Full Stops and Friends

What is punctuation?

Read this aloud:

ama went to the market she bought kenkey fish and pepper it was hot did she carry it home yes

Hard to read, isn't it? You do not know where to stop or where one idea ends and the next begins.

Now read this:

Ama went to the market. She bought kenkey, fish and pepper. It was hot! Did she carry it home? Yes.

Much better. The little marks and the big letters are punctuation. They tell the reader when to pause, when to stop, when to ask and when to shout.

In this book you will meet the full stop, the question mark, the exclamation mark, the comma and the capital letter.

Why punctuation matters

Punctuation is like road signs for reading. A road sign tells a driver to stop or slow down. A punctuation mark tells a reader the same.

Without signs, drivers crash. Without punctuation, readers get lost.

Look how the meaning changes:

Let's eat, Kofi. — We are inviting Kofi to eat. Let's eat Kofi. — Oh no! Now Kofi is the food!

One small comma saved Kofi.

When you write, you are not there to explain what you mean. Punctuation does the explaining for you.

Try this: Read a page from any book. Count how many full stops you find. Each one is a place where the writer decided an idea was finished.

The full stop

The full stop is a small dot: .

It goes at the end of a sentence that tells us something.

• Kofi likes rice.
• The sun is hot.
• My school is in Kumasi.

A full stop says: "This idea is finished. Take a breath."

It sits on the line, right after the last word, with no space before it. After the full stop, leave a space, and the next sentence begins with a capital letter.

Try this: Write three sentences about your family. Put a full stop at the end of each one. Read them aloud and pause at every full stop.

What is a sentence?

A full stop goes at the end of a sentence. So we need to know what a sentence is.

A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense on its own. It usually has someone or something (Abena) doing or being something (is tired).

Abena is tired. ✓ A sentence. Abena tired in the ✗ Not a sentence. It does not make sense.

A sentence can be short: It rained.

Or longer: It rained all morning and the road to school was full of mud.

Long or short, when the idea is complete, you put a full stop.

Try this: Which of these are sentences? Add a full stop to the ones that are.

1. Kwame kicked the ball
2. under the mango tree
3. The trotro was full

Capital letters

A capital letter is a big letter: A, B, C, D … Small letters are a, b, c, d …

The first word of every sentence starts with a capital letter.

• The market is busy.
• We are going home.
• It is raining.

Full stops and capital letters work as a team. The full stop ends one sentence. The capital letter starts the next.

The bell rang. The children ran outside. Kofi was first.

Three sentences. Three full stops. Three capital letters.

Try this: Copy this and fix it: the goat ate the cassava. it was hungry. nobody saw it.

Capital letters for names

People's names always start with a capital letter, wherever they are in the sentence.

• Ama, Kofi, Abena, Kwame
• Mr Mensah, Madam Adjei, Auntie Efua

Not just first names. Family names too: Kofi Annan, Yaa Asantewaa.

The word I is always a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.

Yesterday I saw Ama and I waved.

Why? Names are special. A capital letter shows that this word is one particular person, not just any person.

The boy is tall. — any boy. Kwame is tall. — one special boy.

Try this: Write the names of five people in your class. Check every one starts with a capital letter.

Capital letters for places

Names of places also start with capital letters.

Towns and cities: Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Cape Coast, Ho

Countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Togo

Regions and rivers: Volta Region, River Pra, Lake Volta

Schools and streets: Oxford Street, Accra Girls' School

If a place name has two words, both get a capital: Cape Coast, Lake Volta.

Ordinary words for places do not get capitals: the market, the school, a river, my town. Only the special name does.

Try this: Write the name of your town, your region and your school. Underline every capital letter.

Capital letters for days and months

The days of the week and the months of the year are names too, so they get capitals.

Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Months: January, February, March … December

Special days: Christmas, Eid, Independence Day

We have no school on Saturday. My birthday is in March. Ghana celebrates Independence Day on 6 March.

But seasons and ordinary times are small: the rainy season, the morning, the evening.

Try this: Write today's day and this month in a sentence. Put the capitals in the right places.

Capital letters: the rules together

Use a capital letter for:

1. The first word of a sentence.
2. The word I.
3. Names of people: Ama, Mr Boateng.
4. Names of places: Accra, Ghana, Lake Volta.
5. Days, months and special days: Friday, June, Eid.
6. Titles of books and films: The Lion King.

