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When Do We Capitalize "President"?

November 1, 2012

Is it “the president” or “the President”?

With the US elections coming up, the word “president” is on everyone’s minds, and it is a topic that will be covered in many classrooms. But is it president or President? What about when we say a president, the president, or President Obama? Textbooks don’t seem to cover these differences. Luckily, the style guides do! There are a few easy rules that apply to many such civil titles.

Rule #1

Use a capital when the title directly precedes the name.

  • President Barack Obama
  • Vice President Joe Biden

Note: The title “vice president” doesn’t include a hyphen, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and The Chicago Manual of Style.

Rule #2

Don’t use a capital when the title doesn’t include a person’s name.

  • The president of the United States
  • The vice president of the US

Note: Exceptions occur when a political office chooses to capitalize a title in all positions, most likely for emphasis in promotional products.

Confusion?

Now, here’s where I get confused. It’s clear to me that a president shouldn’t be capitalized, because “a” doesn’t refer to one specific person, but when I write the president, I instinctively want to capitalize it. After all, with “the,” we’re clearly referring to just one person! So, if you’re like me, you’ll have to resist the urge to capitalize after “the,” too.

Some more examples

  • Abraham Lincoln was a great president.
  • Lincoln was the president from 1861 to 1865.
  • President Lincoln is remembered for his work to end slavery.

Other Titles

Don’t forget that these rules apply to most other civil titles, too, no matter what political system your country has.

Examples

  • The prime minister of Canada
  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper
  • The mayor of Vancouver
  • Mayor Gregor Robertson

For more examples of president/President, check out ESL Library’s beginner, low-intermediate, and high-intermediate – advanced lessons on Barack Obama. These lessons are also a great way to teach some of the vocabulary your students will need to be able to discuss the elections in class. ESL Library also has a section on American Presidents for you to try, including a NEW lesson plan on George W. Bush.

Source: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, section 8.21.

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Comments (78)

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Wondering about titles of sovereigns and other rulers? The rules are similar. Here are some examples from the Chicago Manual of Style, section 8.22:

  • Queen Elizabeth; Elizabeth II; the queen (BUT, in a British Commonwealth context, the Queen)
  • King Abdullah II; the king of Jordan
  • Nero, emperor of Rome; the Roman emperor
  • King Hamad; Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah, king of Bahrain

The same goes for military titles as well (from section 8.23):

  • the general; General Grant

Tanya :)

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

Thanks, Tanya! What about 'the pope'? I know we would say Pope Benedict XVI, but I'm sure I've seen it written as the Pope when referring to the Roman Catholic pope. But today I'm writing about a different pope – the new pope of Egypt. I'm pretty sure I can refer to him as 'Egypt's new pope'. Is that right?

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Tara,

Yep, the same rules apply. You should say 'Egypt's new pope.' You would also refer to Pope Benedict XVI as 'the pope' when you weren't including his name directly after. I think some people choose to say 'the Pope' as an exception, similar to the exception above with 'the President,' for emphasis. :)

Tara Benwell(Author)

What about movements? Should the 'civil rights movement' be capitalized?

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Good question, Tara! We don't need to capitalize 'civil rights movement.' The Chicago Manual of Style, section 8.74, had this to say: 'Names of many major historical events and programs are conventionally capitalized. Others, more recent or known by their generic descriptions, are usually lowercased. If in doubt, do not capitalize.' For example, 'the War on Poverty' and 'Prohibition' are capitalized, but 'the baby boom' and 'the civil rights movement' are not.

I'm always able to look up specific instances like this, so if you or anyone else have questions, let me know!

Tanya

Tara Benwell(Author)

Okay, here is another one that came up while writing a new lesson for ESL-Library's American Presidents section.

Should I write George H.W. Bush senior or Senior? Of course, I'm also wondering about junior. Thanks!

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Good question, Tara! The Chicago Manual of Style, section 6.47, recommends always capitalizing the abbreviation with no comma.

