Punctuation booklet.pdf

7/27/2019 Punctuation booklet.pdf

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Ever felt puzzled by grammar and punctua-

on? Dont know your nouns from your ad-

verbs? Unsure what a subordinate clause

is? Not sure how to use a comma?This booklet will help solve your problems.

With explanaons, examples and acvies,

it explains everything you need to know

about grammar and punctuaon.


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This booklet is designed to help you acquire the skills

and knowledge you need to become a competent writer.

Each section explains a skill or defines an aspect of

writing. For each skill/rule, there are examples to helpyou understand how they work. There are also activi-

ties to complete to reinforce what you have learned.

This booklet contains all the knowledge you need to meet

the assessment objecves for two wring assessment foci -

AF5 and AF6. These two assessment foci are the most im-

portant in your wring. If you master these skills, yourwring will be of a much higher quality.

Although you can work through

the booklet from start to finish,

you may wish to select and com-

plete the activities according toyour personal needs.


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Level 3: reliance mainly on simply structured sentences, variation with

support, e.g. some complex sentences, and, but, soare the most common

connectives, subordination occasionallyLevel 4: some variety in length, structure or subject of sentencesuse of some subordinating connectives, e.g. if, when, becauseLevel 5: a variety of sentence lengths, structures and subjects provides

clarity and emphasis. Wider range of connectives used to clarify

relationship between ideas, e.g. although, on the other hand, meanwhile.Some features of sentence structure used to build up detail or convey

shades of meaning, e.g. variation in word order, expansions in verb

phrases

Level 6: controlled use of a variety of simple and complex sentences to

achieve purpose and contribute to overall effect. Confident use of a

range of sentence features to clarify or emphasise meaning..Level 7: variety of sentence types deployed judiciously across the text to

achieve purpose and overall effect, with rare loss of control. A range of

features employed to shape/craft sentences that have individual merit

and contribute to overall development of the text.

Level 3: straightforward sentences usually punctuated

accurately with full stops, capital letters, question and

exclamation marks. Comma splice is often used at level 3.Level 4: sentences punctuated accurately throughout the

text. Speech marks used accurately. Question marks used

accurately. Commas used in lists and sometimes to mark

clauses, although not always accurately.Level 5: full range of punctuation used accurately. Fullspeech punctuation used. Commas used to mark clauses.

There may be some errors where ambitious structures are

attempted.Level 6: syntax and full range of punctuation are

consistently accurate in a variety of sentence structures, with

occasional errors in ambitious structures.Level 7: a range of features, including punctuation and

sentence structure, employed to shape/craft sentences that

have individual merit and contribute to the overall

development of the text.


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Secon B: Perfect PunctuaonPages 34-35: full stops

Pages 36-37: capital leers

Page 38: commas for lists

Page 39-41: comma splice

Page 42: basic speech marks

Page 43-45: apostrophes

Pages 46: queson marks and exclamaon marks

Pages 48-49: commas for subordinate clauses

Page 50: full speech punctuaon

Page 51: ellipsis

Pages 52-53: the semi colon and colon

Page 54-55: parenthesis

Secon A: Great GrammarPage 6-7: what is a sentence?

Pages 8-9: word classes

Pages 10-11: nouns and adjecves

Pages 12-14: verbs

Page 15: adverbs

Pages 16-17: subject, verb and object

Pages 18-19: acve and passive voice

Page 20: simple sentences

Pages 21-23: compound sentences and conjuncons

Pages 24-29: complex sentences, main and subordinate

clauses

Pages 30-31: revision


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Sen 10 ceRemember: sentence has a ten in it

Next to each group of words write sentence or not a sentence.

1.

Jenny listened carefully. _____________________________

2. Announcement on the radio. __________________________

3. Had to solve several riddles. __________________________

4. The riddles were in the newspaper. _____________________

5. A new riddle came out each day._______________________

6. Led to the next answer.______________________________

7. Sort of like a treasure hunt.___________________________

8.

Jenny couldnt wait to start.___________________________

9. Ran out for the morning newspaper.____________________

10. She quickly turned to the contest page.__________________

11. Jennys eyes skimmed the leers._______________________

12. At rst, nothing made any sense to her.__________________

13. Took a great big deep breath.__________________________

14. Jenny, all her friends, and a neighbor.____________________

15.

