Question

Where is that simply indicate direction should not be capitalized because they?

Answer 1

Answer:

are not proper nouns

Explanation:

north, east, south, and west are capitalized only when they denote proper nouns. They are not capitalized if they only indicate direction.

If you tell someone to go north along the road, then in this case 'north' is just a direction, so it is not capitalized.

If we are talking about Africa’s West Coast, the directional word 'West' is a proper noun. So, it is capitalized.