# Grammar question: Prepositions in book titles

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 4, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985 "2000-12-04T19:11:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985/1 "2000-12-04T19:11:38Z")

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When writing the title of a book, one is supposed to capitalize a preposition if it’s the first word in the title, but to use lower-case if it’s not. For instance:

_A Tale of Two Cities_

But if a preposition is the _last_ word of the title, it looks strange not to capitalize it, too.

_Mr. Britling Sees It through_.

Should the preposition in such a case be capitalized?

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985/2 "2000-12-04T19:13:29Z")

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IIRC, you captialize the first and last words automatically and then use the rules for what’s in between.

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**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985/3 "2000-12-04T19:16:58Z")

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Yes, it should be capitalized.

1. Prepositions of five or more letters should be capitalized anyway (according to the grammar book I use)

but

1. “Through” in the example you give isn’t a preposition; it has no object following it. It’s being used as an adverb (“sees it where” --“through.”)

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985/4 "2000-12-04T19:54:40Z")

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The first and last words are always capitalized. Some prepositions are capitalized and some are not, depending on the house style (i.e., the particular publisher). Longer prepositions are capitalized, but there are differences of opinions about what constitutes “long.” Most places use a list.

> [@](#):
>
> . “Through” in the example you give isn’t a preposition; it has no object following it. It’s being used as an adverb (“sees it where” --“through.”)

Close. It’s not a preposition, but it’s not an adverb, either. It’s a particle. That is, it’s part of the phrasal verb “to see through,” which means “to complete a project” (or “to understand the motives” as in “I saw through him.”)

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-prepositions-in-book-titles/43985/5 "2000-12-04T20:11:56Z")

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This isn’t really a grammar question, but a style question. I would just consult a style guide for the answer. The part of speech isn’t that important in this situation.