Mr. Mrs. Ms. Mx. Dr. Prof. Rev. Fr. Hon. Gov. Sen. Rep. Gen. Col. Lt. Capt. Sgt. Maj. Adm. Mt. Messrs. Mme. Mlle. |
| Pointers used inside a sentence | Never the end of a sentence either. | e.g. i.e. cf. viz. vs. approx. ca. no. nos. vol. vols. p. pp. fig. figs. ch. sec. eq. |
| Abbreviations that may end a sentence | Left as typed, and listed to check when a small letter follows. | etc. et al. Jr. Sr. Inc. Ltd. Co. Corp. LLC. PLC. Bros. Esq. St. Ave. Rd. ft. min. max. Dept. ed. eds. ibid. a.m. p.m. Ph.D. U.S. U.K. U.N. E.U. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Mon. Tue. Tues. Wed. Thu. Thur. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. |
Capitals do not matter when matching: etc., Etc. and ETC. are the same. Two more kinds are recognised without a list. A single letter and a full stop, as in J. K. Rowling or Plan B., is treated as an initial and listed if a small letter follows. Letters joined by full stops, such as U.S., a.m. or B.C., are treated as an abbreviation that may end a sentence.
Your own abbreviations. Type them into Your own abbreviations under the options, separated by commas, with or without the full stop: Ref., Mgmt, approx. They join the third group. If a word after one of them should start a new sentence, the list under the result shows you where; capitalize it in your text and the tool keeps it.
Capitals after a colon: Chicago (2024) and AP
Style guides disagree with each other less than they used to. The Chicago Manual of Style changed its rule in its 18th edition (2024, paragraph 6.67): the first word after a colon is now capitalized when what follows is a complete sentence. Before 2024 Chicago lowered it unless two or more sentences followed. The AP Stylebook capitalizes after a colon when a complete sentence or a proper noun follows. Both keep a small letter when the colon introduces a list or a phrase:
| What follows the colon | Example | Chicago 18th ed. and AP |
|---|---|---|
| A complete sentence | One rule matters: Always check the result. | Capital |
| A list | Bring three things: pens, paper and water. | Small letter |
| A phrase | One thing was missing: the key. | Small letter |
| A proper noun | The winner: London. | Capital, as always |
| A time or a ratio | 9:30, 3:1 | Not a colon in the sense of this rule |
Telling a complete sentence from a phrase takes grammar, which this tool does not attempt, so by default it leaves the word after a colon as you typed it. Tick Capitalize after a colon to capitalize after every colon followed by a space; a time such as 9:30 or a web address has no space after its colon and is never touched. British style generally keeps a small letter after a colon unless a proper noun follows, so leave the setting off for British English.
A semicolon never starts a sentence, and neither does a comma, so nothing after either is capitalized.
Dutch IJ, Turkish İ and other languages
Making a letter a capital is not the same operation in every language, and the tool uses your browser’s own Unicode rules for the language you choose:
Dutch. IJ counts as one letter, so a sentence starting with ijsland becomes IJsland, not Ijsland. When a sentence opens with a shortened word such as ’s or ’t, the capital goes to the next word: ’s Avonds werkt hij, ’t Is zo gerepareerd, as the Dutch language advice services give it.
Turkish and Azerbaijani. These alphabets have a dotted and a dotless i. The capital of dotted i is dotted İ, so istanbul becomes İstanbul; an English capitalizer gives Istanbul, which in Turkish is the capital of the other letter.
Spanish. The opening ¿ and ¡ are passed over in every language setting, so ¿qué tal? becomes ¿Qué tal?
Other languages written with Latin, Greek or Cyrillic letters are capitalized letter by letter, with accents kept: émile becomes Émile. The rule for a lone i applies only in English. Scripts without capital letters, such as Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese or Hindi, pass through unchanged.
German capitalizes every noun, not just the first word of a sentence; this tool does only the first word, so German text keeps whatever capitals you gave its nouns.