Do not use a capital letter in the middle of an ordinary word, or for ordinary things like goat, market or river.

Try this: Find the six missing capital letters:

on monday, kofi and i walked to cape coast to see the sea.

The question mark

The question mark looks like this: ?

It goes at the end of a sentence that asks something.

• Where is Abena?
• Do you like banku?
• What time is it?

Say a question aloud. Your voice usually goes up at the end. The question mark shows that rise on paper.

The question mark replaces the full stop. Never write both: Where is Abena?. ✗

Questions often begin with these words: who, what, where, when, why, which, how, do, does, is, are, can.

Try this: Write three questions you would like to ask your teacher. End each one with a question mark.

Telling or asking?

Some sentences tell. Some sentences ask. The end mark shows which.

You are hungry. — telling. Full stop. Are you hungry? — asking. Question mark.

Kwame is coming. — telling. Is Kwame coming? — asking.

Notice the word order changes. In a question, the little word (are, is, do) often moves to the front.

Sometimes the words are the same and only the mark changes:

Ama has finished. — You are telling me. Ama has finished? — You are surprised and asking.

Try this: Turn each telling sentence into a question. Change the end mark.

1. The shop is open.
2. Abena can swim.
3. It is Friday.

Question words

A good way to spot a question is to look for a question word at the start.

Question word	Example
Who	Who took my pencil?
What	What is for supper?
Where	Where do you live?
When	When does school start?
Why	Why is the sky blue?
How	How old are you?
Which	Which bag is yours?

But be careful. Not every sentence with a question word is a question:

I know where you live. — This is telling, not asking. Full stop.

Ask yourself: does this sentence want an answer? If yes, use a question mark.

Try this: Write one question for each question word in the table.

The exclamation mark

The exclamation mark looks like this: !

It goes at the end of a sentence that shows strong feeling: surprise, excitement, fear, anger or a loud command.

• We won the match!
• Watch out!
• What a big fish!
• Stop that goat!

Say these aloud with feeling. Your voice gets loud or excited. The exclamation mark puts that feeling on paper.

Like the question mark, it replaces the full stop.

Try this: Write two sentences that would make you shout. End them with exclamation marks.

Do not shout all the time

Exclamation marks are powerful, so use them carefully.

I went to school! I sat down! The teacher came in! We read a book!

That sounds like someone shouting the whole day. Tiring, isn't it?

I went to school. I sat down. The teacher came in. Then a lizard fell from the ceiling!

Now the exclamation mark lands on the surprising part, and it works.

Use one exclamation mark, never two or three. Wow!!! looks messy. Wow! is enough.

Try this: Here is a story with too many exclamation marks. Rewrite it so only one sentence keeps the mark.

Kofi woke up! He ate porridge! He walked to school! A snake was on the path!

Three ways to end a sentence

Every sentence ends with one of three marks.

Mark	Name	Used for
.	full stop	telling
?	question mark	asking
!	exclamation mark	strong feeling

Same words, different marks, different meanings:

You are going home. — I am telling you. You are going home? — I am asking, maybe surprised. You are going home! — I am excited or angry about it.

Read each one aloud. Hear how your voice changes.

Try this: Add the right end mark.

1. What is your name
2. The kenkey is ready
3. Run, the bus is leaving
4. Can I borrow your ruler

Practise end marks

Copy these sentences and put in the right end mark: . ? or !

1. My name is Abena
2. Where is the chalk
3. Help, I am falling
4. The goat ate my homework
5. Do you have a sister
6. Hurray, it is Friday
7. Tamale is in the north of Ghana
8. Why are you late
9. Look at that huge lorry
10. The sun sets in the west

Then read all ten aloud. Change your voice to match each mark.

The comma

The comma looks like a small hook: ,

It sits on the line like a full stop but has a little tail.

A comma means a short pause, not a full stop. It helps break up a long sentence so the reader does not run out of breath.

After school, Kofi went to the farm.

The comma after school tells you to pause briefly before the main part.

Commas have several jobs. In this book we will learn the most common one: commas in a list.

Say "comma" and tap the desk once, quickly. Say "full stop" and tap and wait. Feel the difference.

Commas in a list

When you write a list of three or more things, put a comma between them. Before the last one, write and instead of a comma.

Ama bought tomatoes, onions, pepper and fish.

Three commas, one and.

My favourite colours are red, gold and green.

Kofi, Kwame, Abena and Ama are in Basic 3.

