Do you capitalize the word after a quote

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

Whether to capitalize or lowercase the first letter of the first word of a quotation depends on how the quotation is integrated into your prose and what appears in the original.

After a Verb of Saying

Capitalize the first letter if the quotation appears after a verb of saying, regardless of the case used in the source–but flag any alterations you make.

A quotation that follows a verb of saying (e.g., writes, says, states, exclaims) and is run in to your text is introduced with a comma and begins with a capital letter. If the first quoted word begins with a lowercase letter in your source, use a capital letter enclosed in square brackets to indicate that you’ve altered the source:

Introduce a block quotation that follows a verb of saying with a colon, and capitalize the first letter of the first word of the quotation:

After a Colon

A quotation that is run in to your text and introduced with a colon may begin with a lowercase or capital letter—use whatever you find in the source:

Forster describes George’s reaction to the memory: “he blushed and was ashamed.”

George’s reaction provokes in Lucy an observation about the weakness of men: “Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart; men were not gods after all, but as human and as clumsy as girls; even men might suffer from unexplained desires, and need help.”

In MLA style, sentences following a colon usually start with a lowercase letter, but it is acceptable to start such sentences with a capital letter. Thus, by using whatever you find in the source, you can maintain the integrity of the quotation and avoid using brackets unnecessarily.

Integrated into Your Syntax

A quotation that is integrated with the syntax of your sentence begins with a lowercase letter: 

If the first letter of the first word you quote is capitalized in your source, use a lowercase letter enclosed in square brackets:

A block quotation begins with a lowercase letter if it integrally continues your introductory wording:

Punctuation with Quotation Marks

Rule of Two:
Two punctuation marks (periods and commas) go inside quotation marks, two marks (colons and semi colons) go outside, and two (question marks and exclamation points) can go in either place, depending upon meaning.

Two go inside:
Period: “That doesn’t concern you.”
Comma: I like Aretha’s songs “Respect,” “Do Right Woman,” and “I Never Loved a Man.”

Two go outside:
Semicolon: I don’t like “Respect”; it’s too monotonous.
Colon: I like “I Never Loved a Man”: it’s a blues ballad in gospel style.

Two go in OR out, depending on meaning:
Question (inside): He asked me, “Do you like blues?”
Question (outside): What didn’t you like about “Respect”?
Exclamation (inside): Someone yelled, “Encore!”
Exclamation (outside): Play “Ain’t No Way”!

Quotations within quotations:
When someone is reporting what one person said another person said, use a single quotation within a double quotation.
            The reviewer said, “When I asked her where she got such vocal power, she said, ‘it was a gift from God.’”

Capitalization within quotations:
If you are quoting a complete sentence, begin the quotation with a capital letter.
            He asked me, “Do you like blues?”
If you are quoting only a fragment of a sentence, do not begin the quotation with a capital.
            He said that Aretha Franklin is a “powerful and highly acclaimed” R & B singer.

If a sentence is interrupted in the middle, do not capitalize the second part.
           “Renowned for her soul recordings,” the review said, “she is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel.”

Other Uses for Quotation Marks
Use to enclose titles of short works: poems, stories, articles, chapters of books, essays, songs, episodes of TV shows. These short works are usually part of a longer work which is written in italics.

Use to indicate words used ironically or with some reservation (also known as “scare quotes”). Use these sparingly!
This is irony: American "progress" has left millions impoverished.
This is not: American progress has left millions “impoverished.”

Quotation marks may be used for words set off as words, but italics are preferred.
            The words there and they’re are often confused.

Do not use quotation marks:

• to add emphasis to particular words, to set off slang or colloquial language.
• around indirect quotations: Franklin said she loved blues the best. 
• around the title of your own essay except when you are referring to your essay in another paper.

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