When you are writing about the seasons, should you capitalize their names?
For example, would you say:
I love the colors of the leaves in Autumn.
Or should you say:
I love the colors of the leaves in autumn.
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For some reason, in elementary school I was taught that Autumn is capitalized, but not the others. (I suspect this was a schoolteacher's misinterpretation of some P-ist principle.)– Hot LicksCommented Oct 28, 2015 at 13:26
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4 Answers
The names of seasons should be left uncapitalized. However capitalization may be used to achieve a poetic effect.
You should say:
I love the colors of the leaves in autumn.
Just like days of the week, seasons' names are kind of proper nouns; they have a temporal meaning; therefore, they should be capitalized.
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THat may have some logic to it, but it is obviously not followed in English.– MitchCommented Oct 28, 2015 at 13:43
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Hi Taoufik, Good answer but please add support to why you think your answer is correct. e.g Why is season name a proper noun. Adding links to dictionary meaning is always to good practice! :) Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 16:29
Particular seasons are temporal elements, in exactly the same way as a day of the week or a month of the year. They pinpoint a specific region of time. As such, seasons should be capitalized. However, the actual word 'season' (like any generic time period), should not be capitalized, as a particular time period is not being specified.
Examples:
In many areas, school now starts in the middle of Summer, technically. -- We're planning a trip for sometime next season.
The next tournament isn't until November. -- There is an event planned every month.
Your car will be ready on Wednesday. -- Your order should get to you in a few days.
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