Without commas the list is a mess: Ama bought tomatoes onions pepper and fish. Is it "tomatoes onions" or "tomatoes, onions"? The commas make it clear.

Try this: Write a list sentence of four things you see in your classroom.

Commas in a list: more practice

Add the commas to these lists.

1. We eat rice beans plantain and stew.
2. Ghana has regions called Ashanti Volta Northern and Central.
3. The colours of the flag are red gold green and black.
4. In my bag I have a pencil a ruler a rubber and two books.

Worked answer for 1: We eat rice, beans, plantain and stew.

Remember: comma between items, and before the last one, no comma before and in a simple list.

Only two items? No comma is needed: Ama and Kofi went home.

Try this: Write a list of five foods you like, in one sentence with commas.

Commas for a pause

Commas also mark a short pause at the start of a sentence.

Yes, I am ready. No, I have not seen him. Well, it is time to go. First, wash your hands.

And when you call someone by name:

Kofi, come here. Come here, Kofi.

The comma separates the name from the rest. Remember Let's eat, Kofi and Let's eat Kofi? That is this rule.

Do not put a comma between every word. Only where a reader needs a tiny breath.

Try this: Add a comma to each sentence.

1. Yes you may go out.
2. Abena please close the door.
3. First we sing the anthem.

Comma or full stop?

This is a common mistake:

It was hot, we went to the river. ✗

These are two complete ideas. Two sentences. A comma is too weak to hold them apart. Use a full stop:

It was hot. We went to the river. ✓

Or join them properly with a joining word:

It was hot, so we went to the river. ✓

Rule: a comma cannot end a sentence. If both halves could stand alone, you need a full stop (or and, so, but).

Try this: Fix these.

1. The bell rang, the children lined up.
2. Kwame was tired, he went to sleep.

Speech and the pause

When someone speaks, we usually put a comma before the words they say or after them. You will learn speech marks (" ") later. For now, notice the comma:

Ama said, "I am hungry." "I am hungry," said Ama.

The comma separates who is speaking from what they say.

Notice too that I is capital, the first word spoken starts with a capital, and the full stop goes inside the speech marks.

This is a lot to remember. For now, just spot the comma next to said.

Try this: Copy this and circle the comma: Kofi said, "Let's play football."

Writing a short story

Let us put it all together. Here is a short story. Count the punctuation marks.

On Saturday, Abena went to Kumasi with her mother. The market was busy! They bought yam, tomatoes, onions and smoked fish. "Can we buy ice cream?" asked Abena. Her mother laughed. "Yes, if you carry the yam," she said.

Capital letters: Saturday, Abena, Kumasi, Yes (first word spoken). Full stops: 4. Exclamation mark: 1. Question mark: 1. Commas: in the list, after Saturday, after Yes.

Try this: Write five sentences about a trip to the market. Use at least one question, one exclamation and one list.

Read it aloud

The best way to check punctuation is to read your work aloud.

• Where you stop to breathe: is there a full stop?
• Where your voice goes up: is there a question mark?
• Where you get loud: is there an exclamation mark?
• Where you pause a little: is there a comma?

If you run out of breath, your sentence is too long. Split it with a full stop.

Teachers can often hear a missing full stop before they see it.

Try this: Read this aloud and mark where the full stops should go.

kwame has a dog its name is bingo bingo likes to chase goats one day it chased the chief's goat the chief was not happy

Spot the mistakes

Each sentence has one punctuation mistake. Find it.

1. ama is my best friend.
2. Where is my book.
3. We live in accra.
4. I like rice beans and fish.
5. What a lovely day.
6. On friday we have no school.
7. kofi and i are brothers.
8. Can you help me!

Hints: capital letters for names, places and days; question marks for questions; exclamation marks for strong feeling; commas in lists.

Worked answer for 1: Ama needs a capital letter because it is a name.

Punctuation on signs

Look around you. Punctuation is on signs, posters and packets.

• STOP on a road sign: capitals to shout.
• Keep off the grass. A full stop on a polite notice.
• Danger! An exclamation mark to warn.
• Lost dog. Have you seen him? A question on a poster.
• Rice, beans, oil, sugar on a shop list.

Signs use capital letters a lot to make words stand out. That is fine for a sign. In your exercise book, use capitals only where the rules say.

Try this: On your way home, find three signs. Write down what punctuation each one uses.

Writing addresses

Addresses use capital letters and commas.

