Is "The" Capitalized in a Title?

Only at the start. "The" is an article, and every major style guide lowercases articles in the middle of a title. You capitalize "The" when it is the first word of the title or of a subtitle, and keep it lowercase everywhere else.

"The" by Style Guide

Style guide	"The" mid-title	Why
AP	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title
APA	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title
Chicago	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title
MLA	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title
AMA	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title
Bluebook	Lowercase	Articles (a, an, the) stay lowercase mid-title

Examples in Chicago Style

• The Catcher in the Rye
• Lord of the Flies
• Gone with the Wind
• The Art of the Deal

When "The" Is Capitalized

• First word of the title: "The Great Gatsby."
• First word of a subtitle: "Coffee: The Complete Guide."

"The" at the End of a Title

Titles almost never end in "the," but AP, Chicago, and MLA would capitalize it if one did, because they capitalize every last word.

"The" in Names of Bands and Organizations

In body text, style guides differ on names like "the Beatles" or "the New York Times," and many lowercase "the" in running text. Inside a title, the normal title case rule applies: lowercase mid-title, capitalized as the first word.

Related Words

The other articles, "a" and "an", follow the same rule. For a deeper look at all three, see articles in title case.

Real Titles With "The"

• The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
• Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
• Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

"The" in Sentence Case

APA reference lists, many news sites, and most UI text use sentence case instead of title case. There, only the first word and proper nouns get capitals, so "the" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "The catcher in the rye." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.

Quick Answers

Should "the" be capitalized in a title?

Only as the first word of the title or of a subtitle. Mid-title, every major guide lowercases it.

Is "the" capitalized after a colon?

Yes. "Coffee: The Complete Guide." The first word of a subtitle is always capitalized.

Is "the" capitalized in APA?

Not mid-title. APA lowercases articles unless they start the title or subtitle.