Alphabet capital letter
English Alphabet | Writing | EnglishClub
An alphabet is a set of letters or symbols that we use to represent the basic speech sounds of a language in writing.
This page looks at writing the English alphabet. You can read about pronouncing the English alphabet here.
The English word "alphabet" comes from the Latin word "alphabetum". The Latin word "alphabetum" came from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, "alpha" and "beta".
Letters of the English Alphabet
The English alphabet has 26 letters, starting with a and ending with z. Below you see the whole alphabet.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
The letters above are "small letters". But they can also be written as "large letters" - see below.The letters of the alphabet are also sometimes called "characters".
Small and Large Letters
We can write each letter of the English alphabet as a "small letter" (abc) or as a "large letter" (ABC). Large letters are also called "capital letters" or "capitals".
Below you see the whole alphabet with small letters on the left and capitals on the right:
a A b B c C d D e E f F g G h H i I j J k K l L m M n N o O p P q Q r R s S t T u U v V w W x X y Y z Z
In informal English, we sometimes call capitals just "caps".
Small letters are sometimes called "lower case" and large letters "upper case". This is because in the old days of printing, before computers, the metal blocks for setting type were kept in two different boxes or "cases": small letters in the bottom or lower case, large letters in the top or upper case.
Font Styles
Printed letters of the alphabet come in different styles or designs. Each style is called a "font". This page shows all 26 characters, as small and large letters, in 5 different styles. Each column displays a different font style, in this order:
- Serif: with serifs, or little projections, at the end of most strokes
- Fixed-width: like old typewriter lettering - each letter is about the same width, so "i" takes up the same space as "w"
- Sans-serif: with no serifs
- Cursive: like handwriting
- Fantasy: fancy, artistic
Alphabetical Order
The English alphabet starts with the letter a and finishes with the letter z.
We always write the alphabet in the same order:
a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p-q-r-s-t-u-v-w-x-y-z
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
This order is called "alphabetical order". We often write lists in alphabetical order. For example, to write a list of countries in alphabetical order, we start with countries that begin with the letter A, then with countries that begin with B, and so on. For example:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
If more than one word begins with the letter A, we put them in order based on the second letter, and then the third letter, and so on:
- Algeria
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Benin
- Bermuda
We use alphabetical order for many things, for example:
- dictionaries
- indexes of books
- telephone directories
When you write any list, it is a good idea to use alphabetical order.
This makes it easy for your reader to find a particular item in the list.
English Alphabet - Worldometer
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- English Alphabet
The English alphabet consists of 26 letters. Each letter has an uppercase ("capital letter") and a lowercase ("small letter") form.
| # | Capital Letter | Small Letter | Phonic (pronunciation) | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | a | /eɪ/, /æ/ | a |
| 2 | B | b | /biː/ | bee |
| 3 | C | c | /siː/ | cee |
| 4 | D | d | /diː/ | dee |
| 5 | E | e | /iː/ | e |
| 6 | F | f | /ɛf/ | ef |
| 7 | G | g | /dʒiː/ | gee |
| 8 | H | h | /(h)eɪtʃ/ | (h)aitch |
| 9 | I | i | /aɪ/ | i |
| 10 | J | j | /dʒeɪ/ | jay |
| 11 | K | k | /keɪ/ | kay |
| 12 | L | l | /ɛl/ | el |
| 13 | M | m | /ɛm/ | em |
| 14 | N | n | /ɛn/ | en |
| 15 | O | o | /oʊ/ | o |
| 16 | P | p | /piː/ | pee |
| 17 | Q | q | /kjuː/ | cue |
| 18 | R | r | /ɑːr/ | ar |
| 19 | S | s | /ɛs/ | ess |
| 20 | T | t | /tiː/ | tee |
| 21 | U | u | /juː/ | u |
| 22 | V | v | /viː/ | vee |
| 23 | W | w | /ˈdʌbəl. juː/ | double-u |
| 24 | X | x | /ɛks/ | ex |
| 25 | Y | y | /waɪ/ | wy |
| 26 | Z | z | /zi/zɛd/ | zee/zed |
Notes
- Five of the letters in the English Alphabet are vowels: A, E, I, O, U.
- The remaining 21 letters are consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Z, and usually W and Y.
Written English includes the digraphs: ch ci ck gh ng ph qu rh sc sh th ti wh wr zh. These are not considered separate letters of the alphabet. - Two letters, “A” and “I,” also constitute words.
- Until fairly recently (until 1835), the 27th letter of the alphabet (right after "z") was the ampersand (&).
- The English Alphabet is based on the Latin script, which is the basic set of letters common to the various alphabets originating from the classical Latin alphabet.
