Quick Answer
Why "From" Gets Capitalized (or Not)
"From" is a preposition – it shows the starting point or origin of something ("a letter from my sister," "far from home," "dates from 1995"). Prepositions are the first category of words that title case rules single out for special attention, and they're also the most confusing because different style guides handle them differently.
AP, APA, and MLA use a simple rule: capitalize any word of four or more letters, regardless of what part of speech it is. Since "from" has four letters, it gets capitalized in these three guides. This makes "from" one of the boundary words – it's just long enough to trigger capitalization in most styles, but not so long that every guide automatically includes it.
Chicago takes a different approach. The 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style lowercased all prepositions in titles, regardless of length. This meant "from" was lowercase, even though it had four letters. However, the 18th edition (2024) revised this rule. Now Chicago capitalizes prepositions of five or more letters while keeping prepositions of four or fewer letters lowercase. Since "from" has exactly four letters, it remains lowercase under the updated Chicago style.
By Style Guide
| Style Guide | “from” in middle of title? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| AP | Capitalize | Capitalize words of four or more letters |
| APA | Capitalize | Capitalize words of four or more letters |
| Chicago | Lowercase | Lowercase prepositions of four or fewer letters (18th ed.) |
| MLA | Capitalize | Capitalize words of four or more letters |
"From" sits right at the threshold where most guides differ. Three-letter prepositions like "for," "but," and "yet" are universally lowercase. Five-letter prepositions like "about," "under," and "after" are capitalized by AP, APA, and MLA – and also by Chicago 18th edition. But four-letter prepositions like "from," "with," and "into" are where the guides split. If you're writing for a general audience, the safest choice is to capitalize "from." Three out of four major guides agree, and it's what most readers expect to see.
Examples
✓ Do
- Travels From East to West
- A Lesson From My Father
- Letters From Home: A Story of Connection
- Messages From Around the World
✗ Do not
Travels from East to West
Correct in Chicago style only — incorrect for AP, APA, and MLA
A Lesson FROM My Father
All-caps preposition — never correct in any style guide
Chicago style (also correct)
- Travels from East to West
- A Lesson from My Father
Edge Cases
A few situations where the standard rules shift:
- "From" as the first word of a title. All style guides capitalize the first word of a title regardless of part of speech or length. "From the Ashes: A Story of Renewal" — ✓ (all styles). "From Russia With Love" — ✓ (all styles).
- "From" as the last word of a title. Most style guides require capitalizing the last word of a title. So if "from" ends your title, capitalize it in AP, APA, and MLA.
- "From" in date ranges. Titles sometimes include date ranges using "from...to" construction. In this context, "from" is still a preposition – capitalize in AP/APA/MLA, lowercase in Chicago. "Sales Data From 2015 to 2020" — ✓ (AP, APA, MLA).
- "From" after a colon. When a colon introduces a subtitle, the first word after the colon is treated as a new title segment and capitalized in all guides. "The History of Science: From Alchemy to Modern Chemistry" — ✓.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need to check your title formatting?
Open the converter with a prefilled example and adapt it to your headline.
Try It NowRelated Grammar 101 Questions
About Oleh Kovalenko
Oleh Kovalenko develops practical capitalization guidance for editorial and SEO workflows, with a focus on consistent rule application.
