BASIC
PUNCTUATION AND
GRAMMAR
ENGLISH REVISION SESSION
REMEMBER
O In order to get a C or above in your English
exam, you must use 5 different types of
punctuation in your written paper( unit 2)
other than a full stop or comma.
O In order to get a B-A*, you must use
punctuation to craft your writing for
audience and purpose.
Common mistakes
O Apostrophes- forgotten or misused.
O Paragraphs- forgotten
O Commas- over used
O Exclamation marks- over used
O Inverted commas around titles- forgotten
O Capital letters- under used
O Colons and semi colons- hardly used
APOSTROPHES
O Apostrophes are used to show ownership of
something and to indicate that some letters
are missing.
FOR OWNERSHIP
O When you are writing about a belonging, add an
apostrophe + ‘s’ to the name of the owner. David’s
dog was missing.
O If the name ends in ‘s’ you can choose to stick it on
the end of the s James’ suitcase or add another ‘s,
James’s suitcase.
O For groups of people of thingsO If the group already ends in s, add the apostrophe on
the end. Words like men, women and mice follow the
same rules. They found the killer eels’ during the
men’s swimming championships.
FOR MISSING LETTERSO You must use an apostrophe when you are using the
O
O
O
O
O
O
shortened version of two words such as he’s instead
of he is.
The following are all shortened versions and must
have an apostrophe
I’m- I am
I won’t – I will not
I’d- I would or I had
I’ve- I have
they’re- they are
who’s – who is
don’t- do not
doesn’t- does not
can’t- can not
we’re – we are
Correct these sentences
1. I cant go with you to James house.
2. Wheres the magazine I was reading?
3. I borrowed Kates skirt for Brads party.
4. Theyre really annoying me today.
5. Were not going to Mrs Watts detention
6. The womens football team was rubbish
7. She said it was hers but actually it was
Beths idea.
8. It was Kate and Simons wedding.
Answers
O I can’t go with you to James’ house.
O Where’s the magazine I was reading?
O I borrowed Kate’s skirt for Brads party.
O They’re really annoying me today.
O We’re not going to Mrs Watts’ detention
O The women’s football team was rubbish
O She said it was hers but actually it was
Beth’s idea.
O It was Kate and Simon’s wedding
COMMAS
O Commas break up lists, add ideas and keep
sentences clear.
Commas for lists
O I love cake, ice cream, sweets and
chocolate.
O Don’t forget- when you write a list, put a
comma after each thing.. except the last
two.
Commas to make the meaning
clearer
O Tom told her to be quiet, but she started to
scream.
O The sentence contains two pieces of
information so we need a comma to make it
clearer.
O Remember, you must use a comma in
sentences with two clear points.
COMMAS FOR EXTRA
INFORMATION
O When adding extra information to a
sentence, you must use a comma.
O With a growl, the tiger pounced on the
poodle.
O Sometimes the extra information is added
to the middle of the sentence, so you need
two commas.
O The twins, who were confused by the event,
were sitting on the grass.
COLONS
are used for lists and explanations
Colons for lists
O The colon is used to let you know that a list
is about to begin.
O You will need the following ingredients: a
large egg, 200grams of flour, 250 ml of milk
Colons for explanations
O Colons are also to introduce an explanation.
Colons are used to divide a sentence where
the second part of the sentence explains the
first part, or tells you more about it.
O The office was empty: everyone had finished
their work and gone home.
SEMICOLONS.
divide clauses in a sentence and break up
lists.
DIVIDING CLAUSESO semicolons are used to turn two sentences
into one.
O The two sentences must be about the same
thing and they must be of equal importance
to one another.
O The door creaked open; the girl tiptoed shyly
into the room.
BREAKINGS UP LISTSO Semicolons are used to break up lists when
the items in the list are long phrases or
clauses.
O If the items in the list have their own
punctuation, you must use a semicolon.
O At the fete there were stalls selling cakes; a
‘guess the weight of a pig’ competition;
children bouncing on a bouncy castle; and
an egg and spoon race.
(BRACKETS)
O Brackets, commas and dashes can all be used
to separate extra pieces of information from the
main body of the sentence.
O Brackets are used to bring something extra into
a sentence. The extra something can be an
explanation, an interruption, or something that
occurred to the narrator as an afterthought.
O Sarah and Jodie (the twins) have just learnt
ballet
Dashes O Use dashes to link two ideas in one
sentence
O Wayne Rooney is a famous footballer- he
has scored lots of goals.
Question marks
O Always remember a question mark when you
are waiting for an answer. How can I get an
A in my GCSE?
‘INVERTED
COMMAS’
WHEN SHOUD YOU USE THEM?
