Capital letters and Punctuation

  • Read the following passage carefully:

Sara is six years old. She goes to Dolphin School. Her father, Mr. David Brown is a doctor. Her mother, Mrs. Emily Brown is a nurse. They run a clinic together. Sarah has a kitten. She calls her Silky. Sara has many friends. Her friends Lucy and Mary like Silky very much. On Sunday, they all go and play in the park.

  • Now notice that some words begin with a capital letter:
  1. The first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter.
  2. All special names begin with a capital letter (names of people, places, pets, days and months, festivals etc.).
  3. The word I is written in the capital form.

 

  • Punctuation is the use of full stops (.), commas (,) and question marks (?).

1.  All sentences end with a full stop.

2. We use a comma to show that there is a pause. It is used in place of ‘and’.

3. If we have more than two similar words, we separate them by commas; as,

Tom has two toasts, two eggs and a glass of milk every morning.

4.We separate a noun of address by a comma; as,

 John, please meet me after the class.

5. Commas are used after yes and no; as,

Yes, I am going to the market. No, you are not coming with me.

6. We put a question mark at the end of every question; as,

What is your name?

How are you?

Question-words

  • Read the following conversation between a student and a teacher. Study the use of question-words carefully:

 

Teacher What is your name?

Student – My name is Jack.

Teacher – In which class do you study?

Jack – Sir, I study in fifth class.

TeacherWhen do you come to school?

Jack – I come to school at 8’oclock.

Teacher Where do you live?

Jack – I live near Oxford Street.

Teacher What subject do you like?

Jack – Sir, I like English.

Teacher Why do you like English?

Jack – Sir, English is an interesting subject. I love reading English stories.

  • The above sentences have words like what, which, when, where, why. These words help us to ‘ask questions’. They are also called question-words.
  • Who and whose are also question words; e.g.

Q. Who are you?

A. I am a student.

Q. Whose book is that?

A. It is my book.

  • When questions time.
  • Where questions place.
  • Why questions reason.
  • What questions identity, manner and action.
  • Which questions choice?
  • Who and whose question identity and possession.