Capital letters
ትልልቅ ፊደላት (capital letters)
English has capital (big) and small letters; Ethiopic does not. Capitals mark the start of a sentence, the word I, and the names of particular people, places and things.
When to use a capital
Because Ethiopic has no capital letters, this is a new habit for Amharic speakers. The rule of thumb: a capital for the first word of a sentence, for I, and for the name of one particular person, place, group, day or thing. A general word stays small: a city, but Las Vegas; a doctor, but Dr. Bekele.
In Amharic
የግዕዝ ፊደል ትልቅ ፊደል ስለሌለው ይህ ለአማርኛ ተናጋሪዎች አዲስ ልማድ ነው። ዋናው ደንብ፦ ለዓረፍተ ነገሩ የመጀመሪያ ቃል፣ ለ I፣ እና ለአንድ የተወሰነ ሰው፣ ቦታ፣ ቡድን፣ ቀን ወይም ነገር ስም ትልቅ ፊደል። አጠቃላይ ቃል በትንሽ ፊደል ይቀራል፦ a city ግን Las Vegas፤ a doctor ግን Dr. Bekele።
| Use a capital for | Example |
|---|---|
| the first word of a sentence | The store is open. |
| the word I | Yesterday I worked late. |
| names of people | Almaz, Mr. Johnson |
| places: cities, states, countries, streets | Las Vegas, Nevada, Ethiopia, Flamingo Road |
| nationalities and languages | Ethiopian, American, Amharic, English |
| days, months and holidays | Monday, September, Thanksgiving, Meskel |
| titles before a name | Dr. Tesfaye, President Lincoln, Aunt Tigist |
| companies, brands, schools | Walmart, Toyota, UNLV |
| religions and holy books | Christianity, Islam, the Bible, the Quran |
| main words in a heading or title | How to Rent Your First Apartment |
- I is always a capital, even in the middle of a sentence: My wife and I went.
- Languages and nationalities are always capitals in English: I speak Amharic. She is Eritrean.
- In a title, capitalise the important words; small words (a, the, and, of, in, to) stay small unless they come first.
- My cousin moved from Addis Ababa to Denver in July.
- On Friday, Dr. Haile and I have a meeting.
- Our children speak English at school and Amharic at home.
- We celebrate Christmas on January 7.
- I bought these shoes at Target.
What is NOT capitalised
Many learners capitalise too much, especially important-feeling words. Seasons, general job titles, school subjects (except languages), directions and ordinary nouns stay small. A title stays small when it is not before a name: the doctor, the president. A family word is small with my: my mom, but Mom when you use it as her name.
In Amharic
ብዙ ተማሪዎች ከሚገባው በላይ ትልቅ ፊደል ይጠቀማሉ፣ በተለይ ጠቃሚ የሚመስሉ ቃላትን። ወቅቶች፣ አጠቃላይ የሥራ መጠሪያዎች፣ የትምህርት ዓይነቶች (ከቋንቋ በስተቀር)፣ አቅጣጫዎችና ተራ ስሞች በትንሽ ፊደል ይቀራሉ። መጠሪያ ከስም በፊት ካልሆነ በትንሽ ይቀራል፦ the doctor, the president። የቤተሰብ ቃል ከ my ጋር ትንሽ ነው፦ my mom፤ ግን እንደ ስሟ ሲጠቀሙበት Mom።
| Small letter | Capital letter |
|---|---|
| summer, winter, spring, fall | Monday, June |
| the doctor, my manager | Dr. Alemu, Manager Smith (as a title) |
| math, history, science | English, Amharic, French |
| go north, the east side | North Las Vegas, East Africa (names) |
| my mom, my uncle | Mom, Uncle Kebede |
| a high school, the river | Valley High School, the Nile River |
- Seasons are never capitalised: in the summer (but Monday and June are).
- Do not capitalise a word just because it is important: I need a job (not a Job).
- Do not write whole sentences in capitals in emails or messages; it reads as shouting.
- It is very hot in Las Vegas in the summer.
- My son is good at math and English.
- The manager said the office opens at nine.
- We drove north to visit Uncle Yonas.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday I went to the bank. | Capital for the first word and for I. | |
| She speaks Amharic and English. | Languages always take a capital in English. | |
| My birthday is in summer. | Seasons are not capitalised. | |
| I work at the hospital as a nurse. | General nouns and job titles are small; only names take capitals. | |
| We met on Monday in Las Vegas. | Days and place names are capitalised. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Which sentence is correct?
Which word needs a capital? “We arrived in the US in august.”
Which is correct?
Which is correct?
Which word needs a capital? “My appointment is with doctor Lemma.” (the word before the name)
Which is correct?
Which heading is capitalised correctly?
Which is correct?
Which word needs a capital? “Many ethiopian restaurants are on Paradise Road.”
Which is correct?