So it would be 'George H. W. Bush Sr.' Junior would be 'Jr.' If you wanted to spell them out, you should capitalize them ('Senior' and 'Junior'), but the spelled-out versions are often used as designations for other things, such as your year in university in the US.

By the way, the Chicago Manual of Style, section 10.12, also recommends putting a space between initials, so H. W., not H.W. I have seen both ways used often, though.

Hope that helps,
Tanya :)

Tara Benwell(Author)

Fantastic! Thank you, Tanya!

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

I just came back to this post again.I noticed that in our MLK lesson plan there is a comma before Jr. Is that right?

It's so handy having some of these rules right here on our blog. Let's keep building!

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    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Some people use a comma before Jr. and Sr., but at ESL-Library we follow the Chicago Manual of Style, so let's remove the comma.

    Yeah, it's great to figure out all of these rules together! Keep on asking...

    Reply to Comment

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    How about the US Embassy? I am writing about the US Embassy in Tehran for our new Jimmy Carter lesson plan. It's capitalized, right?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Neither the Chicago Manual of Style nor my set of dictionaries deal with the capitalization of 'US Embassy'! Going by a google search and the embassy itself, I'd say it should be capitalized. It also follows the rule of lowercasing when dealing with the general case (e.g., I visited the embassy yesterday) and capitalizing for a specific name (e.g., He works for the US Embassy).

    Does anyone else have an opinion about this? We'd love to hear from you!

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    Hi Tanya,
    I'm working on the President Eisenhower lesson. Eisenhower's first child died of scarlet fever. Or is it Scarlet Fever? When, if ever, do we capitalize diseases?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Tara,

    Names of diseases are lowercased unless there is a proper name involved (i.e., if a disease was named after a person). So it would be 'scarlet fever' and 'pneumonia', but 'Alzheimer disease' and 'Down syndrome'. (Chicago Manual of Style, 8.143)

    Names of historical events are often capitalized, such as the Great Plague/the Plague. You could possibly make a case for scarlet fever being capitalized, but Chicago says 'if in doubt, do not capitalize', so my advice is to leave it lowercased. (Chicago Manual of Style, 8.74)

    Hope that helps!
    Tanya

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    Did I already ask you about the capitalization rules for the 'first lady'? I assume it follows the same rules as president?

    First Lady Michelle Obama was a hoot on the Jimmy Fallon show.
    The first lady was a hoot on the Jimmy Fallon show.

    Am I right?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Great question, Tara! The answer may surprise you!

    Unlike president and queen, which only get capitalized when directly preceding a proper name, First Lady is always capitalized! This is according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. Your examples should be written like this:

    First Lady Michelle Obama was a hoot on the Jimmy Fallon show.
    The First Lady was a hoot on the Jimmy Fallon show.

    Why would this be? My guess is that the terms 'president' and 'queen' obviously refer to only one person, whereas 'lady' is a more generic term. Or it could just be another quirk of the English language---there are plenty! ;)

    Anna (Guest)

    Hi Tanya,

    Thanks for this post; it's been really helpful! Just to clarify, would First Lady still be capitalized when using British English?

    Thanks,

    Anna.

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Happy to hear that, Anna! I've just checked the Oxford Dictionary Online, and they suggest capitalizing both words when referring to 'the wife of the president of the US or other head of state'. So 'First Lady' it is!

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    Wow! I'm glad I asked. That is so interesting. Thanks so much for sharing. And, if you didn't see the First Lady dancing on the Jimmy Fallon special the other night, you'll have to check it out.

    The Evolution of Mom Dancing: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/evolution-of-mom-dancing-with-jimmy-fallon-and-michelle-obama/n33117/

    Reply to Comment

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    We always tell our students there are no stupid questions, but here's a stupid follow up question. When referring to the First Lady, 'the' is not capitalized, right?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That video is hilarious!

    Yes, you're correct. Unless it's the first word of the sentence, 'the' is never capitalized in running text, according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Check out these examples:

    I loved watching the First Lady dance on the Jimmy Fallon show last night.
    He owns every album by the Beatles.

