Capitals and Periods

Capitals and Periods

Capital letters are used:

• at the beginning of a sentence;

• for proper nouns (examples: names, days, months, titles, places, streets... );

• for adjectives derived from proper nouns (examples: American, Indian): and

• for the pronoun I

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• it was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard

• It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard.

• It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard

• it was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• The music began.

• The music began

• the music began.

• the music began

A period is used:

• at the end of a declarative sentence (makes a statement or expresses an opinion):

• USUALLY used at the end of an imperative sentence (a command or a request)

• If a sentence ends with an abbreviation, the period used for the abbreviation also serves as the period for the sentence. This is true even if the abbreviation is contained within a quotation.

• An indirect question ends with a period, not a question mark.

• Ellipses: an ellipsis is a set of three periods ( . . . ) indicating an omission. Each period should have a single space on either side, except when adjacent to a quotation mark, in which case there should be no space.

A period is used:

• When using quotations, the period is placed inside the closing quotation mark, even if the period is not part of the original quotation.

• When the parenthesis is itself an entire sentence, the period is placed inside the closing parenthesis.

• If a sentence ends with a parenthesis that is only part of a larger sentence, the period is placed outside the closing parenthesis.

• The period is used with certain abbreviations. Lowercase and mixed-case abbreviations (examples: a.m., etc., vol., Inc., Jr., Mrs., Tex.) and to omit periods with most uppercase abbreviations (examples: FBI, IRS, ATM, NATO, NBC, TX).

A period is used:

• to tell the reader to pause before reading the next sentence

• to end a thought

Multiple Select

What does a period tell a reader?

• It tells the reader to keep reading.

• It tells the reader to pause before reading the next sentence.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio

• clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio.

• Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio.

• clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• a police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up

• A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up.

• a police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up.

• A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• It wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.

• it wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment

• It wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment

• it wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• She must have been extraordinarily beautiful because the mask she wore was hideous.

• she must have been extraordinarily beautiful because the mask she wore was hideous.

• She must have been extraordinarily beautiful because the mask she wore was hideous

• she must have been extraordinarily beautiful because the mask she wore was hideous

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• it was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard

• It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard.

• It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard

• it was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• the year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal

• the year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal.

• The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal

• The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly? (Look for a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and period at the end.)

• nobody was smarter than anybody else

• nobody was smarter than anybody else.

• Nobody was smarter than anybody else.

• Nobody was smarter than anybody else

Multiple Select

What does a period do ?

• It starts a sentence.

• It ends a sentences.