Jenny read the words carefully._________________________

16. Everyone tried to solve the riddles.______________________

17. Had answers to all the riddles by Friday.___________________

18. Mailed in all her answers.______________________________

19. The sponsors of the contest phoned Jenny.________________

20. She won the grand prize._______________________________

Before you can punctuate sentences correctly, youneed to know about how different types of

sentences work.A sentence is a group of words that expresses a

complete thought. It needs to make sense on its

own.Sentence: A contest was announced on theradio.Not a sentence: Heard about it on the radio.

(This makes you thinkheard about what?

Who heard about it? The sentence doesnt

make sense on its own).


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Unscramble these sentences and write the answers underneath:

1. not there was he.

___________________________2. you about who told it?

___________________________3. you did about who tell it?

___________________________4. him saw I party the at.

___________________________5. time for I looking him saw the he job a last was.

_______________________________________________6. win they the game did?

_____________________________________7. hard I could as I as tried._____________________________________8. going where she was?

_____________________________________


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Common nouns are names of every day objects: table, chair,

cup, tree, sky.

Proper nouns are names of parcular places and people:

James, Africa, Japan, Mr Franklin, Buckingham Palace. They re-

quire a capital leer.

Abstract nouns are names of things you cant touch, see, feel,

taste or hear: love, anger, life, bravery, deceit, trust.

Adjecves can go in front of nouns: comfy chair, happy stu-

dent, red car.

Adjecves can go aer nouns: the chair was comfy, the stu-

dent was happy, the car was red.

Verbs are doing or being words.

Doing words: walk, sing, dance, eat, cry, y, shine, play.

Being words: am, is, are, was, be, can.

Somemes a group of words makes up the verb part of sen-tence: can be, will not.

These describe how an acon is performed. These words usu-

ally end in the sux ly.

They can go before or aer the verb.

I waited paently. The car stopped gently. I slowly ate my

cake. Suddenly I understood.


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NOUNS ADJECTIVES VERBS ADVERBSshoe small shout loudly


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Pracse building up strings of adjecves

in front of nouns.Example:

The ny frog.

The ny, slimy frog.

The ny, slimy, googly-

eyed frog.

Pracse wring adjecves aer nouns:Example:

The frog was ny and cute.

The frog was googly-eyed and massive.

The frog was huge and disgusng.


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The villagers of Lile Hangleton sll called it "the Riddle House," even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived

there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, les missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked

over its face. Once a ne-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now

damp, derelict, and unoccupied.

The Lile Hangletons all agreed that the old house was "creepy." Half a century ago, something strange and horrible had happened

there, something that the older inhabitants of the village sll liked to discuss when topics for gossip were scarce. The story had been

picked over so many mes, and had been embroidered in so many places, that nobody was quite sure what the truth was anymore.

Every version of the tale, however, started in the same place: Fiy years before, at daybreak on a ne summer's morning, when the

Riddle House had sll been well kept and impressive, a maid had entered the drawing room to nd all three Riddles dead.

The maid had run screaming down the hill into the village and roused as many people as she could.

"Lying there with their eyes wide open! Cold as ice! Sll in their dinner things!"

The police were summoned, and the whole of Lile Hangleton had seethed with shocked curiosity and ill-disguised excitement. No-

body wasted their breath pretending to feel very sad about the Riddles, for they had been most unpopular. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Riddle

had been rich, snobbish, and rude, and their grown-up son, Tom, had been, if anything, worse. All the villagers cared about was the

identy of their murderer for plainly, three apparently healthy people did not all drop dead of natural causes on the same night.


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Every sentence has at least one VERB in it.

Verbs are DOING or BEING words.

DOING words: here, the

verb is the acon word in

a sentence. It is what is

being done.

Examples: walk, run shout.

BEING words: this is a lile

more tricky. A verb can

express a state of being.

They are all linked to thephrase to be.

Examples: be, being, am,

was, were, are, is,

UNDERLINE THE VERBS:Doing verbs:

Greedily, he ate the cake.

The water glittered beautifully.

Watch your brother.

She knew the answer.

Dogs run really fast.

Being verbs:

I am cold.

He was happy.

The advert was fantastic.

He was being clever.

Minecraft is awesome.

They are happy.


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1. The owners of the bicycle shop ____________ very amiable and helpful with advice.2. I am not _______________ to stay out after midnight.

3. Music written in a minor key usually ________________ sad or moody.

4. Dad _______________ to go to his office early this morning.

5. It is time to __________________ out meeting for the day.6. Tom _____________ a drum from a big metal can.

7. We _______ the strawberries.

8. We __________ the game as a result of our excellent teamwork.

9. We________ a picnic underneath the trees.

10. My mother ______ very clever and always _________ our Christmas presents in

different places.


