Punctuation and Grammar
Capital Letters
Capital letters are always used to begin a sentence.
I is always a capital letter.
Other uses of capital letters are: names of places, months, days, and titles of people, books, e.t.c.
John Black arrived in London on Monday 4th June 1996.
Periods
Periods are used to indicate the end of a sentence. A sentence can be described as being one thought but must be more than a phrase.
i.e. (The fast car) is a phrase, there are no details about what the car is doing.
(The fast car was speeding down the street.) This is a sentence, it communicates where the car is and what it is doing.
A sentence must have a period at the end and must include, as a minimum, a subject, verb and noun.
Commas
Commas are used to break sententences into sections and to join phrases to make sentences.
We can use commas to separate items within a list, e.g. When I arrive at the office I need to collect the files, reports, laptop and projector.
Commas are used to bracket additional information in a sentence, e.g. I left my work, until the last minute, and ended up completing it too late.
Commas can also be used to add emphasis to a sentence, e.g. John, the office Manager, had to stay late to lock the office at the end of the day.
Semi-colon
A semi-colon can be used to separate phrases in a list.
e.g. The secretary uses the notepad, for taking notes; the answer phone, for recieving messages; the computer, for typing letters and the headphones with the computer.
Colon
A colon is used to introduce us to new information that follows.
A colon may be used before a quotation, or a sign.
e.g. Notice: Take you litter home.
A colon may be used to add additional information to a sentence.
e.g. There are two ways to travel to the office: by car or by bus.
Apostrophe
Apostrophes can be used in two ways:
To indicate possession
e.g. The car belonging to John - this would normally be written - John's car.
To abbreviate words - where letters are left out and replaced by an apostrophe.
e.g. cannot becomes can't
Exclamation Mark
An exclamation mark may be used to make a strong statement: to add more emphasis than a full stop.
An exlamation mark can be used when giving a command: Get down! or Get awat from here!
To show surprise or anger: I didn't expect that behaviour from him!
Question Mark
If a question is being asked a question mark is required.
This is a question: When is my birthday?
This is a statement: He asked me when my birthday is.
The question is asking for information, it requires an answer. A statement provides a piece of information, it does not require an answer.
Questions often begin with: who, why, what, where, when.
e.g.
Who are you?
Why did you do that?
What did you want?
Where are you going?
When will you arrive?
How will you get there?
Speech Marks
words that are spoken are placed within speech marks.
"I will arrive before lunch," said Bill.
Brackets
Brackets may be used to add additional information to a sentence.
When I left this morning (by car) the roads had not been gritted.
A Subject
e.g. John arrived at work late this morning. In this sentence John is the subject.
e.g. The train was delayed due to poor weather conditions. In this sentence train is the subject.
A subject is the main word in the sentence.
Nouns
A noun can also be called a naming word because it is the name of something.
There are two categories of nouns:
Proper noun: a proper noun is the name of a person or something with a given name. E.g. John Smith, Buckingham Palace, Liverpool or Tesco. A proper noun always begins with a capital letter.
Common Noun: a common noun names something that has not got a 'given' name. E.g.: chair, garden, road, glass, fridge.
Verb
A verb is also known as a doing word it tells us what something, or somebody does.
E.g.: walk, run, swim.
E.g. The woman walked along the road.
Adjective
An adjective is a describing word, giving more information about the noun or verb.
e.g.: The blue car drove past the end of the road.
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