Punctuation in practice

Getting comfortable with punctuation means practising it in longer, more realistic sentences. Full stops mark the end of a complete thought. Capital letters open sentences and mark proper nouns — specific names of people, places or things. Commas create small pauses or separate list items so a sentence doesn't run on and become confusing. Apostrophes do two different jobs: showing that something belongs to someone, or standing in for missing letters in a shortened word.

Key terms

Full stop:

The punctuation mark that ends a sentence.

Comma:

A punctuation mark used to separate items or add a pause.

Apostrophe:

A mark used to show possession or a missing letter in a contraction.

Questions

1. 1. A full stop marks:

   • The start of a sentence
   • The end of a complete sentence
   • A list
   • A question

2. 2. Proper nouns (specific names) should start with a:

   • Full stop
   • Capital letter
   • Comma
   • Apostrophe

3. 3. Commas can be used to:

   • End a sentence
   • Separate items in a list
   • Show possession
   • Start a paragraph

4. 4. An apostrophe can stand in for:

   • A full stop
   • Missing letters in a shortened word
   • A capital letter
   • A new paragraph

5. 5. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

   • jake rode his bike
   • Jake rode his bike.
   • Jake rode his bike
   • jake Rode his Bike.

6. 6. "Jakes bike" is missing an apostrophe to show:

   • A question
   • Possession (Jake's bike)
   • A list
   • A full stop

7. 7. "Wasnt" is missing which punctuation mark?

   • Full stop
   • Comma
   • Apostrophe
   • Capital letter

8. 8. In "I packed shoes, socks and a hat", the commas:

   • End the sentence
   • Separate items in a list
   • Show possession
   • Start a question

9. 9. Which is the correct contraction for "was not"?

   • wasn't
   • was'nt
   • wasnt'
   • was n't

10. 10. Which sentence uses commas correctly?

    • I packed shoes socks and a hat.
    • I packed, shoes, socks, and a hat.
    • I packed shoes, socks and a hat.
    • I, packed shoes socks and a hat.

11. 11. Proper nouns are always:

    • Lowercase
    • Capitalised
    • In brackets
    • Plural

12. 12. An apostrophe showing possession answers the question:

    • "Who does this belong to?"
    • "When did this happen?"
    • "How many are there?"
    • "What colour is it?"

13. 13. Which sentence correctly shows possession?

    • The bikes wheel.
    • The bike's wheel.
    • The bikes' wheel (one bike).
    • The bike,s wheel.

14. 14. In "Jake's new bike, a bright red one, wasn't cheap", how many apostrophes are used?

    • 0
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3

15. 15. "Its getting late" is missing an apostrophe because it should be:

    • It's getting late (it is)
    • Its' getting late
    • I'ts getting late
    • It is already correct

16. 16. In "The players' changing room" (more than one player), the apostrophe placement shows:

    • One player owns the room
    • Multiple players own the room
    • A contraction
    • A question

17. 17. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

    • "Stop!" he yelled, "dont move!"
    • "Stop!" he yelled, "don't move!"
    • stop he yelled dont move
    • "Stop!" he yelled "Don't move!

18. 18. A comma splice happens when:

    • Two full sentences are joined only by a comma instead of a full stop or conjunction
    • A comma is used correctly in a list
    • An apostrophe is missing
    • A sentence has no capital letter

19. 19. The difference between "the boys' bags" and "the boy's bags" is:

    • No difference at all
    • One boy owns the bags vs multiple boys own the bags
    • A spelling mistake either way
    • They mean the same number of boys

20. 20. In formal writing, capital letters should NOT be used for:

    • The start of a sentence
    • Proper nouns
    • Ordinary common nouns used mid-sentence
    • The word "I"