Is “Than” Capitalized in a Title?
“Than” exposes a genuine style-engine edge case. APA capitalizes it because it has four letters, while Chicago 18 may lowercase it as a preposition but capitalize it as a conjunction, so Chicago output can depend on the grammatical structure of the title.
APA 7 normally capitalizes “Than” because words of four letters or more are major words. Chicago 18 is context-sensitive: lowercase “than” when it functions as a preposition, but capitalize “Than” when it functions as a conjunction. That means a reliable Chicago converter must parse the construction rather than rely on a fixed word list.
Key details
Style-by-style guidance
APA 7
APA’s four-or-more-letter major-word rule makes “than” capitalized in ordinary title case, regardless of the Chicago distinction described below.
Further guidance
Chicago Conjunction
Chicago capitalizes “Than” when it introduces a clause, including clauses with an understood or omitted verb.
Chicago Preposition
Chicago gives the example “There Is More than One Path to a Successful Meal,” analyzing “than” as a preposition because the following noun acts as its object.
Converter Consequence
This is a high-value regression case: the token “than” cannot receive one fixed Chicago capitalization value without looking at syntax.
Practical Application
Apply title case only after identifying both the style system and, for Chicago 18, the grammatical role of “than.” APA 7 normally capitalizes it as a four-letter major word; Chicago may lowercase a prepositional “than” but capitalize a conjunction.
Reader Check
Which title-case style is in force, and in Chicago does “than” take an object like a preposition or introduce a clause like a conjunction? If the syntax is unclear, keep automation fail-closed for review.
Worked Example
Examples: APA writes “Faster Than Before.” In a Chicago conjunction pattern such as “Better Than We Expected,” capitalize “Than”; a prepositional Chicago use can remain lowercase when the syntax supports that analysis.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Title case capitalization (opens in a new tab)American Psychological Association · APA title-case rules
- Headlines and Titles of Works — “than” as preposition or conjunction (opens in a new tab)The Chicago Manual of Style / University of Chicago Press · Chicago POS-sensitive treatment of “than”
Related across sections
These links are manually reviewed for a genuine cross-section connection.
Then vs. Than
“Then” usually concerns time, sequence, addition, or result; “than” introduces comparison. Because the words are similar in sound and spelling, a meaning-based substitution test is more reliable than memorizing a single example.