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Confusingly, in modern times many people use nouns (naming words) as verbs.For example, If you go on facebook, then facebook is a nounyou are sayingyou will go on the website which is called facebook. If you say Ill facebook youyou are using facebook as a verbyou are saying you are going to perform the

action of facebooking someone.


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Which adverbs would you use to describe the verbs in these sentences? Write your own adverbs on thelines. Remember, all your adverbs should end in ly.

I waited ____________________________________ The snowman melted ______________________

The dog ran _________________________________ ______________________, I walked home.

He ate _____________________________________ They ____________________ laughed.

_______________________, they sneezed.

____________________ the car stopped.

She listened _________________________________ The birds chirped __________________________


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RULE: Every sentence has a verb and a subject. Some sentences

also have an object.VERB: A doing or being word.

SUBJECT: This is the person/thing that does the acon.

OBJECT: The object is the person/thing that is aected by or

receives the acon .

Some sentences dont have an object. However,

every sentence has a verb and a subject. These sen-

tences are just made up of a subject and a verb:

I sat. I walked. The cat ran. I am. I wept. I'm alive. Hechuckled. She smiled. He played. She danced. Amy

hopped. Ted winked. Lily sang. I ate. You sing. Jenny

studied. She grinned. Olivia smirked. Charlie nodded.

Oliver ran.

The wind whispered through the trees.

- VERB: whispered

- SUBJECT: wind

- OBJECT: the trees

The dogchased the cat.

-VERB: chased

- SUBJECT: dog

- OBJECT: cat


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1. The sun shone on the lake.

2. I woke.

3. The mouse ran away from the elephant.

4. The school bell rang.

5. He waited.

6. I hate chocolate.

7.

The sun smiled on us.

8. I love you.

9. I waited for you.

10. Gnomes ate my hamster.

11. I sit.

12.

I watered my venus y trap.

13. The dog chased the cat.

14. The stars sparkled merrily in the sky.

15.

A beauful sunrise bathed the black hills in glorious light.

16. Twenty thousand soldiers were ready to aack the town.

Label the subjects with an S, the verbs with a V and the objects with an O


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Janetwas hit by the ball.

The ball hitJanet.

VERB: hit

SUBJECT (which does the hing): the

ball

OBJECT (which has the hing done to

it):Janet

In the acve voice, whats the order

of the sentence parts?_____________________________In the passive voice, whats the order

of the sentence parts?_______________________________

ACTIVE VOICE - SVO; The subject comes first, then the verb, then

the object. Most of the time, you should use the active voice in your writ-

ingit makes everything clearer and more dynamic sounding.

PASSIVE VOICE - OVS: The object comes first, followed by the verb

and then the subject goes at the end. Although it is grammatically accu-rate, using this voice a lot can make your sentences confusing. However, it

is often used in science reports when you want to avoid saying I or We,

as in the following example:

I put liquid in the test tube.

Liquid was put into the test tube .

ACTIVE (SVO) PASSIVE (OVS)

I ate the apple.

I have wrien a book.

The window was broken by

John.

Charles sold the company.

The ights were booked by my

dad.

I won the compeon.

The road was crossed by the

chicken.


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Write five short sentences, using the ACTIVE voice

(SVO):

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Re-write your sentences in the PASSIVE voice

(OVS):

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________


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Simple sentences are usually very

shortsometimes only with two or

three words.

They have:

One subject

One verb

Sometimes, one object

They havent got:

Any extra information

Examples:

I ate the cake.

John caught the ball.

I sat down.

Write two paragraphs of a story, but ONLY use simple

sentences! Dont worryit will feel a bit odd!

Use simple sentences tocreate tension at dramatic

moments, or to draw

attention to importantideas.


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Compound sentences are made up of two or

more simple sentences joined together. In

the examples below, the simple sentences

are underlined.

These sentences are joined together with

CONJUNCTIONS. Your teacher may call

these joining words.

Examples:

The dog chased the cat and the cat chased

the mouse.

I waited for the bus but it didnt arrive.

I was happy because it was my birthday.

The most common conjuncons are: and, but, for, or,nor, yet, so.

Underline the conjuncons in the examples below:

1. I tried to speak Spanish and my friend tried to

speak English.

