Why do you have to capitalize the word "I" in a middle of a sentence?

Question

How come in the English language we capitalize the word "I" but not the word "a"? It can't be because it is a pronoun because we do not capitalize any others.

Answer 1

It probably just originated from the need to make the letter stand out in a sentence i suppose!
An a is wider and shaped where an i - especially in the days of everything being handwritten - might be overlooked or mistaken for a pen mark made by mistake.
Try experimenting with some of the 'handwriting' fonts and you will see what I mean
Now compare, even in this font, my 1st sentence and the last one - the 'i' is less noticeable than the 'I'. And remember, before fonts like this were used, the capital "i" had bars top and bottom, which further made it visible!
The answer concerning "I" always being the subject is grammatically right - but not likely to have been the reason.

Answer 2

"The pronoun 'I' developed from the unstressed form of Old English (about 725) ic singular pronoun of the first person (nominative case). Modern and Middle English I developed from earlier i in the stressed position. I came to be written with a capital letter thereby making it a distinct word and avoiding misreading handwritten manuscripts. In the northern and midland dialects of England the capitalized form I appeared about 1250"

Answer 3

It has nothing whatsoever to do with being a substitute for a proper name! In that case, you would have to capitalize ALL pronouns -- 'you, he, she, it, we, they'--since they also substitute for names. And of course in that case "me" should be written "Me"!

According to the Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (Wilson, 1988)

"~I~ pron. 1137 i; later I (about 1250, in The Story of Genesis and Exodus); developed from the unstressed form of Old English (about 725) ic singular pronoun of the first person (nominative case). Modern and Middle English I developed from earlier i in the stressed position. I came to be written with a capital letter thereby making it a distinct word and avoiding misreading handwritten manuscripts. In the northern and midland dialects of England the capitalized form I appeared about 1250. ""
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhyisi.html

Note that the one-letter word "O" (used, for example, when addressing someone, as in "O Lord!" or "O hear us!") is likewise always capitalized. I believe that is for exactly the same reason -- to avoid confusion in old, handwritten manuscripts.

Answer 4

because its proper and first person. The English language also capitalizes people's names anywhere in a sentence.

Answer 5

Because it is a proper pronoun that is used to replace a name.

Answer 6

We capitalize names, right? So, 'I' is refering to yourself. Like, you capitalize 'Dad' or 'Mom' instead of using their real name.

In short, it's a proper noun!

Answer 7

We do that because you are referring to yourself when you use "I". Anytime you are the one speaking in a paragraph I is capitalized.

Answer 8

Because I am the most important person and I want to stress that.

Answer 9

b/c it's a proper noun...if you were to replace it, you would capitalize your name.

Answer 10

because ur talking about a person