Small and Large Letters

Each letter of the English alphabet can be written as a "small letter" or as a "large letter". Large letters are also called "capital letters" or "capitals".

Small letters	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
Capital letters	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Small letters	h	i	j	k	l	m	n
Capital letters	H	I	J	K	L	M	N
Small letters	o	p	q	r	s	t	u
Capital letters	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Small letters	v	w	x	y	z
Capital letters	V	W	X	Y	Z

In informal English, we sometimes call capitals just "caps".

Font Styles >

Small letters are sometimes called "lower case" and large letters "upper case". This is because in the old days of printing, before computers, the metal blocks for setting type were kept in two different boxes or "cases": small letters in the bottom or lower case, large letters in the top or upper case.