Chapter 5: Punctuation &
Capitalization
Interjection
s
A word or group of words that express feeling or represents a sound
 Wow! That is delicious!
 Boom! The entire stack of books toppled over.
 Oh, I didn’t realize she was busy on that day.
Use an exclamation point after an interjection expressing a strong feeling
 Hey! You’re stepping on my foot!
 Goodness! We have three tests tomorrow!
Use a comma after an interjection that expresses a milder feeling
 Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?
 Well, I wanted to go and get lunch.
 Okay, I will call you when I leave school.
Sentences &
Interjections
Every sentence begins with a capital letter.
A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period
“I read a book.”
An interrogative sentence asks a questions and ends with a question mark.
“Do you have an SSR book?”
An imperative sentence expresses a command and ends in a period.
“Hand me that pencil.”
An exclamatory sentence indicates strong feeling and ends in an exclamation
point.
“Look! It’s a shooting star!”
Proper Nouns & Proper Adjectives
We know a proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing and that a proper
noun always begins with a capital letter.
Do not capitalize minor words like of, and, or, the.
1) Capitalize cities, states, countries & continents.
 Chicago, Texas, North America, the United States of America
2) Capitalize bodies of water and geographical features
 Ohio River, Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains
3) Capitalize the names of areas. Do not capitalize directions.
 the Southwest, the Middle East, Central Asia
 We traveled south along the coast, then east
4) Capitalize streets and highways
 Interstate 95, Wall Street, Avenue of the Stars
5) Capitalize buildings bridges & monuments
 Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center, Delaware Memorial Bridge
A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun
Mexican art, North American birds, Parisian fashion,
Jeffersonian democracy
Titles,
Organizations,
Dates & Subjects
1) Specific titles for people but NOT if they’re used alone as common nouns
 President Obama
 The president of the committee
 Father Etim
 a father and son vacation
 Uncle Jim
 My aunt and uncle are visiting.
2) Capitalize organizations, institutions and businesses
 St. John the Beloved School, University of Delaware, Astra Zeneca
3) Capitalize languages & specific school subjects, but NOT general school subjects
 Our Spanish class is so much fun.
 I am taking French in high school.
 Are you taking Psychology 101?
 We have social studies after English.
 My favorite subjects are math and science.
Titles,
Organizations,
Dates & Subjects
4) Capitalize historical events, periods of time, and documents
 Boston Tea Party, the Gettysburg Address, the Civil War, Declaration of
Independence
5) Capitalize days, months, and holidays but NOT seasons
 September
 Saturday
 The fall is the best season.
 The summer months are too hot.
Uses for Commas
1. Commas can be used in a series (three or
more related words)
Words: He collected rocks, movies, posters, and CDs.
Phrases: People often take pictures during sports events, on
vacations, and during special occasions.
Clauses: Stacy wrote the rough draft, I revised it, and Sharon
typed it.
Uses for Commas
2) Use a comma between two or more adjectives that come before a noun
 The big, black, fat cat sat on the porch all day long.
3) Do not use a comma with two or more adjective if they’re used to express
a single idea.
Try reading the adjectives with and or reversing their order, if it sounds
awkward do not use a comma.
 Leon uses an expensive Japanese camera.
 Awkward: Leon uses and expensive and Japanese camera.
 Awkward: Leon uses a Japanese expensive camera.
Uses for Commas
4) Use a comma to separate two independent clauses used in
the same sentence.
ALSO, use a comma if there is a dependent clause, followed by
an independent clause.
 Since he was talking, he did not hear the directions.
 Because we are going to Gettysburg, we will be able to dress
casually on Friday.
 We wanted a picture of the sunrise, but it rained that day.
1)






Commas:
Introductory
Phrases
Use commas after words, phrases, and clauses that come at the
beginning of a sentence.
Oh I need to remember to study for math.
In the beginning the movie was boring.
Arriving late Mary tried to walk in quietly.
During the long meeting he fell asleep.
After the session ended I spoke to Hal.
While I waited I made some phone calls.
Commas:
Interrupters
2) Interrupters are words that break up a sentence and add emphasis.
Use commas to separate them from the rest of the sentence.
• If a phrase is between two commas, the sentence can be read
without it.
 You know of course the purpose of this meeting.
