Punctuation Year 7 Sentence Starters

PunctuationYear 7 Sentence Starters Icons key: For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation Flash activity. These activities are not editable. Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page Extension activities Web addresses Accompanying worksheet 1 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Contents • Apostrophes to show contractions • Apostrophes to show possession • Possessive pronouns • Apostrophes to show unusual plurals • Apostrophes activities • Colons • Semicolons • Punctuation which adds information • Brackets • Dashes • Commas • Speech Marks • Punctuation activities 2 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

The importance of good punctuation I really want to be a novelist when I’m older. My teacher said that I need to improve my ‘clarity of expression’ to become a good writer. Well, I might become a sports journalist when I’m older. My teacher told me that I need to use different types of punctuation for style but I find it very difficult. Megan and Tom can improve their writing by varying their punctuation to write clearly and stylishly.

Apostrophes to show contractions Apostrophes to show contractions 4 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Apostrophes Apostrophes (’) are the most commonly misused punctuation mark. They have three main uses. They show: • contractions • possession • unusual plurals Contractions are shortened forms of words which have letters missing. The apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters, e.g. • It’s is short for It is. • We’ll is short for we will or we shall. • Can’t is short for cannot.

Contractions We use contractions a lot when we are speaking aloud because they save time and sound informal. Fill in the grid below with as many contractions as you can. contraction original words It is It’s Contractions should be avoided in formal writing though, such as in essays and letters, as they sound too chatty. However, some writers use them when they write down the direct speech of a character or person. Why do you think some writers use contractions in direct speeches?

Apostrophes to show possession Apostrophes to show possession 7 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Possession Apostrophes are also used to show possession: who or what owns something, e.g. This is Max’s book means This book belongs to Max. Adding an apostrophe and an s after a person, place or thing shows that he/she/it are the owner of the other noun in the sentence. Here are some more examples: 1. Megan’s pet tarantula is called Mogg. 2. Mogg’s owner is called Megan. 3. All of the bus’s seats are full. Now write down five of your own sentences using apostrophes to show possession.

Possession To show possession we normally add an apostrophe and an s after the word. We don’t add the extra s, however, if the word is a plural noun because it already ends in an s, and it would become too difficult to pronounce, e.g. 1. The toilets’ hand-driers are broken. 2. You only have two weeks’ holiday. 3. Those plants’ leaves are brown. Try to write five sentences using apostrophes to show possession for plural nouns.

Possessive pronouns Possessive pronouns 10 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Possessive pronouns The exception to the apostrophe rule are these possessive pronounswhich show possession without apostrophes: • yours not you’s • his not he’s • hers not she’s • its not it’s • ours not our’s • theirs not their’s • whose not who’s Why do you think possessive plurals are written differently? What could they be confused with?

Possessive pronouns Here are some examples of thepossessive pronouns which do not need apostrophes. • 1. His new car is better than mine. • The bird flapped its wings. • Is my drawing better than hers? • Are these books the same as yours? • Shall we use your plates or ours? • Ben prefers our home to theirs. • 7. Whose chocolate bar is this? Now try to write your own example for each one.

Apostrophes to show unusual plurals Apostrophes to show unusual plurals 13 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Unusual plurals The final use of apostrophes is to show unusual plurals, such as number, letters and symbols, which would be unreadable otherwise, e.g. • There is one c and two s’sin the word necessary. • Continental 7’s are scored with horizontal lines. • You must mind your p’s and q’s around strangers. • Your mobile phone number is easy to remember because there are three 0’s in it. • My postcode has two B’s in it. Write five sentences which include numbers and letters that are pluralized with apostrophes.

Apostrophe activities Apostrophe activities 15 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Its/it’s quiz

Apostrophes activity

Colons Colons 18 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Colons A colon (:) shows that the words which follow it are an explanation or an example of what is written before it, e.g. A hamburger is made up of three layers: the bottom half of the bun, the burger and the top half of the bun. A colon is usually placed after a complete sentence but it can be followed by many or few words, e.g. The environment is facing a huge threat: global warming. Colons are placed directly after the last word of the main idea and they are followed by one space only. They are never followed by either a hyphen (-) or a dash (–).

Colons Here are some more examples of sentences with colons: • Tom watched a football match on Saturday: Chelsea versus Arsenal. • The fire destroyed many things in the house: the furniture, the carpets and the curtains. • I just bought a new car: a Land Rover. • There are seven colours in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. • Megan went shopping and bought some fruit: two apples, some cherries and a melon. Write down five sentences using colons to either explain points, add details or give examples.

Semicolons Semicolons 21 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Semicolons A semicolon (;) joins two complete sentences into one. This is because some sentences are too closely related to be separated by a full stop but they are missing a connecting word, such as and or but, e.g. Eating chocolate in moderation is fine; eating chocolate to excess is bad. The semicolon joins the separate statements about chocolate into one sentence which acts like a warning: eating a little chocolate is fine but beware of eating a lot because it is bad. It suggests that the first event is related to the second event.

Semicolons Here are some more examples of sentences with semicolons: • Megan was angry; Tom was not listening. • It was the best year; it was the worst year. • Max felt hot; the sun was blazing. • I don’t like cabbage; I don’t like carrots. • I found the film long; Tim found the film short. What does the semicolon imply in each sentence? What would happen if the semicolons were replaced with colons or full stops?

Colons and semicolons Colons and semicolons are good to use in your writing asthey are stylish. They can change the meanings of the same set of words, e.g. Lei is happy. Max is sad. Lei is happy: Max is sad. Lei is happy; Max is sad. 1. Using a full stop separates the events into unrelated events: Lei happens to be happy and Max happens to be sad. 2. Using a colon changes the two events into one event with an explanation: Lei is (quite cruelly) happy because Max is sad. 3. The semicolon links the two events. Lei, therefore, may be happy that Max is sad, or Max may be sad that Lei is happy. Try to write five sentences using semicolons to link two sentences together.