2. Alex played football so Maria went shopping.

3. I am disappointed yet I am hopeful.

4. I am in Death Valley, in a room at the Enterprise

Motel and it is July and it is hot. In fact it is 119

degrees. I cannot seem to make the air condion-

er work but there is a small refrigerator and I can

wrap ice cubes in a towel and hold them against

the small of my back. (Joan Didion, On Mortality)


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Join together these simple sentences using conjuncons. Remember, the most common conjuncons are: and, but,

for, or, nor, yet, so.

1. It rained for three days ________ the streets in my neighbourhood ooded.

2. I got to football pracse late _____________ I forgot to set my alarm.

3.

Kyle compelted his homework___________ he put it in his folder.

4. Luke mowed the lawn __________he earned ten dollars.

5. I sayed up late last night___________ I am red today.

6. Neil doesnt like seafood__________ he doesnt like cabbage.

7. My pencil was broken___________ I borrowed one from Jake.

8. I like apples_____________ I like pears more.

9. Eight people got into the elevator _________ it was crowded _________three people got o.


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Paired conjuncons can help you make more complicated compound sentences. Paired conjuncons are where you have to express an

acon that two or more subjects take.

Examples are both and, either or and neither...nor

BothAlice andJanice aended C.V.H.S.

EitherPeterorthe girls needed to aend the class.

NeitherFranknorLily lives in Japan.

BE CAREFUL! Either goes with or. Neither goes with nor.

I want to buy either a new desktop computer or a laptop, but I have neither the cash nor the credit I need.

Write your own sentences using paired conjuncons below:

Both ... and ________________________________________________________________________________________

Either or _________________________________________________________________________________________

Neither nor ______________________________________________________________________________________


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Complex sentences are slightly more complicated than simple and compound sentences.

They have extra information added to the main part of the sentence.

Complex sentences have:

At least one main clause AND one or more subordinate clauses.

What is aclause?

A CLAUSE is part of a sentence. If you were to break a sentence up into bits, we would call

these bits clauses. You can use punctuation or conjunctions to link clauses together.

The different clauses are shown below in the example:

On Saturday, I went to the shop because I wanted to buy a booka book that I had wanted

for ages.


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Circle the clauses in the following sentences:We were lulled by the blue skies perhaps, or by sheer boredom.

Fritz seemed to have gone to sleep on us and, as far as we were

concerned, that suited us ine. We thought we could go to sleep too.

The awakening came suddenlyGas! Gas! The cry goes up and it

is echoed all along the trench. For a moment, we are frozen with

panic. We have trained for this time and again, but nonetheless we

fumble clumsily, feverishly without gas masks. Fix bayonets!

Hanleys yelling while were still trying frantically to pull on our

gas masks. We grab our riles and we ix the bayonets. Were on

the ire step looking out into no mans land and we see it rolling

towards us, this dreaded killer cloud we have heard so much about

but have never seen for ourselves until now.


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Main clauses make sense on their own. They have a subject, verb and sometimes an ob-

ject. If you were just to have a main clause, that would be a simple sentence.

What are

main clauses?

What are

subordinate

clauses?

Remember, complex sentences have main and subordinate clauses.

Subordinate clausesadd extra information about what, where, when, why or how some-

thing happens. They dont make sense on their own.

In these examples, the main clause is underlined and the subordinate clauses are not underlined:Suddenly, the door slammed.

The basketball club is on Tuesday, aer school, in the hall.

Although I am usually a calm person, I somemes lose my temper.


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Underline the MAIN CLAUSES in the following sentences:

(Subordinate clauses often start with words called subordinators: because,

since, after, although or when)

1. After they had finished their tea, Juan and Maria went to the movies.

2. Juan and Maria went to the movies, after they had finished studying.

3. Angrily, he threw his pen across the room.

4. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last

page.

5. Although he was usually a happy guy, he often felt angry.

6. Since I knew the answers, I got full marks in my test.


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All of these sentences are complex sentences. Underline the main clauses.1. At the back of Chelmer Valley High Schools field, a tiny green leprechaun dances on March 17th.