Old English
- The Old English alphabet letters were 29: A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z & ⁊ Ƿ Þ Ð Æ
- The Old English alphabet was recorded in the year 1011 by a monk named Byrhtferð and included the 24 letters of the Latin alphabet (including ampersand) and 5 additional English letters: Long S (ſ), Eth (Ð and ð), Thorn (þ), Wynn (ƿ) and Ash (ᚫ; later Æ and æ).
- With respect to Modern English, Old English did not include J, U, and W.
See Also:
- NATO Phonetic Alphabet
CAPITAL LETTERS - what are they (large or small)? Example
Capital letters are uppercase letters that are larger than lowercase letters.
What are capital letters?
In Russian writing, letters differ in their graphic design: some are large, others are small or lower case. Large letters are often referred to as capital letters. As can be understood from this "speaking" name, they begin headings, that is, they indicate the beginning of
- sentences
- period
- paragraphs
- stanzas
- someone else's speech, etc.
- By everyone is born for some work, - objected E. Hemingway and added:
- By everyone who walks the earth has his duties in life.In an old style heals me.
E There is charm in ancient speech.
About is not like your words
and are more modern and sharper.Bella Akhmadulina
Capital letters are a common name. In Russian, a special linguistic term is used - capital letters. Once upon a time, at the dawn of handwriting, they were really carefully written at the beginning of a line, and decorated in every possible way to distinguish them from other ordinary letters. Emphasizing the initial letter of the first word is the oldest writing technique that was used before the invention of printing. When typography appeared, the tradition of using capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and to highlight proper names survived.
Let's consider in detail the cases in which uppercase or lowercase letters are used in modern Russian.
The use of capital letters
Capital letters are used not only in headings, at the beginning of sentences, but also to highlight certain words found anywhere in written speech. These special words include
- proper names;
- items.
In Russian orthography, proper names must be written with a capital letter:
1. names, patronymics, surnames, pseudonyms, nicknames of people, names of gods, mythical creatures, fairy-tale and literary heroes
- Tanya, Vasilek, Andryushka;
- Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin;
- Gaius Julius Caesar;
- Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko;
- O'Henry (William Sidney Porter)
- Curly, Chernysh, Beetle, Top;
- Zeus, Hera, Apollo;
- Vasilisa the Beautiful, Cinderella, The Nutcracker.
2. animal names
- Tortilla turtle;
- cat Marquis;
- dog Oliver;
3. geographical names, except for generic words (krai, region, district, city, settlement, village, river, lake, mountain, sea, bay, etc.)
- Krasnodar Territory;
- Saratov region;
- City of Mosty;
- Veliky Ustyug;
- Sokol settlement;
- Ponizovye village;
- Volga river;
- Lake Seliger;
- Red Sea;
- Everest.
4. astronomical names
- Cygnus constellation;
- Solar Galaxy;
- Alpha Centauri.
The words "Earth", "Moon" and "Sun" as the names of celestial bodies are written with a capital letter and with a lowercase letter if they are used as common nouns.
Compare: Recently, astronomers have difficulty distinguishing spots on the Sun.
Rosehip stood with large flowers turned towards the sun, covered with many buds (K. G. Paustovsky).
Note that in proper names all words , their components, are capitalized , except for nouns denoting generic concepts and service words, for example:
- city of Rostov-on-Don;
- Ludwig van Beethoven;
- Vicomte de Bragelonne;
- Vasco da Gamma.
In this way, proper names differ from the names of organizations, institutions, industrial associations, architectural monuments, etc.
In titles, capitalize only the first word , for example:
- Socio-Political Research Foundation;
- Research Institute of Road Engineering;
- Main Department of Internal Affairs;
- House of scientists;
- Bronze Horseman.
The name may contain more capital letters if it contains a proper name, for example:
- Kristall Association;
- Information Telegraph Agency of Russia;
- Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory;
- Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
The capital letter is also used in pronouns you, you, your in documents, business letters when addressing one person politely.
English alphabet. Letters of the English alphabet
The English alphabet consists of 26 letters, of which 5 are vowels 21 consonants.
Capital letter Lower case letter Pronunciation A a [ei] B b [bi:] C c [si:] D d [di:] E and [i:] F f [ef] G g [ʤi:] H h [eitʃ] I and [ai] J [ʤei] K k [kei] L l [el] M m [em] N n [en] O or [ou] P p [pi:] Q q [kju:] R r [a:(r)] S s [es] T t [ti:] U and [ju:] V v [vi:] W w [dʌblju] X x [eks] Y and [wai] Z z [zed] Notes
The letter Z , z is pronounced like [ 'zed ] in British English, and like [ 'zi: ] in American.
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