There are several differences between French and English capitalisation of nouns to watch out for, all of which involve words which take a capital in English but not in French:
Days of the week:
Months:
Seasons:
Some geographical words:
1) Street, Avenue etc.:
- Moliere Street – rue Moliere
- Victor Hugo Avenue – avenue Victor Hugo
2) Certain geographical features such as seas, oceans, mountains etc. (although the proper name of any of these features is capitalised, as any proper names are):
- Mediterranean Sea – la mer Méditerranée
- Mont Blanc – le mont Blanc
Titles which precede a proper noun:
- Professor Renault - Le professeur Renault
- President Chirac - Le président Chirac
Languages:
Nationalities and regions if used as adjectives:
- The American people – Le peuple américain
- Parisian life – la vie parisienne
But not if they are used as nouns:
- An American - Un Américain
Note: the name of countries, as proper names, are capitalised in French as in English:
Most Religions:
The names of most religions, whether as proper names or adjectives, as well as the name of their adherents, are not capitalised in French apart from a few exceptions:
The Religion as a Noun:
- Christianity – le christianisme
- Buddhism – le bouddhisme
- Judaism – le judaïsme
- Hinduism – le hindouisme
The Religion as an Adjective:
- Christian – chrétien
- Jew – juif
- Hindu – hindou
- Buddhist – bouddhiste
- Muslim – musulman
Name of Adherents:
- a Christian – un chrétien
- a Muslim – un musulman
- a Jew – un juif
The exceptions are:
The Religion as a Noun:
Name of Adherents:
- a Hindu - un Hindou
- a Buddhist - un Bouddhiste
Accents on capitals?
Traditionally, only Canadian French accents its capital letters, but the distinction has become more relaxed in recent years.
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