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sentence - How do you capitalize a proper noun such as "iPhone"?


I was always taught to capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence, and also the first letter of proper nouns. In the last few years it's been common for certain firms to name their brands something that is always spelled with a small first letter and a capital second letter. It is almost as if they demand the rules of usage are changed. What do you do about this? Where is the inquisition when you need it? Should you start a sentence with "IPhone"? Should you use "iphone" in the middle of a sentence?



Answer




You should never change a brand name. 'iPhone' should always be spelled as 'iPhone,' no matter where in the sentence it is. 'IPhone,' 'iphone,' 'I-phone,' 'i-phone' or 'I phone' are always wrong. 'iPhone' is the only good one:


Good



iPhones are the best selling smartphones.



Wrong



IPhones are the best selling smartphones.



Terrible



Iphones are the best selling smartphones.



This is the same for all brand names, but this can also be for other (nick)names invented by people, for example 'rms' which should always be spelled lowercase.




There could be, however, one exception, when the sentence is spelled in all caps, usually for styling purposes:


Good



IPHONES ARE THE BEST SELLING SMARTPHONES.



Acceptable



iPhones ARE THE BEST SELLING SMARTPHONES.



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