2. Wary of the school pupils, the tiny green leprechaun hides in the trees.

3. While taking his homework out of his car, Mr. Morton heard a strange laugh coming from the park.

4. Mr. Morton put his stuff in the car and walked towards the park, feeling a little frightened by the fog.

5. A green fog, as thick as soup, gathered over the field.

6. From out of nowhere, the leprechaun appeared to Mr. Morton, giggling and doing an Irish dance.

7. Having never seen a leprechaun before, Mr. Morton was puzzled.

8. Mr. Morton and the leprechaun stared at each other and walked slowly in a circle.

9. Having always wanted gold teeth, Mr. Morton tried to catch the leprechaun.

10. The leprechaun, used to being chased, disappeared and then reappeared in a tree.

11. Shaking the tree violently, Morton imagined having shiny gold teeth.

12. Gold coins rained down to the earth like tears from the heavens.

13. Mr. Morton, the most dangerous leprechaun hunter in Essex, celebrated by grabbing coins.

14. Filling up his pockets with gold coins, Mr Morton laughed and laughed.

15. The leprechaun, having magically summoned a rainbow bridge, went back to his home in Ireland.

16. Mr. Morton brought all of the gold coins to his neighbour, a renowned pawnbroker.

17. Squinting through his magnifying glass, the pawnbroker examined the gold coins closely.

18. He picked one gold coin out of the pile and handed it to Mr Morton, moving very slowly.

19. Peeling back layers of gold foil, the pawnbroker showed him the delicious piece of chocolate inside.

20. Though disappointed about not getting gold teeth, Mr Morton was happy to have so much candy.


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Subordinate Clauses can go in threedifferent places: at the start of a sen-

tence, at the end or in the middle. Im-

agine we have a main clause I go

shopping. You want to add some extra

information about when you do this,

using the subordinate clause on

Tuesday. We can put on Tuesday inthree different places in the sentence.

For example:

On Tuesday, I go shopping.

I go shopping on Tuesday.

I, on Tuesday, go shopping.

Re-write these sentences, putting the subordinate clauses at the

middle and at the end of the sentence.

SC at the start: Suddenly, the door slammed.

SC at the end:______________________________________

SC in the middle:____________________________________

Because he was excited, the dog accidentally ran into the wall.

___________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

After school, I will go to the park.

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________


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1.

What are adjecves?

2. Name three dierent types of nouns.

3. What are verbs?

4. Write down two adverbs.

5. Which ONE of the following types of words must every sentence have? Noun, verb, adjecve or adverb.

6.

What three parts does a simple sentence have?

7. Write an example of a simple sentence.

8. What is a compound sentence?

9. Write down three conjuncons that are used in compound sentences.

10. Give an example of a compound sentence.

11.

Explain in your own words what a main clause is.

12. What is a subordinate clause?

13. Which two parts must a complex sentence have?


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Use each of the three dierent sentence types. That is, make sure you use at least two

simple, two compound and two complex sentences.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________


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This section will teach you how to use all of the different

types of punctuation we use in writing, with definitions,

examples and activities. The punctuation marks are

explained in order of difficulty.


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Punctuaon in Braille


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Everyone knows full stops

go at the ends of

sentences. However, sometimes it can be

tricky iguring out where sentences end.

Here are some hints to help:1. Sentences have one main idea in them.2. Sentences make sense on their own when

you read them back to yourself.

3. Full stops almost never go next to joiningwords (words like and so but).

4. Each full stop has a capital letter after itbut not every capital letter has a full

stop before it! Be careful.


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My grandmother writes without commas or full

stops She writes my dear Carmen greengs in Jesus

precious name Its so nice hearing from you The

me doesn't maer as long as we are in each

others thoughts Im here sll holding on praying for

a beer way of living Thanks very much for your

leers and money You are in my thoughts all along

the way My knees are very weak now Old age is on

me now I have somebody to take me to church and

back Thank God for that Give regards to your hubby

for me unl I know him to do so myself Keep sweet

as always Cheerio for now and God bless

from Grandma Scoe

Abbreviaons are shortened forms of words. You al-

ways use full stops aer you have abbreviated a word.

For example, the abbreviaon ofDoctor is Dr.

Write the abbreviaons for the words below, remem-

bering to use a full stop at the end of each one:

1. etcetera ________________________

2. page 6 ________________________

3.

mister ________________________

4. submarine ________________________

5. ounces ________________________

Write these abbreviaons out in full:

1. tsp. ________________________

2. sch. ________________________

3. ref. ________________________

4. doz. ________________________

5. est. ________________________


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Capital Letters go in the

following places:1. At the start of sentences.2. For proper nouns. These are

names of particular places or

peoplefor example, EgyptJohn.

3. In titles: usually words in titleshave capitals. Smaller words,

like it, and, in, are not

capitalized. For example, The

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.4. For the word I

1. japan

2. chelmer valley high school

3. shoe

4. jack

5. pen

6.

road

7. tuesday

8. mrs mulhern

9. prison

10. wormwood scrubs prison

11. cup

12. student

13. sarah

14. camera

Which of these words are PROPER NOUNS and

need CAPITALS?Circle the PROPER NOUNS that should have

CAPITAL LETTERS at the start.


