Capitalization – Are Words Such as Dad, Mother, or Uncle Capitalized When Used as Titles?

capitalizationkinship-termsproper-nouns

Do native speakers capitalize "aunt," "mother," "father," etc. with "my", "her" if they are using them as a title?

  1. "My uncle works in a factory."

  2. "My Dad is on business in France."

Best Answer

These are not being used as titles. They are being used as common nouns and are not capitalised.

"As a title" means as part of a name:

Please give this to your uncle.

Please give this to Uncle George.

Or in place of a name

Please give this to Dad (said by one sibling to another)

Note you don't say "Father George" or "Brother Tom" (except when they are religious titles of a priest or a monk). While a sibling will use "Dad" in place of a name when talking to another sibling, it is unusual to use "Brother" as a name. So don't say:

*Please give this to Dad George.

*Please give this to Brother.

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