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    And that definitely wasn't a stupid question! (I tell my students the same thing---there are no stupid questions!) I only discovered this rule once I was an editor. In fact, I see many people write 'an album by The Beatles' even though most style guides agree it should be 'an album by the Beatles'. Most people have never heard of these style guidelines---I'm glad you're asking about them here so we can share the answers with everyone! :)

    Lethe (Guest)

    But isn't the name of the group 'The Beatles,' and not just 'Beatles?' If 'The' is part of the name, surely it should be capitalized. You wouldn't refer to the book as 'the Catcher in the Rye,' would you?

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Lethe,

    Because band names aren't set in quotation marks or italics according to the Chicago Manual of Style, and because they recommend lowercasing 'the' in running text, we would write the Beatles. CMOS gives the following examples for bands: the Beach Boys; the Beatles; the Grateful Dead; the Dead. They lowercase 'the' even when 'the' is part of the band name.

    However, if you are enclosing something in quotations marks (e.g., CMOS recommends setting song titles this way) or italics (e.g., album names), then we would capitalize 'the.'

    E.g., Do you know 'The Long and Winding Road' by the Beatles?

    CMOS sets book titles in italics, so 'the' would be capitalized.

    E.g., My favorite book is The Catcher in the Rye.

    Phillip Hawtin(Guest)

    Hi Tanya,
    Can you tell me whether president should be capitalized in the following:
    Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited president.
    Thanks,

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Phillip,

    No, you shouldn't capitalize president in the example you've given.

    To make it clear, I'll put it into two sentences, one that would require capitalization and one that wouldn't:

    • Joe Smith is the Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited president.
    • Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited President Joe Smith spoke at the conference today.

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    Here's another question for you, Tanya. We are redesigning our Aboriginal Day lesson plan, and it refers to the governor general and the Governor General. We'll need to fix that up! Since this is a Canadian holiday, I guess we need to decide whether or not we're going with Canadian Press capitalization or not. The Canadian Press says to capitalize Governor General and Queen whenever you're referring to a specific one. But we don't do that according to our style guide, right? Can you clarify the capitalization of governor general with a few examples? Thanks!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Tara,

    It gets tricky when different style guides disagree! Canadian Press and Associated Press (US) often do things differently from the Chicago Manual of Style, which we follow. CMS recommends using 'the Queen' in British Commonwealth countries, but 'the pope' and 'the governor general' when they're not followed by a name. We will stick to CMS's rules, but for anyone else, the choice is yours---pick one way and stay consistent.

    Here are some examples of how we'd use 'governor general':
    - The governor general spoke at the conference today.
    - I'll see what Governor General Michaëlle Jean has to say about it.

    Adam (Guest)

    'Lincoln was the president from 1861 to 1865.' In that instance, 'the president' still refers to the office and not the person. I see that as different from an example like 'The president consulted with General Grant.'

    The former example is saying that a person, Lincoln, occupied the office, president, from 1861 to 1865. The second example refers to a specific person, Lincoln, via his position, president. Are you saying that 'president' still would not be capitalized in the second example?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Adam,

    Great question. No, 'president' should not be capitalized in your second example unless you used the name along with it.

    'The president consulted with General Grant.' = correct
    'President Lincoln consulted with General Grant.' = correct
    'The president consulted with the general.' = correct
    'The President consulted with General Grant.' = incorrect

    I agree that 'the President' could seem logical since you're referring to the person, and some people do use it this way. However, the majority of style guides, publishers, and newspapers follow the rule mentioned above (of only capitalizing when it precedes the name), so I think it's a safe bet to follow this rule and teach our students to do the same.

    Haley (Guest)

    Hi. When u r saying dialogue and then the president after wards would the be capitalized as well?
    Thx

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Haley,

    You would follow the same rules as above and only capitalize if you're using the name as well. For example:
    - 'I'd like to take this opportunity to address the nation,' said the president.
    - 'I'd like to take this opportunity to address the nation,' said President Obama.

