In a title how are hyphenated words usually capitalized? Especially when they include prepositions? For example, "Bride-to-be" to and be shouldn't be capitalized, correct? But if it's the last word in the title, should it be "Bride-To-Be?
Ugh, good question. I've no idea, and I don't remember having seen a hyphenated word in a title. Maybe @Seven Crowns knows?
I'm fairly certain it's Bride-to-Be in that instance. If a hyphenated word begins with a single letter, you lowercase the second part. ( E-learning ) If a hyphenated word comes with a prefix and could not standalone, you leave the second part in lowercase. ( Co-pilot ) If it follows a hyphen in a compound phrase, it's supposed to be lowercase. ( Basically, your example applies to this rule. )
It's a style issue, so your guide decides. And note that publishers can have their own house styles that override anything . . . I use Chicago Manual. They're usually "right," whatever that means. (There's a few silly things in there lately, but oh well.) In Chicago style, "to" in an infinitive is not capitalized in a title. So it would be Bride-to-Be. So I agree with @Keylida! Here's their rule for this. They don't say anything about the infinitives, but those are lowercase in normal titles, so I'd do it here too. Spoiler: CM 8.161 Hyphenated compounds in headline-style titles. The following rules apply to hyphenated terms appearing in a title capitalized in headline style. For rules of hyphenation, see 7.81-89. 1. Always capitalize the first element. 2. Capitalize any subsequent elements unless they are articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor), or such modifiers as flat or sharp following musical key symbols. 3. If the first element is merely a prefix or combining form that could not stand by itself as a word (anti, pre, etc.), do not capitalize the second element unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective. 4. Capitalize the second element in a hyphenated spelled-out number (twenty-one or twenty-first, etc.) or hyphenated simple fraction (two-thirds in two-thirds majority). The examples that follow demonstrate the numbered rules (all the examples demonstrate the first rule; the numbers in parentheses refer to rules 2-4). Under-the-Counter Transactions and Out-of-Fashion Initiatives (2) Bed-and-Breakfast Options in Upstate New York (2) Record-Breaking Borrowings from Medium-Sized Libraries (2) Cross-Stitching for Beginners (2) A History of the Chicago Lying-In Hospital (2; “In” functions as an adverb, not a preposition) The E-flat Concerto (2) Self-Sustaining Reactions (2) Anti-intellectual Pursuits (3) Why Solar Is the Future of E-books (3) A Two-Thirds Majority of Non-English-Speaking Representatives (3,4) Ninety-Fifth Avenue Blues (4) Atari’s Twenty-First-Century Adherents (4) Under another, simplified practice that is not recommended by Chicago, only the first element and any subsequent element that is a proper noun or adjective are capitalized. edit: one form of the infinitive comes after the noun. e.g., nachos to be eaten So this is kind of like: bride to be wed.
Sorry, this probably doesn't help much with your specific question, but it is hyphenated with both words capitalized. And I mean, all the letters are capitals! To me it makes it feel Olde-Fashun'd.
There’s a degree of stylistic preference involved when it comes to titles; in my personal preference you capitalize everything except words like a/to/the/than. I think it’s “more correct” (and visually pleasing) to capitalize everything hyphenated except for “bridge” words. I would 100% say Bride-to-Be.
Been looking through my numerous bookshelves looking for any title with hyphens. Not seeing any. I'd skip the hyphens altogether. They just look weird in a title, proper grammar or not.
