PUNCTUATION

Punctuation marks help to make easier for people to understand the exact meaning of the written words. Different punctuation marks can change the meaning of a sentence. A sentence can be ended by a full-stop, exclamation mark or question mark.

Katleen is getting married.

A full stop is used at the end of the sentence to state a fact.

Katleen is getting married!

An exclamation mark is used at the end of the sentence to show surprise, joy, etc.
A question mark is used at the end of a sentence which asks a question.

Katleen is getting married?

Full stop

A full stop is used at the end of a sentence which is not a question or an exclamation.

1. Hamid was very tired. 2. It is a hot day. 3. Siva will come tomorrow.

Full stop

Full-stops are also used to shorten words. e.g. (example) No. (number) Prof. (professor) Etc. (et cetera)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Comma

A comma is used to separate two words or groups of words in a sentence so that the meaning becomes clearer.

1. Rani, Annie and Sheena went to Miri. 2. Encik Mahmud is a kind, friendly and patient man. 3. Mona stopped, stared and ran away.

Comma

(a) The boys ate chocolate ice-cream and biscuits. (b) The boys ate chocolate, ice-cream and biscuits.
By putting a comma in sentence (b), the meaning changes.

Question mark
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

A question mark is used at the end of a sentence which asks a question. What is your name? How old are you? Was it broken? Can I help? Will they bring the book?

Question mark
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Remember, sometimes a question can just be one word. Why? How? What? Amelia? Who?

Exclamation mark

An exclamation mark is used to show surprise, joy, pain, anger, danger, humour or some strong feeling.

1. Ouch! 2. Congratulations! 3. Stop!

Exclamation mark
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

It is also used when someone is giving orders or shouting. Call the police! Do this now! Keep quiet! I dont believe you! Attention!

Colon

A colon is used to introduce a list of things.

1. To make this cake, you will need the following ingredients : one egg, 200gms. flour, 200 gms. sugar, water and some jam.

Apostrophe

An apostrophe is used to show belonging. If the owner is singular, put an apostrophe at the end of the word and add an s

1. This is Matthews car. 2. Where is the cats food?

Apostrophe

If the word already ends in an s, put an apostrophe and another s.

1. This is Sarass book. 2. Here is Jamess bag.

Apostrophe

If the owner is plural (more than one) and the word is s put the apostrophe after the s

1. The boys rulers are broken. 2. The girls dresses are new. 3. These are the ladies shoes.

Apostrophe

If the plural does not end in s, add the apostrophe and s

1. The childrens shirts are dirty. 2. These are the mens hats.

Apostrophe

The apostrophe is also used to show contractions where letters or numbers have been left out. Shes (she is) Im (I am) Youre (you are) Hed (he had)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Capital letters ABC

Capital letters are used at the beginning of sentences. They are also used for proper nouns (names of people, places, books, months etc) The fat man sat on the chair. The students sat for their UPSR examination.

Capital letters ABC

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Fauzi bin Taib Yong Beng Kean Malaysia North America Jalan Hang Jebat January The Hungry Elephant by S. K. Tan

Quotation marks
Quotation marks are used to show direct speech (actual words spoken by a person). They are also used to show titles of book, movies, etc.

1. I am hungry, said Alya 2. Why are you late? she asked.

Quotation marks
1. She read the book The Missing Jewel by P. Dahl. 2. Star Trek is an interesting movie. 3. I watched Bolt last night. 4. Congratulations! said Halimah.

Rewrite the following sentences using correct punctuation.

Eg. why are you late today. Why are you late today?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

twenty pupils visited bank negara last tuesday dr ismail works in the ipoh general hospital nora could I borrow your pen or pencil pauline bought some apples oranges bread and biscuits the children are helping mrs wong in the garden salimah and hamidah went to thailand last week thank you for inviting me to your birthday party hi how are you look out theres a car behind you whats in the box asked jaginder

1. twenty pupils visited bank negara last Tuesday

Twenty pupils visited Bank Negara last Tuesday.

2. dr ismail works in the ipoh general hospital

Dr. Ismail works in the Ipoh General Hospital.

3. nora could I borrow your pen or pencil

Nora, could I borrow your pen or pencil?

4. pauline bought some apples oranges bread and biscuits

Pauline bought some apples, oranges, bread and biscuits.

5. the children are helping mrs wong in the garden

The children are helping Mrs. Wong in the garden.

salimah and hamidah went to thailand last week

Salimah and Hamidah went to Thailand last week.

thank you for inviting me to your birthday party

Thank you for inviting me to your birthday party.

hi how are you

Hi! How are you?

look out theres a car behind you

Look out! Theres a car behind you.

whats in the box asked jaginder

Whats in the box? asked Jaginder