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    I just noticed that CNN capitalized it in this example to the candidates:

    As President, would you fire the head of the EPA?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Tara,

    I'm pretty sure the Chicago Manual of Style (the style guide that many publishers and editors follow) would recommend lowercasing 'president' in this case. However, news agencies usually follow the American Press or Canadian Press style, which has many differences like this (another example is CMOS recommends 'US' while AP uses 'U.S.'). Perhaps they would capitalize 'President' in this case? I don't see an example online of 'as president' in either AP or CMOS, so I can't confirm this, but here is a link to AP capitalization for titles: http://writingexplained.org/ap-style/ap-style-titles

    AP seems to agree with CMOS in that the title should only be capitalized when it precedes a name, so maybe this is CNN's house style. It's not uncommon for certain agencies to choose to capitalize titles such as 'president' or 'queen' more often than not.

    Tara Benwell(Author)

    Thanks, Tanya! I also put this question out to CNN's Exec Editor, and he confirmed your thoughts about house style via Twitter.
    ‏@RamCNN Mar 7
    @ESLlibrary Thanks for your question. That is a specific inhouse rule (exception to other style manuals).

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Happy to hear it! Thanks for asking him directly!

    Eman (Guest)

    Thank you for the useful article.
    What about when we say:
    I met Barack Obama, president of the USA.
    Should we capitalize president here?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Eman,

    No, we wouldn't capitalize 'president' in your example. Just keep in mind that different style guides have different rules, so you may see it that way in some publications. We follow the Chicago Manual of Style, and it recommends not capitalizing in that case.

    Dave (Guest)

    I understand I can say President Nixon and President Johnson. But in terms of the capitalization of the word 'president', is the following also correct: presidents Nixon and Johnson.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Great question, Dave! Since you are using 'presidents' as a title here, before the names, then 'Presidents Nixon and Johnson' would be correct according to the Chicago Manual of Style.

    CMOS doesn't have an example of plural presidents in their civil titles section, but they do have one for representatives—'Representatives Jackson and Granger' (8.21)—so it's safe to assume that 'presidents' should be capitalized in your example above. Hope that helps!

    Chris (Guest)

    There is a slight differentiation between UK and US usage in reference to the term prime minister. In the UK prime minister is not a title and so cannot precede a name (ie Prime Minister Cameron is not standard UK usage) rather it is an office and the individual an office holder. It is usually rendered ... 'the prime minister, Mr Cameron' or 'the prime minister, David Cameron'. The same is true of any ministerial office holder (foreign/home secretaries and ministers) (http://www.economist.com/style-guide/capitals).

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Thanks for sharing this, Chris! In Canada, we can say 'Prime Minister Trudeau' and I never knew it wasn't used this way in the UK. Thanks also for including the link.

    Amanda Dutra(Guest)

    Hi Tanya,

    Thanks for the article. It is very easy to understand.
    I would like to know if we capitalize the word president when we talk about 'the role of president'.
    I was reading some parts of the Constitution and it was written 'the Office of President,' and I got confused.

    Thanks.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Amanda,

    Our house style (which follows the popular style guide, The Chicago Manual of Style) would be to lowercase president in a phrase like 'the role of the president.' Chicago doesn't have an entry for 'Office of the President,' and that's a great question! My feeling is that because it's a title of the place (and/or the staff), it should be capitalized in the same way that Chicago would capitalize 'White House.'

    Marion PlAcke Fossler(Guest)

    In the early fifties, we were taught to capitalize the word president when writing about the president of the US. ( The smiling President entered the room.)
    Apparently times have changed!

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Yes, they have, Marion! Remember when we were all taught to use two spaces after a period/full stop? I do! It's confusing when the rules change, and even more so when only some style guides make a change while others don't. Luckily, the one-space rule is pretty universal. The 'president' rule is slightly less so, I think.

    Terry Ford(Guest)

    I was taught that, too! In the '80s. When referring to anything to do with the leader of the free world, the President was to be capitalized, as in 'running for office of the President,' but of course, president of Glee Club was not, unless being used in place of the person's name or in front of the person's name, as in 'President Susie Smith will now call the club to order' or 'Welcome, Madam President, to the proceedings.'
    I guess I'll quit harping on my college freshmen to capitalize the presidency of the U.S. now. If we change 'alot' to one word, I'd have even fewer items to mark!

