Sentence Structure s2

PUNCTUATION

YEAR LEVELS / P / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 /
Sentence Structure
Spaces between words / T
Left to right orientation / T
Line spaces / T
Line by line progression / T
Full Stops
To end statements e.g. Writing is fun. / T / C / C / C / C / C / C / C
Capital Letters
To begin sentences e.g. Writing takes time. / T / C / C / C / C / C / C / C
Names / T / C / C / C / C / C / C / C
For proper nouns (names, days, months, places, titles, streets) e.g. Susan, Tuesday, February, Indonesia, Captain Cook, Victoria Street. / E / T / C / C / C / C / C / C
For adjectives derived from proper nouns e.g. Indonesian. / E / T / C / C / C / C / C / C
For the pronoun I / E / T / C / C / C / C / C / C
For book titles, first word in a line of poetry e.g. Gulliver’s Travels, Slowly the river rises. / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
For emphasis e.g. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
For names of deity, special days, names of institutions e.g. God, Boxing Day, Southern Cross Catholic School / E / E / T / C / C / C / C / C
Acronyms, e.g. QANTAS, CSIRO / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
Initials / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
NB Capital letters are not necessary for points of the compass (unless forming part of a title) and seasons of the year.
Question Marks
At the end of sentences that ask for information e.g. Why are we doing this? / E / T / C / C / C / C / C / C
NB Question marks are not needed
When using direct speech e.g. The captain was asked if he was fit to play.
When a sentence is a request e.g. Can you hurry up.
Exclamation Marks
To show volume or strong feelings e.g. What a mess! / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
Give commands / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
Emphasis e.g. We won! / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
Commas
To separate items in a series or a list of adjectives e.g. They collected shells, driftwood, coral and cuttlefish.
NB The items may be nouns, verbs, adjectives or groups of words / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
To separate a word/words used in a sentence for further explanation e.g. Mary, the golden haired girl, won the medal. / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Before joining words (conjunctions) when they join two main (independent) clauses e.g. He wanted to travel to China, but he wanted to learn the language first. / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
To separate main (independent) and subordinate (dependent) clauses (periodic) e.g. When they heard the final siren, the players leapt into the air. / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
Salutation, e.g. Good morning, Mrs Brown. / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
To separate the person spoken to form the rest of the sentence, e.g. Richard, mind the wet paint. / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
After words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’ e.g. No, you can’t come in here. / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
To follow signal words at the beginning of a sentence, e.g. However, I think that… / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
In front of a direct quotation in the middle of a sentence, e.g. She asked, “Where did you go?” / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
Where the quotation is a statement at the beginning of a sentence, e.g. “Today is Friday,” said Jenny. / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
Within quotation marks / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
Apostrophes
For contractions, e.g. can’t, won’t, doesn’t. Contractions are a feature of informal language. / E / E / E / T / C / C / C / C
To show ownership e.g. Barry’s holiday, elephants’ enclosure, boy’s hat (To show possession for common and proper nouns) / E / E / E / E / T / T / C / C
To indicate letters or numbers omitted e.g. ‘phone, o’clock, ’91. / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
Time – used with single not plural e.g. a day’s time but not three weeks time. / E / E / E / E / E / E / E / T
Joint ownership e.g. Mary and Jane’s presentation (singular); Tom’s and Bill’s efforts (plural)
Special cases (sss) (Ulysses’; Thomas’s; Jesus’)
NB Apostrophes are not necessary when the noun is descriptive rather than possessive e.g. mens toilet, teachers notes. Not used with ACRONYMS e.g. CDs and DVDs
Quotation Marks
When using direct speech e.g. “That will do!” she shouted.
NB Quotation marks are not used for indirect speech e.g. Brewhouse told his players to run harder and share the ball. / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
To show quotations within quotations e.g. “My father always said ‘look on the bright side’ and I suppose I do”, explained Dennis. Reported Speech / E / E / E / E / E / T / C / C
Before and after titles or words used in an unorthodox manner e.g. Some viewers actually consider “the Video Show” a form of “entertainment” / E / E / E / E / T / C / C / C
Colons
To introduce a list e.g. Greg packed his drawing gear: pencils, paints, crayons, paper and easel. / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
To introduce a long, direct quotation e.g. The boss said: “I have some good news for you.” / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Semi Colons
To join sentences with two or more main clauses e.g. A face appeared at the window; he was one determined animal. / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
To separate clauses containing commas e.g. At that point our captain, who had previously remained calm, lost control and stormed off; the game had to be abandoned. / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Hyphens
To join some parts of compound words to read as a single word, e.g. father-in-law, heavy-handed. / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
To join a group of words to form an expression e.g. good-for-nothing / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Ellipsis
To show that something has been left out e.g. I wish…… / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Dashes
To introduce a list e.g. The burglar collected his tools – torch, screwdriver, saw and tyre lever. (instead of semi-colon) / E / E / E / E / E / E / E / T
To create surprise e.g. She pulled herself to her feet – still prepared to fight. / E / E / E / E / E / E / E / T
Parenthesis or Brackets
Round brackets used to enclose further information / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C
Square brackets are used within round brackets ( [ ] ) / E / E / E / E / E / E / T / C

Catholic Education Services Diocese of Cairns 4