What you learned
Every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with exactly one mark.
Two questions choose the mark.
- Does it want an answer? Question mark.
- Does it show strong feeling? Exclamation point.
- Neither one? Period.
The capital letter rules
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| The first word of every sentence. | The wind was cold. |
| The word I, wherever it sits. | Ava and I walked home. |
| Other words in the middle stay small. | My best friend moved away. |
Four things to keep straight
| What people think | What is true |
|---|---|
| Only the first sentence needs a capital. | Every sentence does, all the way down the page. |
| Important words get capitals. | They do not. Names do, and you will meet that rule later. |
| An exciting topic needs an exclamation point. | Only strong feeling does. A fact about a fun day is still a fact. |
| A sentence can have two marks. | One mark, always. |
Quick warm-up before the check
Fix each line.
- “are you cold”
- “my sister and i made lunch”
- “a bee is in the car”
Answers
- “Are you cold?”
- “My sister and I made lunch.”
- “A bee is in the car!”
Now take the final check below.
Where to go next
- Special Names and Titles for People: the other words that always take a capital
- Capitalizing Days, Months, and Holidays: the calendar words
- Nouns: People, Places, Animals, and Things: the naming words themselves
- Fixing Sentence Fragments: the other half of checking your writing