Capitals for titles

People's (job) titles
Civil, religious, military and professional titles of office which precede someone's name always start with a capital letter. These indicate that someone has a certain importance in society, but they shouldn't be over-used.

Presiding over the case was Judge Prendergast, who was in charge of the entire day's proceedings.

Helen Clarke's husband is Doctor Peter Davis.

General titles (not indicating a specific person)
Don't use capitals for general titles. When a title of office does not directly refer to a particular person, but rather is used generally, it is not capitalized. For example, Professor (as part of someone's title) should have a capital, but 'professor' may also be a common noun and (in that context) does not need a capital.

Helen Clarke's husband is a doctor who is currently also a professor in medical sociology.

Presiding over the case was Judge Prendergast, who gained notoriety as the judge who rewrote New Zealand history.

Prime Minister Helen Clark was the first elected female prime minister in New Zealand.

Implicit titles

Implicit titles

Be a little careful. A title may still occasionally be capitalized when not directly referring to a person when it relates implicitly to the person with that particular title.

The key will be handed to the Prime Minister by the Queen's representative and then Parliament is declared open.

The President walked into the White House and was immediately surrounded by photographers.

Try this game from BBC Skillswise

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