ENG/P/2: PUNCTUATION

PUNCTUATION

Punctuation is the tool that allows us to organize our thoughts and make it easier to review and share our ideas. The standard English punctuation is as follows: period, comma, apostrophe, quotation, question, exclamation, brackets, braces, parenthesis, dash, hyphen, ellipsis, colon, semicolon.

–  Capital letters and full stops.

–  A telling sentence begins with capital letter.

Capital letters are used to begin names of:-

1. a) people
2. b) title of plays
3. c) days of the week
4. d) places
5. e) titles of firms
6. g) months of the year
7. h) titles of books
8. i) titles of poems

Examples

It is a rainy day.

Today is Tuesday.

Joy went to Jinja yesterday.

FULL STOP

A full stop is a dot put at the end of a telling sentence.

Example

1. I am seven years old.
2. Our school is along Mbogo Road.

Activity

1)       Reading sentences. (reference)

2)       Punctuating the sentences correctly.

Exercise

1. Write out words that should begin with capital letters.

train

flower

nurse

tuesday

ntinda

peter

kampala

banana

jane

friday

tree

annet

teacher

Punctuate these sentences correctly.

1)       i have two brothers

2)       he must work very hard

3)       joan has lost her book

4)       we went to gulu last week

5)       aunt nalule is a nurse

6)       we go swimming every thursday

7)       the book i read is Cinderella

8)       mary and pam are sisters

9)       dan will go to london in june

10)     the play we are watching is my child

11)     susan lives in mengo

The question mark (?)

Questions are used at the end of questions.

–  What. How, where, why, which and when are mainly used to ask questions.

–  A question begins with a capital letter. It ends with a question mark.

Examples

1. What is your name?
2. Why are you late?
3. Where is your teacher?
4. How many children are there in your class?

Activities

–  Children will mention some of the words used to ask questions.

–  Forming questions orally.

Exercise

Write any five questions of your own.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1. Punctuate these sentences correctly.
2. when will the doctor come
3. which book are you reading
4. how old are you
5. who has my rubber
6. are the children playing outside
7. is the teacher at school
8. where do you live
9. what is your name
10. were you in school today
11. what time do you do to bed

1. Identify questions / asking sentences from these:
2. a) Where do you live
3. b) This is my book
4. c) Who is crying
5. d) My mother is here
6. e) What are you doing
7. f) Is this your book

Vocabulary

Roles of different people;

Doctor,            teacher,            nurse,               carpenter,        cobbler

Structure

Show me a / the …………………………………..

This is / That is a  …………………………………… (nurse, teacher)

–  Where is the …………………………………..

–  The ………………… is in the ……………… (hospital, school)

–  What does a ………………………. do?

–  A ……………………… treats/builds …………………

Activities

1. a) Reading and spelling the vocabulary correctly.
2. b) Constructing an oral sentence using the vocabulary.
3. c) Answering structural questions correctly.

Exercise I:      Fill in the missing letters correctly.

1. a) t__ __ cher
2. b) nu__se
3. c) c__rpenter
4. d) do__tor
5. e) dr__ver

Choose the right word to fill in the gaps.

Teacher,        doctor, carpenter,        nurse,   mechanic,        cobbler,           fisherman

1)       I treat people in a hospital. I am a _____________________

2)       I teach children at school. I am a _____________________

3)       I catch fish in the lake. I am a _________________________

4)       I repair cars, lorries, buses. I am a ______________________

5)       I make chairs, beds, tables and cupboards. I am a _________________

6)       I mend people’s shoes. I am a __________________________________

7)       I take care of sick people. I am a _______________________________

Write these words in short.

1. doctor 2.         Teacher

Personal pronouns

Examples:-

She, he, him, them, I, us, we, they, it, you, me, her

–  pronouns are words used instead of nouns. (names)

–  personal pronouns are the words used instead of names of people / animals.

Activities

1. Identifying personal / pronouns orally.
2. Construction oral sentences using personal pronouns.

Write out the pronouns in each of these sentences

1. David’s mother gave him a new bag.

2. Linda said that she was hungry.

3. We came to school to learn.

4. Would you like another cup of tea?

5. Mary gave her friend a new pen.

6. Tom showed me a big house.

Use it, they, my, us, you, them, his, to complete the sentences correctly.

1. We are hungry, please give __________________ some food.
2. He is thirsty, please give __________________ some water.
3. This is ____________________ friend.
4. The boy is late. ____________________ missed the bus.
5. The cat is under the tree. ____________ is resting.
6. ____________ are my neighbours.
7. I have seen ______________________ sister there.
8. _________________ are going to church.
9. He is writing ________________name.
10. I am wearing _____________ shirt.