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i am in Trouble, again It is big Troublethe kind that requires urgent phone calls

and whispered conversations in The

School ofice while I sit on a plastic chair

outside mrs mulhern room, painting my

ingernails black sometimes i think that

greenhall academy is more of a prison

camp than a school mrs mulhern is wasted

as a headmistresswith her Charm,

compassion and world vision she could be

ruNning wormwood scrubs.

-Scarlett, by Cathy Cassidy

Colour in the leers that should be capitals.

Using a dierent colour, colour in where

the capitals are wrongly used

i write back saying grandma what do you mean by god bless

and whats this about weak knees you know youre t as a

ddle dont let anybody fool you that 73 is old my husband

is ne and he sends you his love enclosed is $75 take care

of yourself and i hope to be home one of these days love

Carmen

she writes back saying dear carmen I got your leer

yesterday why are you wring to me without punctuaon

dont you know beer is that what I worked hard and sent

you to school for dont let me down like this thanks for the

money i pray for you every night that you stay healthy god

bless and write to your mother

grandma scoe


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Commas are used to separate items in a list. You

put commas between the items, except for the

last two, where you have and to do the job in-stead.

E.g. On my desk I have a pen, a camera, a shoe

and a map.

Write two sentences that use commas for lists:

1._________________________________________

___________________________________________

2._________________________________________

___________________________________________


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In primary school, you may have been told that

commas should go where you need to take abreath, or where you feel like you need to

pause. However, this advice leads to lots of mis-

takes. If you put in a comma where you feel you

need to pause, how do you know whether to put

a full stop or a comma?

Comma Splice is a very common mistake thatmany people make. This is where you use a

comma to join (splice) two sentences together.

You should never use commas to join separate

sentences. You should have a full stop or a con-

juncon or a semi colon instead.

This following text uses commas in completely the

wrong way. It is absolutely illed with comma splices.

He waited patiently by the pavement, he felt very sad, it was

raining, the raindrops pattered on the road like bullets, the

sky was grey, he was still waiting, the bus hadnt arrived yet,

and she wasnt there either, he didnt know why she was

avoiding him, shed promised to meet him at 4, she hadnt

turned up, maybe it was something he had said the day

before...

Here is the correct version:He waited patiently by the pavement. He felt very sad. It was

raining. The raindrops pattered on the road like bullets. The

sky was grey. He was still waiting. The bus hadnt arrived yet

and she wasnt there either. He didnt know why she was

avoiding him. Shed promised to meet him at 4 but she

hadnt turned up. Maybe it was something he had said the

day before...


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What should I do if I find a comma splice?

1) Replace the coma with a full stop.

2) Replace the comma with a semi colon.

3) Replace the comma with a conjuncon (and, for nor, but, or, yet, because).

How can I tell if I have used comma splice?

Ask yourself: can I replace this comma with a full stop and

everything sll makes sense?

If the answer is YESyou are using comma splice.


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1. My brother never cleans his room, it smells bad.

2. San Francisco is a great place to visit; I've been there twice.

3. When Dan goes running, he runs for a long me, and it takes a while before he gets red.

4. If I won a million dollars, I would give half of it to charity. I would use the other half for college tuion and spending money.

5. Aer my ballet recitals, my mom takes me out for ice -cream, she has always done this.

6. Mary broke her arm, she had to get a cast, I signed it twice.

7. Carl and Ashley collect stamps, I collect sckers because I think it's more excing.

8. Dierent people enjoy dierent music; I enjoy jazz.

9. I am hungry, so I hope that supper is ready soon.

10. Pizza is Maggie's favourite food, she won't eat anything else.

11. Exercise is good for the heart. Nutrion is also important.

12. When the re alarm went o in class, we were all scared, it turned out to be just a pracce drill.

Which of these sentences shows comma splice?

Some of the sentences are correctly punctuated. Some of them are wrongthey use

commas to join separate sentences. Circle the commas that are incorrectly used.


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When a person speaks directly in your wring,

you must surround what they say with speechmarks. ..

You should also take a new line when

someone new starts to speak.

In the example opposite, a character called

Stanley is having a conversaon with a guard

at his prison camp. The guard is called Mr. Sir

Surround the direct speech with speech

marks.

