You know that a sentence starts with a capital letter. There is a word that is always a capital, wherever it is: the word I, when you write about yourself. I is a pronoun.
Key idea
The word I is always a capital letter.
Why it works
A small i on its own is easy to miss; it can look like part of the next word. Long ago, people copying books by hand began making it tall so it would stand out, printers kept it that way, and we still do.
Worked example: In the middle of a sentence
“Dad and i went fishing.”
- Find the word i. It means the writer.
- It is in the middle of the sentence, but it still needs a capital.
Answer: “Dad and I went fishing.”
Worked example: Not every i
Does the i in “fishing” need a capital?
- That i is a letter inside a word, not the word I.
- Only the word I on its own is always a capital.
Answer: No. Only the word I.
Common mistake
Writing a small i in the middle of a sentence: “Mom and i baked bread.” After you write, look for every little word i standing alone and make it tall.
For the grown-up. Children often write a capital I at the start of a sentence and a small one in the middle. A quick check after writing (“find every I”) fixes it fast. Letter formation for capital I is in the Handwriting course.