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Ha! I can relate. Before I trained as an editor, I taught my students that there were always two spaces after a period in academic essays, and I insisted my students use two spaces in their TOEFL essays. Live and learn!

    Karl Leuba(Guest)

    I was a working journalist until 1980. And I worked in Radio so capitalization was not necessary. Scripts were all caps all the time. And rules do change over time.
    I learned something today, and will use the lower case for presidents in the future.
    I was taught to use the New York Times stylebook way back in 1959. And in those days the style was (if memory serves) the President when referring to national leaders.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Thanks for your comment, Karl. Very interesting to hear about your experience with radio scripts. Yes, rules do change all the time and it's hard to keep track sometimes!

    Alan E Thornton(Guest)

    What about someone who is running for president? That's not a general reference, it is a reference to the specific position of President of the United States of America.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    According to the Chicago Manual of Style, capitalizing the title isn't a matter of general vs. specific. Even for specific cases, they advise not capitalizing unless the name is preceded directly by the title.

    • Donald Trump, the current president of the United States
    • an interview with President Donald Trump
    • Donald Trump, who became the president-elect in November 2016
    • an interview with President-elect Donald Trump

    Tamara Lamela(Guest)

    Hi Tanya! I really need help .. what about 'Presidents of Mercosur Member States'? Does presidents in that case need to be capitalized? And do you know if Member States should be capitalized too? Please I need the info ASAP! Thanks!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Tamara,

    No, I wouldn't capitalize 'presidents' there. Follow the same rules as the blog post (only capitalize if it's directly before their names, as in Presidents X, Y, and Z...).

    Also, my quick search revealed that 'member states' isn't usually capitalized in 'Mercosur member states,' so be careful about that. None of my style guides have this entry so I can't be 100% sure, but most sites online seem to use lowercase initial letters. Hope that helps!

    Cris (Guest)

    What if the sentence is about more than one presidents? For, example: She told Pete that presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were born there and Pete would be living on Monroe Street.

    Reply to Comment

    Cris (Guest)

    What if the sentence is about more than one president? For, example: She told Pete that presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were born there and Pete would be living on Monroe Street. If you are stating the name of the street and city, should you capitalize street/city?

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Cris,

    You definitely need to capitalize the street and city, so Monroe Street is correct.

    If you have the plural 'presidents' I wouldn't capitalize it because it's now not part of someone's direct title. (I've reworded your sentence a bit to make the flow more logical.)

    • After learning that Pete would be living on Monroe Street, she told him that presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were born there.

    I believe you could capitalize President if you left it in the singular because the meaning would be President Washington, President Jefferson, and President Madison.

    • After learning that Pete would be living on Monroe Street, she told him that President Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were born there.

    Bia (Guest)

    Hi. I need help. I learned from you that 'president' should not be capitalized when not preceding a name. For example 'The president of the United States wields much power. '. Do you think I should capitalize the 'president' when used to take place of the actual name?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Bia, most style guides recommend not capitalizing 'president' in that case (when not preceding a name). So, even when 'president' replaces a name, we shouldn't capitalize (e.g., 'President Trump...' in the first sentence and 'The president...' in the second). Just a reminder that some style guides always capitalize the word 'president.' The most important thing is consistency—choose one style and stick to it throughout your writing.

    Carrie (Guest)

    Not sure if this thread is still active, but given the rule about capitalizing the word president is the following sentence written currently?

    Richard M. Nixon was the first American president to resign from office.

    Thanks!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That's right, Carrie! The style guides listed in this post would leave 'president' lowercased in your example sentence.

    Katherine (Guest)

    Is president capitalized in the following sentence? A golf-playing president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, did a lot to popularize the game. Thanks!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Katherine,

    No, it wouldn't be capitalized there. You should remove the comma after Eisenhower, though, because it is the main subject:

    A golf-playing president, Dwight D. Eisenhower did a lot to popularize the game.