Take a good look around you, said Mr. Sir. What do you see?Stanley looked out across the vast wasteland. The air seemed

thick with heat and dirt. Not much, he said.Mr. Sir laughed and said You see any guard towers?NoHow about an electric fence?No, Mr. Sir.Theres no fence at all is there?No, Mr. Sir.You want to run away? Mr. Sir asked him. If you want to run

away, go ahead, start running. Im not going to stop you.Im not going to run away said Stanley..Good thinking, said Mr Sir. Nobody runs away from here. Wedont need a fence. Know why? Because weve got the only wa-

ter for a hundred miles. You want to run away? Youll be buz-

zard food in three days.


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Apostrophes are NEVER used forplurals. Plurals are where you havemore than one of something. Write outthe examples below with the correctpunctuation.

C.D.s for sale_____________________________________Cameras are great._____________________________________The students were all lovely._____________________________________The islands were basked in light._____________________________________Apples and Pears: 15p_____________________________________


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Two words

Contracons

Can not

I have

Should not

I will

He is

She will

Shall not

Apostrophes are used when you make contracons of two

words. A contracon is where you pull two words together into

onefor example, do not becomes dont.

You should always put the apostrophe where you miss out the

leer. Some people make a mistake and put it between the two

words you have pulled together (eg dont instead of dont). Be

careful not to make this mistake.

Apostrophes are also used to show possession

- when something belongs to someone.

For example, Sandras shoes, the cars wheels.If it only belongs to one person, then the apos-

trophe goes before the s.

The cats tail, the bees sng.If it belongs to more than one person, then the

apostrophe goes aer the s.

The students books. The boys coats.

So if you write the boys shoes - you mean the

shoes belonging to one parcular boy.

If you write the boys shoes-

you mean theshoes belonging to a group of boys.


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1. The two boys bags were lying at the rivers edge.

The two boys bags were lying at the rivers edge.

The two boys bags were lying at the rivers edge.

2. My parents at is in one of the citys nest areas.

My parents at is in one of the citys nest areas.

My parents at is in one of the citys nest areas.

3. The two buildings doors and windows were damaged in the blast.

The two buildings doors and windows were damaged in the blast.

The two buildings doors and windows were damaged in the blast.

4. The Romans bridges and roads were vital for moving the troops supplies.

The Romans bridges and roads were vital for moving the troops supplies.

The Romans bridges and roads were vital for moving the troops supplies.

Which is correct?For each question, tick

the sentence you think is

correct.


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1. The cat had eaten all __________ food.

2.

_________ been a great day.

3. Give me a shout when _______ ready.

4. The old house had lost all of ______ windows and

doors.

5. The army has reprimanded many of ________ soldiers.

6. ______ always been possible to book a train cket

online.

7. The village has lost half ______ populaon since the

new road was built.

Doddle with punctu-

aon to make a face

in the circle.

: ; ? ! . ,

its or its? Fill in the gap.

Its and its are a special case where apostro-phes are concerned. Read the rules below.


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Queson marks are used at the end of a sentence to show a queson is

being asked. The sentence with a queson mark will oen start with one

of these words:

Who? Why? What? Where? When?

Exclamaon marks are used to show that a character is shoung.

Below, write the start of a story that shows the use of queson marks and exclamaon marks.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________


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Add in the commas to separate the subordinate clauses from

the main clause:Because it was raining my hair got wet.

At the end of the day we will go home.

Whenever I feel happy I smile.

Because he wasnt looking where he was going he drove right

into the tree.

The cat chased the dog right to the end of the town.

There is no shortage of cakes in the canteen on Tuesdays.

The dog who wasnt known for his intelligence got lost.

The man who was sing on a bench on his own felt quite

lonely.

HINT: think about which part of the sentence

you could remove, and the sentence would

sll make sense. The part you could remove is

the subordinate clause - the extra infor-

maon. Put commas around that part.


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Remember, main clauses contain the main information. Subordinate clauses add extra infor-

mation and dont make sense on their own. When you use main and subordinate clauses tomake up a complex sentence, you need to separate the two types of clauses with punctuation.

You can surround the subordinate clause with commas.

In the examples below, the subordinate clauses are in bold. You can see that they are separated

from the main clause with commas.

When I feel cold, I turn on the heating.

I turn on the heating, when I feel cold.I, when I feel cold, turn on the heating.

On Tuesday, we won the game,

We won the game, on Tuesday.

We, on Tuesday, won the game.


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The piece of writing below uses full speech punctua-tion correctly. Can you figure out what the rules are?

From the rules you have figured out, punctuatethe passage below correctly. Remember, its notJUST speech marks!

