Touch Typing Lessons
Lesson 4: Capital Letters
You know all the letters. But sometimes letters need to be capitalized. Proper nouns. Sentence beginnings. The word "I" when you're talking about yourself. That's what capital letters are for, and that's what the shift key does.
There are two shift keys on your keyboard, one on the left side and one on the right.
To type a capital letter, hold down shift while typing the letter. Here's the trick: use the opposite hand's pinky for shift. Typing a letter with your right hand? Left pinky holds shift. Left hand letter? Right pinky on shift. This keeps your typing hand in position so you can hit the letter accurately. Press and release shift for each capital rather than holding it down between letters — this avoids strain and accidental all-caps.
This technique may feel awkward at first, especially if you're used to reaching for the shift key with the same hand. That's completely normal. Within a few exercises, the opposite-hand method will start to feel natural, and you'll notice it's faster because your typing hand stays in position. Focus on accuracy rather than speed. Slow, correct repetitions build better muscle memory.
How this lesson works: Each section has two exercises. Technique Training builds muscle memory through focused patterns. Practice applies what you've learned to real writing. Complete them in order for best results.
Right Hand Capitals
4.1 Right Hand Home Row (with Left Shift): H J K L
Practice typing capital letters with your right hand while holding the left shift key with your left pinky.
Left Hand Capitals
4.2 Left Hand Home Row (with Right Shift): A S D F G
Now switch: your right pinky takes over shift duties while your left hand types capital letters.
Top Row Capitals
4.3 Right Hand Top Row (with Left Shift): Y U I O P
Moving up a row. Same idea — left shift, right hand types.
4.4 Left Hand Top Row (with Right Shift): Q W E R T
Now your left hand on the top row, right pinky on shift. The Q key is one of the trickiest to capitalize because both pinkies have to stretch in opposite directions. Take your time with this one.
Take a quick break if you need one. Home row and top row capitals done. Just the bottom row left.
Bottom Row Capitals
4.5 Right Hand Bottom Row (with Left Shift): N M
Just two keys this time, but the reach to the bottom row makes them tricky. Left shift, right hand.
4.6 Left Hand Bottom Row (with Right Shift): Z X C V B
Practice the bottom row letters typed with your left hand. Use the right shift key. Z and X are some of the trickiest letters to capitalize because they sit in awkward positions at the edge of the keyboard. Don't worry if these take extra practice.
The Caps Lock Key
Your keyboard also has a Caps Lock key that can be used for typing capital letters. Unlike the Shift key, which you hold down while typing, Caps Lock works as a toggle. Press it once to turn it on, then press it again to turn it off.
Many keyboards have a light indicator on the key itself or elsewhere on the keyboard that shows when Caps Lock is active. This helps prevent typing errors when you forget it's turned on.
Caps Lock is useful for abbreviations like NASA or ASAP, headings like CHAPTER ONE, and the occasional urgent message like THERE IS CAKE IN THE BREAK ROOM. It's also how people yell on the internet. We don't recommend it. The yelling, that is. The cake is fine. For individual capital letters, using the Shift key is faster and keeps your form intact.
The next exercise contains some all caps words. Feel free to experiment with Caps Lock to see how it compares to using Shift.
All Together
4.7 All Capital Letters
That wasn't too hard, was it? Let's put both hands together and practice switching between left and right hand shift keys.
You've just learned capital letters from zombie vegans, quiet weasels, and a penguin documentary with no penguins. Repeat any exercise until you can consistently hit 95% accuracy or above, then move on.