INVERTED COMMAS
O Inverted commas can be used to report
direct speech ( like speech marks).In school,
we usually advise using double inverted
commas “ x” for speech marks and single
inverted commas for thoughts ‘x’ to avoid
confusion.
O Inverted commas can also be used to
indicate titles of books, plays and poems
when writing about them.
Direct speech
O Direct speech is when someone is actually
talking. Speech marks go before and after the
spoken words. You must always use a capital
letter when someone starts to speak and a
comma to separate the speech from the rest of
the sentence.
O Jack said, “ Don’t do that, you’ll wake him.” The
comma goes before the speech mark and the
full stop in front of the speech marks as it is the
end of the sentence.
Reported Speech
O Reported speech does not use speech
marks. This means, if you write about what
someone has said in your own words, you do
not need speech marks. Speech marks are
only needed for the exact words spoken.
O Harry said, “ I hate cabbage” = direct
speech
O Harry said that he hated cabbage. =
reported speech
When writing about a book
O When referring to the title of a book or play
in your essay, always remember to put the
title in inverted commas.
O Shakespeare wrote ‘Romeo and Juliet’
O ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in America during
the Great Depression.
Quoting ideas
We also use inverted commas to mark off a
word or phrase that’s being discussed, or
that’s being directly quoted from somewhere
else:
O He called this process, ‘memory recall’
O What does ‘integrated circuit’ mean?
Quoting within a quote
O If you find that you need to enclose quoted
material within direct speech or another
quotation, use the style you haven’t used
already. So, if you’ve been using single inverted
commas, put any further quoted material within
double ones and vice versa
O She still sounds amazed when she says: “We
were turned down because ‘we represented too
small a minority of the population’. They could
still get away with saying things like that then.”
CAPITAL LETTERS
WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THEM?
CAPITAL LETTERS
O We all think capitals are basic, but if you
forget them too often, you could drop down
a whole grade
7 places you should use capital
letters
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
People’s names and titles- Mr Terry Brown
Names of towns and places- Sprowston, Norwich
Things to do with countries- I am French. I come
from France and I speak French.
Names of companies and organisations- the
Ministry of Transport
Titles of books, films, programmes etc- Eastenders
Days of the week and months of the year- Monday
5th September
And of course, at the start of a sentence.
Correct these sentences
O I told you jamie was going to australia in
O
O
O
O
may.
I love the only way is essex, amy childs is my
favourite.
I’m going to see steve on monday
I like shopping at tescos.
My friend camilla is from sweden.
Answers
O I told you Jamie was going to Australia in
O
O
O
O
May.
I love ‘The Only Way Is Essex’, Amy Childs is
my favourite.
I’m going to see Steve on Monday
I like shopping at Tescos.
My friend Camilla is from Sweden.
PARAGRAPHS
When to start a new paragraph
Paragraphs
O The golden rule for paragraphs is that you
should start a new paragraph every time
something changes. For example, if you
start to write about a new person, new
place, new time or new development, you
should use a new paragraph.
O Always check your work, if you forget to write
in paragraphs add // to indicate where you
would like a new paragraph and you will still
be marked for this.
EXCLAMATION
MARKS
Exclamation marks are like strong full
stops
When to use exclamation
marks
DO USE THEM:
O If the sentence is a command- Go Away!
O When someone is shouting- I’m over here!
O To show surprise or anger- I’ve won the lottery!
DON’T
O Use them all the time- We couldn’t hear
anything! Jack opened the door! It was gone!
O Never use more than one in a sentenceOuch!!!!!!!!
Punctuate this passage with
CAPITAL LETTERS and FULL STOPS
O last week i went to london zoo i saw
elephants and tigers i ate lunch in the
restaurant the best thing about the day was
going to the gift shop i bought a poster and
a keyring i can’t wait to go again
Punctuate this passage with CAPITAL
LETTERS, COMMAS, and FULL STOPS.
O when you have a bad day at school it can
seem like everybody is against you
especially the teachers being a teenager can
be tough but you need to remember that
everybody has their ups and downs and you
can improve things by having a positive
attitude to your work and trying your hardest
in every subject
Punctuate this passage with CAPITAL LETTERS,
COMMAS, FULL STOPS and QUESTION MARKS
O are you environmentally friendly do you recycle
all your plastic and paper if you don’t then you
have a big problem the world is currently
suffering from the effects of global warming you
might think that you can’t make a difference but
every single can or bottle creates a change for
the better have you checked that the light-bulbs
in your house are energy efficient make sure you
do and ask your parents to replace the old type
with these new ones
.
Punctuate this passage with CAPITAL LETTERS,
EXCLAMATION MARKS, QUESTION MARKS and
FULL STOPS.
O have you asked him out yet she asked no
way she replied i don’t fancy him