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 and APA 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 two guides. This makes "from" one of the boundary words – it's just long enough to trigger capitalization in AP and APA, 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.
MLA is the strictest of the four: it lowercases every preposition in a title, no matter how long. "From" stays lowercase in MLA for the same reason "between" and "through" do.
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 | Lowercase | Lowercase all prepositions regardless of length |
"From" sits right at the threshold where the guides split evenly. Three-letter prepositions like "for" are universally lowercase. Five-letter prepositions like "about," "under," and "after" are capitalized by AP, APA, and Chicago 18th edition – though not by MLA, which lowercases all prepositions. Four-letter prepositions like "from," "with," and "into" divide the guides two against two: AP and APA capitalize, Chicago and MLA lowercase. If you're writing for a general audience, pick one treatment and stay consistent; capitalized "From" follows the AP/APA convention most web headlines use.
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 and MLA style — incorrect for AP and APA
A Lesson FROM My Father
All-caps preposition — never correct in any style guide
Chicago and MLA 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. All four major style guides capitalize the last word of a title, so if "from" ends your title, capitalize it in every style.
- "From" in date ranges. Titles sometimes include date ranges using "from...to" construction. In this context, "from" is still a preposition – capitalize in AP and APA, lowercase in Chicago and MLA. "Sales Data From 2015 to 2020" — ✓ (AP, APA).
- "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" — ✓.
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About Sophia Stewart
Sophia Stewart develops practical capitalization guidance for editorial and SEO workflows, with a focus on consistent rule application.
