Topics · Primary English · Punctuation & Capitalisation
Punctuation and capital letters
Punctuation shows the reader where to stop, where to pause and who is speaking. Capital letters mark beginnings and names. Both are small marks that change meaning, which is why they are marked at all.
- 59 exam papers analysed
- appears in 83% of P2 English papers
- ~2 min read
01 Capital letters: four places
There are only four reasons for a capital letter, and everything else is lower case.
- The first letter of a sentence.
- Names — of people, places, schools, countries, rivers: Mei, Singapore, Rosyth School.
- Days, months and special days — Monday, April, Deepavali. Not seasons, and not subjects unless they are languages.
- The word I, always, wherever it appears.
- Not for ordinary nouns. A dog, a school, a river take no capital unless they are part of a name.
02 The marks and what each does
Each one has a job, and using the wrong one changes how the sentence reads.
| Mark | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Full stop . | ends a statement | It was raining. |
| Question mark ? | ends a question | Where is my bag? |
| Exclamation mark ! | ends a shout or surprise | Watch out! |
| Comma , | separates items or marks a pause | apples, pears and plums |
| Apostrophe ' | belonging, or a missing letter | Mei's bag; don't |
| Quotation marks " " | the words someone speaks | "I am here," she said. |
03 Punctuating speech
This carries the most marks and has the most rules, so it is worth learning as a pattern.
- Open quotation marks before the first spoken word, and close them after the last.
- A capital letter starts the speech, even in the middle of a sentence: She said, "Come here."
- Punctuation goes inside the closing marks. "I am here," she said — the comma is inside.
- *Use a comma, not a full stop, before she said***, unless the speech ends in ? or !
- A new speaker means a new line. This is a presentation mark and is easy to lose.
04 The apostrophe, which does two jobs
Belonging — Mei's bag. For a plural already ending in s, the apostrophe goes after: the girls' bags.
A missing letter — do not → don't, it is → it's. The apostrophe stands where the letter was.
Never for a plain plural. Apple's for sale is wrong; it is just apples.
its and it's is the one to memorise: its means belonging to it and has no apostrophe; it's only ever means it is.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- punctuationsaypunk-choo-AY-shuhn
The marks that show where to stop and pause, and who is speaking.
- capital letter
A big letter, used to start a sentence and for names, days, months and the word I.
- apostrophesayuh-POSS-truh-feemore than oneapostrophes
The mark showing belonging, or a missing letter.
- quotation marks
The marks around the words someone actually speaks.
- commasayKOM-uhmore than onecommas
A mark separating items in a list or marking a pause.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Capital letters, full stops, question marks, and commas in a list.
Practise P2 Punctuation & Capitalisation — 10 questions →83% of P2 papers
- P3
Punctuating speech, and apostrophes for belonging and for missing letters.
Practise P3 Punctuation & Capitalisation — 10 questions →27% of P3 papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I went to School on monday.”
Backwards. School takes no capital unless it is part of a name; Monday always does.
“Apple's for sale.”
A plain plural takes no apostrophe — just apples. The apostrophe is for belonging or a missing letter.
“The dog wagged it's tail.”
Its, no apostrophe, means belonging to it. It's only ever means it is.
“"I am here", she said.”
The comma goes inside the quotation marks: "I am here," she said.
“I used exclamation marks to make it exciting!!!”
One is enough, and only where there is real surprise. Used everywhere they stop meaning anything.
Now try it
20 questions across 2 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.