Punctuation
Concept: Capitalization, Fullstop and Question Mark
Definition:
Punctuation refers to marks such as a full stop, comma, question mark etc. These marks are used to make the meaning of the sentence clear. They also help in separating the sentence into different parts.
Examples:
Capitalization
Capitalization means to write the first letter of a word in the capital letter and the remaining letters in lower case.
Examples:
Seema is a smart girl.
The first letter of the word ‘Seema’ is written in the capital letter ‘S’.
Correct and Incorrect Usage:
- Seema is a good girl.
- seema is a good girl.
Question Mark
A question mark is a punctuation mark used in a sentence to refer to a question.
Examples:
Where do you stay?
In the above example, the sentence ‘Where do you stay?’ is a question, so it ends with a question mark.
Correct and Incorrect Usage:
- Where do you stay?
- Where do you stay.
Full Stop
A full stop is a punctuation mark used to end a sentence.
Examples:
I love to play with my cat.
In the below sentence, ‘I love to play with my cat’ is a complete sentence, so it ends with a full stop.
Correct and Incorrect Usage:
- I love to play with my cat.
- I love to play with my cat
Common Mistake:
- Never begin a proper noun with small letters. It should always start with a capital letter. Notice in the sentence below that the word ‘Ram’ is a proper noun. Hence it is written in capital letters no matter where it is placed in the sentence.
- Ram is a good boy. Everybody wants to play with Ram
- ram is a good boy. Everybody wants to play with ram
- Do not use a full stop in headings and titles.
- Use a question mark after a direct question. Do not use a question mark after an indirect question.
- Where do you live?
- I don’t know where you live?
- I don’t know where you live.
Examples:
Examples:
Chapter 1: The Lion and the Cubs
Chapter 1: The Lion and the Cubs.
Examples: