Punctuation & Capitalization
Punctuation
Punctuation will help your writing flow and make it more understandable to the reader. Correct punctuation will keep your ideas organized. Only ONE punctuation mark is necessary at the end of each sentence.
Period (.)
A period is used to end a complete sentence. Always add one space after a period before starting the next sentence.
Example:
I live in Utah. My roommate is from Brazil.
Comma (,)
A comma is used to:
Separate introductory words or phrases.
Separate two ideas joined by coordinating conjunctions (and, but, so, or).
Divide dependent and independent clauses.
Examples:
After dinner, we watched a movie.
I wanted to study, but my friend called me.
Do not use commas in the PLACE of periods.
Incorrect: I like ice cream, It is my favorite.
Correct: I like ice cream. It is my favorite.
Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence happens when two complete sentences are connected without correct punctuation.
Example of a run-on sentence:
I love studying my roommate talks to me too much.
Fix it:
I love studying. My roommate talks to me too much.
I love studying, but my roommate talks to me too much.
Capitalization
When writing in English, there are certain words that we capitalize and others that we don't. To capitalize means that we use the uppercase form of a letter rather than the lower case. For example, the letter "P" is capitalized in the word "Provo"; however, it is lowercase in the word "popcorn".
Basic Rules
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| First word of a sentence | He sometimes forgets his homework. |
| The pronoun "I" | The last time I saw you was a year ago! |
| Proper nouns (people, places, organizations) | Let’s go to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge. |
| Names of specific deities, religious figures, holy books, religions | Kenny is a Christian, so he reads the Bible every day. |
| Title before a person’s name | Mayor Goodway does her best to protect the town. |
| Sections of the country | I grew up in the South. |
| Days of the week, months of the years, holidays | This Monday is the first holiday in September: Labor Day. |
| Countries, nationalities, specific languages | Those students are from France and Switzerland; they speak French. |
Exercise 1: Add Punctuation and Capital Letters
The sentences below are missing punctuation and capital letters. Rewrite each sentence completely and correctly.
my name is sara i am from egypt
last sunday we visited the museum in paris
i speak english spanish and a little french
after class we studied at the library for two hours
my teacher said that i should read the quran every morning
he comes from the west of the country
mayor goodway visited our school yesterday
this september is my favorite month because of eid
in japan people speak japanese
we traveled to new york and stayed near central park
Exercise 2: Period or Comma?
For each sentence below, decide whether you should add a period (.) or a comma (,). Rewrite each sentence correctly.
i live in utah my family lives in canada
she likes pizza i prefer pasta
after dinner we watched a movie
i study every night but sometimes i forget
my father speaks arabic my mother speaks french
the baby cried but he soon fell asleep
we packed our bags we went to the airport
my friend speaks korean and japanese her sister speaks english
during the summer we swim at the beach
the food smelled delicious we ate everything
Exercise 3: Fix the Run on Sentences
Each of the sentences below is a run-on sentence. Use periods, commas, and capital letters to fix them. Rewrite each sentence fully.
my roommate likes cooking she does not like washing dishes
i studied for the test i didn’t feel ready
my family is from brazil we speak portuguese
he played football he broke his phone
she works on saturday she studies on sunday
i forgot my homework my teacher was not happy
my father speaks three languages my mother speaks two
it rained all morning we stayed inside
we went to the store we bought some fruit
the cat slept on the bed the dog slept on the floor