Punctuation is like a set of road signs for writing. It tells the reader when to pause, when to ask, and when to feel excited. In this lesson we meet commas, question marks, exclamation marks and the clever little apostrophe.
Commas in a list
When you write a list of three or more things, put a comma between each one. You do not need a comma before the last word, because the word and does that job.
Question marks
A question mark (?) goes at the end of a sentence that asks something. It always replaces the full stop.
Exclamation marks
An exclamation mark (!) shows strong feeling, like surprise, joy or a shout. Use it now and then, not in every sentence.
Apostrophes for contractions
An apostrophe (') can join two words into one short word. It stands in the place of the missing letters.
| Two words | Short word |
|---|---|
| do not | don't |
| can not | can't |
| I am | I'm |
| it is | it's |
Apostrophes for owning
An apostrophe can also show that something belongs to someone. Add 's to the owner's name.
Take care: it's means it is, but its (no apostrophe) means belonging to it.