What this capitalizer does not do
| It does | It does not |
|---|---|
| Capitalize the first letter of every sentence and every line | Capitalize names, places, days or months in the middle of a sentence: london and monday stay as typed |
| Keep every capital you typed | Lower anything, so text typed in capitals throughout stays in capitals; that needs sentence case |
| Capitalize I on its own in English | Capitalize headings word by word, or follow a title-case style such as AP or Chicago |
| Pass over abbreviations, and list the ones that may end a sentence | Know what you meant: whether etc. the ends a sentence is yours to decide |
| Start a sentence after a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark | Add missing full stops, or check grammar and spelling; a sentence typed without its full stop is joined to the next one |
| Keep your text in this browser only | Send it anywhere, or keep it after you clear it |
Code, commands and anything where a capital changes the meaning, such as a password, a file path or a variable called i, should not be put through it. If two versions of a text look the same after editing but will not match, compare text names the character that differs.
This capitalizer, other capitalizers, sentence case or Word
Four ways to put capitals at the start of sentences, and where each stops.
| This capitalizer | Other capitalize-sentences tools | Sentence case converters | Word AutoCorrect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowers other letters | Never | Some do | Yes, all of them | No |
| Abbreviations | Three groups, all listed | Not described | Not described | An exceptions list you edit |
| Doubtful places listed | Yes, nothing changed there | No | No | No |
| Web addresses and iPhone left | Yes | Not described | Not described | Not stated |
| Pasted text | Yes, or fix as you type | Yes | Yes | Only as you type |
| Wrapped lines | A setting | Not described | Not described | Not stated |
| Dutch IJ, Turkish İ | Yes | Not described | Not described | Not stated |
| Where your text goes | Nowhere: this browser only | Varies; some say the browser | Varies | Your computer |
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Frequently asked questions
How do I capitalize the first letter of every sentence?
Paste the text into the box at the top of this page. The first letter after every full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and at the start of every line, becomes a capital at once, and each one added is marked in the result. Press Copy the result. In Word, AutoCorrect does this only as you type, and its Change Case menu lowers the other letters.
How is this different from a sentence case converter?
A sentence case converter makes every letter small and then capitalizes the start of each sentence, so NASA becomes Nasa and London becomes london. This tool only adds capitals at the start of sentences and never lowers a letter, so everything you typed with a capital keeps it. Use sentence case for text typed in capitals throughout.
Will it lowercase my acronyms or proper nouns?
No. It never makes a letter small. NASA, BBC, London and McDonald stay exactly as you typed them, wherever they are in the sentence. The flip side is that a name you typed in lower case, such as london in the middle of a sentence, also stays as typed: the tool capitalizes the starts of sentences, not names.
What punctuation marks start a new sentence?
A full stop, a question mark, an exclamation mark or an interrobang, followed by a space or a line break, with a closing quotation mark or bracket allowed between. A semicolon, a comma and a three-dot ellipsis do not. A colon does only if you tick Capitalize after a colon. A full stop after an abbreviation such as Dr. or e.g. does not.
Why was the word after etc. or Inc. not capitalized?
Because those abbreviations may end a sentence or may not, and only the meaning tells. In pens, paper, etc. and a stapler, the sentence carries on. The tool leaves the next word as you typed it and lists the place under the result. If it should be a new sentence, capitalize that word in your text and the tool keeps it.
What happens if a sentence starts with a number or symbol?
A sentence that starts with a numeral, such as 3 goals came late, is left as typed and listed, because style guides spell such a number out or reword the sentence. Opening quotation marks, brackets, asterisks and Spanish question and exclamation marks are passed over, and the first letter after them is capitalized.
Should you capitalize the first word after a colon?
When a complete sentence follows it, yes, in both AP style and The Chicago Manual of Style, whose 18th edition (2024) adopted the rule. A list or a phrase after a colon keeps a small letter. A tool cannot tell the two apart reliably, so this one leaves the word as typed unless you tick Capitalize after a colon.
Does it capitalize the word I?
Yes, in English: i on its own becomes I, and so does the i in i'm, i've, i'll and i'd, with straight or curly apostrophes. It is left alone in e.g. and i.e., and where it labels an item, as in (i) or i) at the start of a line. Untick Capital I on its own for code or for other languages.
Does it work with multiple paragraphs and lists?
Yes, with any length of text. By default each line starts a sentence, so every item in a list gets a capital, after any bullet or number. For text pasted from a PDF or an email, where lines break in the middle of sentences, choose Wrapped text: then only a new paragraph or a bulleted line starts one.
Is my text sent to a server?
No. The capitalizing happens in your browser, and the text is kept in this browser’s storage on your device so a reload does not lose it. Nothing is sent anywhere. Clear removes it from the box, and Bring back the text restores it until you type again.
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