    Or you could write it this way:

    Dwight D. Eisenhower, a golf-playing president, did a lot to popularize the game.

    Katherine (Guest)

    Thanks so much, Tanya!

    Jevan (Guest)

    What about when the president is addressed as 'Mr. President'

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Good question. I'd definitely capitalize it there ('Mr. President'). Basically, most style guides would capitalize it anytime it's attached to or replacing a name.

    Angie (Guest)

    This is such a great tool! I know the rule but I feel like my work always confuses me. How about this sentence: 'Donald Trump is the President or the United States. '
    Is the , 'P' capitalized in this instance

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Angie, according to the style guide we follow, you should say 'Donald Trump is the president of the United States.' Keep in mind that different style guides recommend different things.

    Maikeli (Guest)

    This is my first-ever (hyphen, right?) comment to (on?) a blog. I'm preparing lessons for a citizenship course for non-native speakers of English, so I'm dealing with many titles, such as: presidents, vice-presidents (hyphen, right?), and a whole lotta Cabinet (capitalized?) position names, such as: attorney general, secretary of transportation, and director of veterans affairs. (not capitalized?) And, then, there's speaker of the house and governor of Missouri. HELP!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Maikeli,

    Here's a quick list of your concerns. Keep in mind that the capitalization is based on the Chicago Manual of Style:
    first-ever
    comment on
    vice presidents
    cabinet
    attorney general
    secretary of transportation
    director of Veterans Affairs
    Speaker of the House
    governor of Missouri

    Also keep in mind that most of these titles will be capitalized if they preceded the name (as shown in the post above). Hope that helps!

    Kermit Zarley(Guest)

    In the question whether to capitalize 'president,' you don't address what I think is an important instance. We could say, 'The president is not supposed to obstruct justice.' That still doesn't refer to a particular president. But what about this, 'What about Donald Trump? Has the president obstructed justice?' referring to Trump. The media capitalizes 'president' in this case. But CMS seems to differ. Is this a case of the media having a rule that differs with CMS?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Kermit,

    Great question. Unfortunately, most media style guides (e.g., AP & CP) differ from book published style guides (e.g., CMOS) in many ways. I believe most media style guides do choose to capitalize 'President' in cases such as the one you mention, whereas CMOS would not. It would make life a whole lot easier if everyone could agree on style rules, wouldn't it?

    Michelle (Guest)

    Would you capitalize president in this sentence. The term for the new class president will become effective on Monday.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Michelle, no need for capitalization there! '...new class president...' is correct.

    Shital Kaur(Guest)

    Thankyou it was really helpful.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    I'm glad it was helpful for you, Shital! Thanks for commenting.

    Maddy L.(Member)

    I hope to find an answer to this. I read an article and it stated," Stanford professor Oussama Khatib, who operated the robot". I wonder why the word "professor" isn't capitalized in this statement. Is this an error? Because, for me, it should be capitalized. Thank you.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Maddy, great question. It could be printed that way for one of two reasons. First, not all style guides or publications agree on how to capitalize these types of titles. Some always use a capital letter regardless of position and some never do, though the capitalization discussed in this post is the most common way of doing it.

    Second, as soon as you introduce more than one word in a title, it gets tricky. For instance, according to the rules in this post, we should write "President Joe Biden" and "Joe Biden, the US president." But when you add "US" or another word in front of a title that precedes the name, using a capital or lowercase initial letter are both correct depending on how you're thinking of it. Are you making "US President" part of the form of address? Write "US President Joe Biden." However, it is more common to think of it as the complete adjective clause and use an initial lowercase letter, as in "Joe Biden, who is the US president" = "US president Joe Biden." In my opinion, it is more common to see the latter style ("US president Joe Biden"). This is a very tricky case, though, and I probably wouldn't teach it to my students unless it came up in class in something they read. In that case, I'd tell them to use a capital letter for a one-word title that precedes a name, but when the title is two words or more, it depends (and lowercasing is more common in that case).

    Hope this helps!

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