RULES FOR FULL SPEECH PUNCTUATION:

We sat on either side of the re, my Uncle and I, with a tray on a

small table between us. When he leaned back, his face disap-

peared into shadow enrely.

Your journey here was unevenul, I trust? he asked.

Yes, Uncle, I said.

You saw...nothing...in the woods?

Uncle Montague oen asked this queson and my reply was al-

ways the same..

No, Uncle, I said, not seeing the need to menon the creepy vil-

lage children, I did not see anything in the words.

There is nothing quite like a wood at night, eh, Edgar? he said.

No, I replied, but it was quite frightening.

It was Julius who started it. We were sing

on the wall one morning, when he said sud-

denly did you know Tulip was a witch

Dont be silly

She is he said stubbornly She always knows

exactly what Im thinking

No one knows what youre thinking

Tulip does

Can we get on with these spellings, please


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Ellipsis is where a writer puts

This is used for dierent reasons:

the writer wants to quote someones wring, but they

want to miss out a word, a sentence or a whole

secon from a text. You can put instead.

in creave wring, it can show an unnished thought.

at the end of a sentence, it can show a trailing o into

silence.

It can suggest a pause

It can suggest a tense or awkward moment of silence

in a story.

Show you can use ellipsis. Write part of a dramac scene from

a short story, where someone pauses and uses ellipsis, some-

one trails o into silence and to suggest a tense and awkward

moment of silence.


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Semi-colons are used for two reasons.

To join together two related sentences

To separate items in a list, when the items are

longer than one word.

Examples:The darkness surrounded me; I was frightened.A long me ago I learned a skill; I have forgoen that skill

now.On my desk I have a beauful pencil case; a delighul

map; a pink owering plant and a map.I am surrounded by a beauful sky; a gentle breeze; the

singing of birds and the warmth of the sun.

Pracse wring sentences using semi colons on

the page below.


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Colons are used for these reasons:

to introduce a listYou should have the following books and supplies with

you on the rst day of class: Roget's Thesaurus, two

pencils, a diconary, and two notebooks.

Aer it, you can describe, dene or explain theword before it.

Chocolate: a delicious experience.

Students: a delighul bunch of people.

To introduce a quote

A student wrote the words: colons are very easy to

use.

There are three choices in this l ife: be good, get good, or give up.

(Dr. House, House, M.D.)

The City is termite territory: thousands of heads-down workers

serving an unacknowledged queen, a fear motor buried deep in

the heart of the place. (Iain Sinclair, Lights Out for the Territory.)

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O

Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it. (Voltaire)

Write your own examples in the space below:_____________________________________

_____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


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When you have a group of words that adds more infor-

maon or explains a bit more, but isnt really part of the

sentence, you can put it in parenthesis. This means you

put brackets, dashes or commas around it.

For example:My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can sll

shield the two of us from the rain.My brotherthe fastest gunslinger in the Westis the

person I am most afraid of.The shoes, which were beauful inially, were covered

in slime.Write your own three examples:______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________


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DASHES are used when you want to draw lots of

attention to whatever is in parenthesis.I'd beer have passed my testit's ninety percent of my

class gradeor I'll have to go to summer school.

COMMAS are used when you dont want a lot of

attention drawn to the words in parenthesis, but it

just explains a bit more.Id better have passed my test, the test I was worried

about, or Ill have to go to summer school.BRACKETS are used to give deinitions, to explain

more clearly or to give a speciic example.Id better have passed my test (the geography test)

or Ill have to go to summer school.

Rewrite these sentences, underneath each one, add-

ing some appropriate words inside the parenthesis.The chocolate (________________) was all gone.

Adams best friend ___________ - was arrested.

The tree, ______________________, fell onto the road.

I knew, _________________, that I would succeed.


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Use this page to pracse your wring. Make sure you try to use every type of punctuaon at least once. What you write is up to

you, but here are some ideas:

describe a favourite place.

Write a speech persuading people to give money to charity.

Write the beginning of a short story entled lost and found.

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________


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1. Draw as many punctuation marks as you know.

2. Give two reasons why you might use a full stop.

3. For what reasons should you use capital letters?

4. Why would you use a comma? Give two answers.

5. What is comma splice?

6. Why is this wrong? Buy my lovely apples!

7. What does it mean to say you should use apostrophes for possession?

8. Write a sentence with a semi colon in it.

9. What is ellipsis and why might you use it?

10. Name the three types of punctuation you can use for parenthesis.


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Documents

Punctuation booklet.pdf