Ama Mensah, Oxford Street, Osu, Accra.

Each line starts with a capital letter because each is a name: a person, a street, a suburb, a city. The commas separate the parts and the full stop ends it.

Written in one line: Ama Mensah, Oxford Street, Osu, Accra.

Place names with two words get two capitals: Cape Coast, East Legon, Upper West Region.

Try this: Write your own address. Check every line begins with a capital letter.

Writing a letter

A short letter uses everything you have learned.

Dear Auntie Efua,

How are you? I am well. School is fun. We are learning punctuation, maths and science. Last week we visited the Independence Arch in Accra. It was huge!

Please come and visit us in December.

Love, Kofi

Notice: a comma after Dear Auntie Efua, a question mark after How are you, commas in the list, an exclamation mark for huge, and a comma after Love.

Try this: Write a five-sentence letter to a friend. Include one question and one list.

Punctuation in poems and songs

Even songs use punctuation. Here is the start of a well-known rhyme, with its marks:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!

Commas separate the repeated words. The exclamation mark shows wonder.

A question in a song:

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, Brother John?

Poems often begin each line with a capital letter, even if the sentence is not finished. That is a special poem rule.

Try this: Write two lines of a song you know. Add the punctuation you think it needs.

Proofreading your work

Proofreading means checking your writing for mistakes before you hand it in. Good writers always do it.

Use this checklist:

1. Does every sentence start with a capital letter?
2. Does every sentence end with . ? or !?
3. Do all names, places and days have capitals?
4. Is the word I a capital?
5. Are there commas between items in a list?
6. Did I use only one exclamation mark where it is needed?

Read it aloud once more. Tick each item on the list.

Try this: Swap exercise books with a friend. Proofread each other's last piece of writing using the checklist.

Punctuation detective

Here is a paragraph with no punctuation. Be a detective. Copy it with all the marks and capitals it needs.

on sunday kwame and abena went to the beach at cape coast the waves were big they built a sand castle with shells stones and sticks a crab ran across kwame's foot he shouted abena laughed can we come again next week she asked

Hints: there are 7 sentences, 1 question, 1 exclamation, 1 list and 5 capital letters for names and places.

Compare your version with a friend's. Did you agree on where each sentence ends?

Quick quiz

Choose the correct version.

1. (a) where is kofi (b) Where is Kofi?
2. (a) I live in Tamale. (b) i live in tamale.
3. (a) We ate rice, fish and kenkey. (b) We ate rice fish and kenkey.
4. (a) Watch out!!! (b) Watch out!
5. (a) On Monday, we sing. (b) on monday we sing.
6. (a) It is late, we must go. (b) It is late. We must go.
7. (a) Yes, I am coming. (b) Yes I am coming.
8. (a) Ama and I are friends. (b) Ama and i are friends.

Write the letter of each correct answer. Then say why it is correct.

Punctuation rules on one page

• Capital letter: first word of a sentence; names of people, places, days, months; the word I.
• Full stop (.): end of a telling sentence.
• Question mark (?): end of an asking sentence.
• Exclamation mark (!): end of a sentence with strong feeling. Use just one.
• Comma (,): between items in a list; after yes, no, first; around a name you are calling; a short pause.
• A comma never ends a sentence.

Copy this page into the back of your exercise book. Look at it whenever you write.

What you have learned

You can now:

• Explain what punctuation is and why readers need it.
• End sentences with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and choose the right one.
• Use capital letters at the start of sentences and for names of people, places, days and months, and for I.
• Put commas in lists and after short opening words.
• Tell when a comma is too weak and a full stop is needed.
• Proofread your own writing with a checklist.

Next you will learn speech marks and apostrophes. They follow the same big idea: marks on the page that help a reader hear your voice.

Learn more

• BBC Bitesize English — short lessons and quizzes on reading and writing
• Khan Academy: Punctuation — videos and exercises on every punctuation mark
• Twinkl: What is punctuation? — a clear guide with examples for each mark
• Oxford Owl — free e-books to read and spot punctuation in real stories
• Grammarly: Punctuation — a reference for when you are older and want the finer rules

Watch more

Think about it

1. Why do we not use exclamation marks on every sentence?
2. How does your voice change when you read a question compared with a telling sentence?
3. Why do names of people and places get capital letters but words like goat and market do not?
4. Can you think of a sentence where moving one comma changes the meaning?
5. If you could only keep one punctuation mark, which would you choose, and why?