 Come into my office Janice for a few minutes.
 We will meet again next week by the way.
Commas: Nouns
of Direct
Address
3) A noun of direct address is the name of the person spoken to directly. It
can come anywhere in the sentence. Separate it from the rest of the sentence
with commas.




Come into my office Mary for a minute.
You know Lauren this will help in the long run.
Marie why did you call me last night?
Staple these papers together James.
Commas:
appositives
4) An appositive adds information about the noun that directly preceded it.
Use commas to separate an appositive only if it is not necessary to identify the
noun.
 The president Harold White will present the award.
 The stray cat starving and sick needs a good home.
If it is necessary to understand the sentence, do not use commas.
 The documentary Space Explorer won the Academy Award.
 My friend Patrick loves that movie.
Dates, Letters &
Addresses
1) With dates, use commas to separate month and day from
the year AND year & date from the rest of the sentence.
• July 4, 1776, is the day our nation was born.
2) Between city & state
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dates, Letters &
Addresses
3) Between street & city and city & state
• Send the item to 15 Mulberry Drive, Wilmington, Delaware
19808.
4) In a letter, after greeting and closing:
• Dear Amy,
• Sincerely,
• With Love,
Quotation
Marks
• Direct Quotation: a speaker’s exact words
• Indicated by quotation marks
Begin a direct quote with a capital letter. Use a
comma to separate the quotation from the rest of
the sentence.
My mother always says, “Tell the truth the first
time!”
Quotation
Marks
2) Punctuation usually goes inside quotes.
-Periods and commas are always inside
-Question marks and exclamation points go inside when it is
related to the actual quote.
-If they are not a part of the quote, they will go outside
“Where is Spain?” asked the teacher.
Ralph said, “I think we learned this last year.”
Did Denise say, “I don’t know”?
Quotation
Marks
3) A divided quotation is when one quote is separated into
two places
Only the first letter in the quote is capitalized, they first letter
in the second part is not:
“Go to sleep early,” said Michelle, “and you will not feel so
tired in school.”
If it is two separate sentences, both will start with a capital
letter.
“You must go to sleep earlier,” she said, “It will be better for
your health.”
Quotation
Marks
4) An indirect quote tells what someone said without using exact
words (paraphrasing)
Do not use quotations for these.
Kim said that Tasmania is off the coast of Africa.
Ralph asked to look at the map.
Examples
1.
Mr. Romero asked is Australia a country?
2.
Yes replied Lauren.
3.
Mr. Romero asked is Australia a continent?
4.
Howard answered I’m not sure.
5.
Please reply said Mr. Romero if you know the answer.
6.
Anna said that Australia has had an unusual history.
7.
That’s right said Mr. Romero. It is a country and a continent.
8.
Did Mr. Romero say tell me more about Australia?
Titles of Short
Works
Quotation marks are also used for titles of short works.
The first, last, and all important words in the title are
capitalized.
Short Story: “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Poem: “Jabberwocky”
Chapter of a Book: “Writing Business Reports”
Magazine Article: “How to Improve Your Work”
Song: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Examples
9. looking for the kiwi (short story)
10. the extraordinary animals of australia (article)
11. waiting for the boat to take me there (song)
13. in the station (poem)
14. the raising of sheep in australia (chapter in a book)
15. coming of age in the outback (book chapter)
16. australia and tasmania (poem)
Titles of Long
Works
In print, titles of long works are typically in italics.
If you are writing by hand, you should underline titles of long works.
Book: A Summer to Remember
Magazine: Sports Illustrated
Newspaper: The New York Times; Denver Post
Play: Fiddler on the Roof
Movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas
TV Series: The American Experience
Painting: Sunflowers
Musical Works: Symphony No. 5, The Marriage of Figaro
Colons:
Use a colon…
1. After the greeting in a business letter
 Dear Sir:
 To Whom it May Concern:
2. When writing the time
 8:40 A.M.
Colons :
3. Before a list of items in a sentence
 In music class we study these composers: Ives, Bach, and Mozart.
 Bring the following to class: a pen, your notebook, and your textbook.
4. DO NOT use a colon after a verb or a preposition
 Bring a book, a harmonica, and a notebook to class.
 The program consists of a solo, a duet, and a trio.