Punctuation
Punctuation at Key Stage 1 covers the marks that show a reader how to read a sentence, including capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, as well as commas in lists and apostrophes for contractions, like 'don't', and possession, like 'the cat's tail'. Pupils learn to choose and place the correct mark for the type of sentence they are writing.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Start every sentence with a capital letter, including the word 'I' wherever it appears.
- Choose the end punctuation to match the sentence type: a full stop for a statement or command, a question mark for a question, and an exclamation mark for strong feeling.
- Use a comma to separate every item in a list of three or more things, including one before 'and' just before the final item, so each item stands out clearly.
- Use an apostrophe to shorten two words into one, a contraction, placing it exactly where the missing letters would be, such as 'do not' becoming 'don't'.
- Use an apostrophe before an 's' to show that something belongs to one person or thing, such as 'the dog's lead'.
- Read the sentence back and check each punctuation mark matches its job: starting, ending, listing, or shortening/showing belonging.
Worked example
Add the missing punctuation to this sentence and write it out correctly: what a fast runner sara is
- Identify the missing capital letter: the sentence should start with 'What', not 'what'.
- Identify the proper noun: 'Sara' is a person's name and needs a capital letter.
- Decide the sentence type: it shows strong feeling about how fast Sara runs, so it needs an exclamation mark, not a full stop.
- Put the capital letters in place: 'What a fast runner Sara is'.
- Add the exclamation mark at the end.
- Final answer: What a fast runner Sara is!
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a English exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
This sentence is missing a capital letter and a full stop. Write it correctly: 'the boy ran to the park'
This passage is missing some punctuation. Add the missing capital letters, a full stop and an exclamation mark, then write it out correctly: 'ella and tom flew their kites it was so exciting'
Tick the sentence that uses the apostrophe correctly to show that the bag belongs to Priya, then explain what the apostrophe shows: A) Priyas' bag is red. B) Priya's bag is red.
Free printable worksheet
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