Apostrophes, colons and semicolons

Punctuation which adds information Punctuation which adds information 26 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Sentences with extra information

Brackets Brackets 28 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Round brackets I want to be able to mildly distract my readers with extra information about the sports players… Brackets allow you to add extra information to a sentence, which is useful but not necessaryor to add your opinion, e.g. ‘Charlie Johnson (aged 21 years) has (unfortunately) played for Charlton for three seasons.’ The sentence still makes sense without the information in the brackets, e.g. ‘Charlie Johnson has played for Charlton for three years.’ TIP: Brackets add extra details to a sentence and are only a mild distraction.

Using round brackets Try to work out where to use brackets in these examples: ( • 1. Tom went to watch a football match Liverpool versus Chelsea on Saturday. • 2. Speaking foreign languages I believe is a useful skill. • Watching too much TV over two hours per day is bad for your eyesight. • Megan went to the hairdresser’s on Tuesday to have her hair cut. • My parents Jack and Linda are very strict. ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Did you draw your brackets in these places?

Dashes Dashes 31 of 46 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

Pairs of dashes I want to be able to distract my readers with dramatic background information on my characters… Pairs of dashes allow writers to strongly interrupt the flow of a sentence to provide their readers with useful information, e.g. ‘The countess glared at the maid – who had stolen the heart of her husband – and threw a silver hairbrush at her.’ The extra information is placed between the dashes for emphasis, but the sentence should also make sense alone. TIP: Dashes add extra details to a sentence, deliberately causing a major distraction and disrupting the flow.

Using pairs of dashes Try to work out where to use dashes in these examples: • Lei glared at Max who had beaten her in a quiz and then childishly stuck her tongue out at him. • The lions stalked the antelopedeliberately terrifying itbefore killing and eating it. • The farmer’s sheepdog, Rusty clearly his most loyal friend followed the farmer wherever he went. • Pesticides are used to help crops grow regardless of their negative effects large and quickly. • Peter and Sue had a beautiful baby weighing 11 pounds last week. Did you put your dashes in these places?

Pairs of commas Megan, do you know how to use punctuation to add some information that won’t disrupt the flow? Oh yes, I remember, you need to use pairs of commas… Sometimes, we want to add information to make our writing clearer, without distracting the reader from the sentence, e.g. John, who hated cola, bought a lemonade in the café. TIP: Pairs of commas add extra details to a sentence without ruining the flow.

Using pairs of commas Try to work out where to use pairs of commas in these examples: , • Mexico assumed by many to be a South American country is in North America. • Saint Patrick also patron saint of excluded people is the patron saint of Ireland. • The Moon although it floats in space like the Earth is not a planet. • Bulls despite the fact that they will attack a red cloak are colour-blind. • A tomato although a fruit is usually eaten on a salad. , , , , , , , , , Did you put your commas in these places?

Punctuation game

Direct speech Before writing my novel, I need to know how to write down the speeches of my characters. And I need to know how to report the speeches of sportsmen and women after I interview them. To report direct speech (the exact words that a person or character has spoken aloud) you must use speech marks. Speech marks look like “ ” or ‘ ’. Speech marks surround the words of direct speech to show that those words are different from the rest of the writing.

Speech marks To add some direct speech in a larger sentence, introduce it with a comma and enclose it in speech marks, e.g. John turned to Jane and said, “You love me.” If the direct speech forms a complete sentence, it must start with a capital letterandfinish with a full stop – inside of the speech marks. However, if the speech is only part of a sentence, it must start in lower case and finish with a comma – inside of the speech marks, e.g. John turned to Jane and said, “sorry,” looking uncomfortable.

Speech marks It is also possible to interrupt a speech so that you can add a description about the speech or speaker, e.g. John turned to Jane and said, “You love me,” looking uncomfortable, “but I can’t marry you.” Commas are used to introduce each part of the direct speech. The full stop only comes at the very end once the sentence is complete. Direct speeches only begin with capital letters if they form complete sentences, if they begin with proper nouns or the pronoun ‘I’, or they start a sentence, e.g. “I think,” said Jane looking murderous, “you are a pig.”

Speech marks activity

Using speech marks Try to work out where to put speech marks in the sentences: “ ” • Tom said to Megan, May I borrow your CD please? • Megan said, yes, smiling at Tom. • I turned to Amy and said, Amy, as I gazed at her new dress, you look pretty. • Jack, you smell, said Jill, take a shower. • Paul said to Dan, Do I, looking smug, annoy you? “ ” “ ” “ ” “ ” “ ” “ ” “ ” Did you put your speech marks in these places?

Follow on activity Write down some sentences which Tom could use in a sports article and Megan could use in a novel. Include some apostrophes, colons, semicolons, brackets, dashes, pairs of commas and some direct speech in speech marks. Now rewrite the sentences without punctuation! Swap your sentences with a partner and ask them to add the correct punctuation. If they used different punctuation to you, discuss why each choice was made (you might both be right!).

Punctuation summary To sum up how these forms of use punctuation: • apostrophes are used to represent the missing letters in contractions (can’t) and to show possession • colons help you to provide and explanation or example in one sentence • semicolons link two complete sentences to imply cause and effect • brackets, dashes and pairs of commas all add extra information to sentences; their content is handy to know but is not vital • wrap speech marks around direct speech.

Punctuation Year 7 Sentence Starters