Punctuation
ICSE Class 6 · English · Chapter 10
What this chapter covers
- Capital letters
- End punctuation
- Comma uses
- Apostrophe
- Inverted commas in dialogue
- Colon and hyphen basics
Key definitions
Punctuation is the set of marks, such as the full stop, the comma and the question mark, that make written English clear and easy to read.
A capital letter is the large form of a letter of the alphabet, such as A, B or R, used in place of the small form a, b or r.
A proper noun is the name of one particular person, place or thing, and it always begins with a capital letter.
A common noun is a general name for any person, place or thing of a kind, such as girl, city or day, and it does not need a capital letter unless it starts a sentence.
A full stop is a small dot placed at the end of a statement or a command.
A question mark is the mark placed at the end of a sentence that asks a direct question.
An exclamation mark is the mark placed at the end of a sentence that shows a strong feeling, such as joy, surprise, anger or fear.
A comma is a small curved mark that shows a short pause inside a sentence or separates one part of a sentence from another.
An apostrophe is a small raised mark, shaped like a comma, that shows either that letters have been left out of a word or that something belongs to someone.
A contraction is a short form made by joining two words and leaving out one or more letters, with an apostrophe in place of the missing letters.
Inverted commas are the marks placed before and after the exact words a person speaks, and they are also called quotation marks.
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people, written down with their exact words.
Key points
- Punctuation marks make writing clear by showing where sentences end, where to pause and who is speaking.
- Use capital letters to begin sentences, for I, and for proper nouns such as names, places, days, months and festivals.
- Seasons and common nouns do not take capital letters.
- End a statement or command with a full stop, a question with a question mark, and a strong feeling with an exclamation mark.
- Use commas in lists, after yes, no and well, around the name of a person spoken to, after opening words, and before but or so joining two sentences.
- Never join two full sentences with a comma alone.
- An apostrophe shows missing letters (don't) or ownership (Riya's, the girls', the children's).
- Never use an apostrophe to make a plural; its means belonging to it, and it's means it is.
- Inverted commas go around a speaker's exact words, with the closing mark outside the comma or end mark, and a new line for each new speaker.
- A colon comes after a complete sentence to introduce a list or explanation, and between hours and minutes.
- A hyphen joins words into one, as in twenty-one and a ten-year-old girl.