In title case, three kinds of words stay lowercase unless they are the first word of the title or subtitle: articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, and in most guides so and yet), and short prepositions (at, by, in, of, on, to, up, and similar). Every other word is capitalized, including short verbs and pronouns like "is," "be," "it," and "my."
Where the style guides disagree is the cutoff for prepositions. Some lowercase every preposition, and some only lowercase the short ones. Type a title below to see it in AP, APA, Chicago, or MLA style.
Result
The Lowercase List for Each Style Guide
| Guide | Articles | Conjunctions | Prepositions | Also lowercase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | a, an, the | Three letters or fewer (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet, as, if) | Three letters or fewer | |
| APA | a, an, the | and, as, but, for, if, nor, or, so, yet | as, at, by, for, in, of, off, on, per, to, up, via | |
| Chicago | a, an, the | and, but, for, or, nor | All, at any length | "to" and "as" in any use |
| MLA | a, an, the | and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet | All, at any length | "to" in infinitives |
| AMA | a, an, the | Coordinating conjunctions | Three letters or fewer | |
| Bluebook | a, an, the | Four letters or fewer | Four letters or fewer |
The practical difference shows up with prepositions of four or more letters, such as "with," "from," "about," and "between." AP, APA, and AMA capitalize them; Chicago and MLA keep them lowercase. Bluebook splits the difference at four letters. For the full breakdown, see title case prepositions and the style guide comparison.
The Same Title in Four Styles
| Style | "a guide to working with clients from around the world" |
|---|---|
| AP | A Guide to Working With Clients From Around the World |
| APA | A Guide to Working With Clients From Around the World |
| Chicago | A Guide to Working with Clients from around the World |
| MLA | A Guide to Working with Clients from around the World |
| Style | "what to do if your post is not ranking" |
|---|---|
| AP | What to Do if Your Post Is Not Ranking |
| APA | What to Do if Your Post Is Not Ranking |
| Chicago | What to Do If Your Post Is Not Ranking |
| MLA | What to Do If Your Post Is Not Ranking |
Short Words That Are Always Capitalized
The most common title case mistake is lowercasing a word because it is short. Length only matters for prepositions and conjunctions. These short words are always capitalized:
- Verbs: Is, Be, Are, Was, Do, Has, Can
- Pronouns: It, We, He, You, Me, Us
- Possessives: My, Our, Its, His, Your
- Adverbs and particles: Not, So when it means "very," and Up in phrasal verbs like "Set Up"
When a Lowercase Word Gets a Capital
- First word of the title: "The," "A," and "Of" are capitalized when they start a title.
- First word of a subtitle: after a colon, every guide capitalizes the next word ("Bread: A Beginner's Guide"). See title case after a colon.
- Last word: AP, Chicago, and MLA capitalize the final word ("Something to Talk About"). APA has no last-word rule.
- Used as an adverb: a preposition with no object becomes part of the verb ("Log In," "Hold On") and is capitalized.
Every Word, Grouped
We answer the capitalization question for 113 common words individually. Here they are grouped by how AP, APA, Chicago, and MLA treat them in the middle of a title, in their most common use.
Lowercase in All Four Guides
a, an, and, at, but, by, for, in, of, off, on, or, out, per, the, to, up, via, vs
Depends on the Style Guide
about, across, after, against, among, around, as, before, behind, between, during, from, if, into, like, over, since, so, than, through, toward, towards, under, versus, with, within, without, yet
Most of these are prepositions of four letters or more (capitalized by AP and APA, lowercase in Chicago and MLA). The exceptions run the other way: Chicago and MLA capitalize "if," Chicago alone capitalizes "so" and "yet," and MLA capitalizes "as" when it works as a conjunction.
Capitalized in All Four Guides
all, also, am, any, are, be, being, can, did, do, does, due, each, get, go, had, has, have, he, her, his, how, is, it, its, just, may, me, more, my, need, new, no, not, now, one, other, our, own, should, some, that, their, them, there, these, they, this, those, too, us, use, using, was, we, were, what, when, where, which, while, who, why, will, you, your
Quick Answers
What words should not be capitalized in a title?
Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor), and short prepositions (at, by, in, of, on, to). "So" and "yet" are also lowercase except in Chicago style.
Are prepositions capitalized in titles?
Short ones are not, in any guide. Longer ones (four or more letters) are capitalized in AP, APA, and AMA, but stay lowercase in Chicago and MLA.
Do you capitalize pronouns in a title?
Yes. Pronouns, including short and possessive ones like "it," "we," "my," and "its," are capitalized in every style guide.
Is "is" capitalized in a title?
Yes. "Is" is a verb, and every guide capitalizes verbs regardless of length.