Grammar words: letter, word, sentence
Use basic grammatical terminology when discussing reading and writing: letter, capital letter, word, singular, plural, sentence, punctuation, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name punctuation marks correctly when pointed out in text
- Use terms like 'capital letter' and 'full stop' when editing writing
- Explain what a 'sentence' is using the correct term
1 · Read
Reading and writing have special words too. They help you talk about your writing with a grown-up. Letters make words, and words make sentences.
A sentence is a group of words. It tells a whole idea, like 'The cat sat.'
Words can mean one or more than one. 'Pig' means just one pig. That is called singular. 'Pigs' means more than one. That is called plural. The little s on the end often does the job.
Look at this sentence: 'The cat sat.' It has three words: The, cat, sat. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
Punctuation marks have names too. A full stop (.) ends a telling sentence. A question mark (?) ends an asking sentence. An exclamation mark (!) ends a shouting sentence.
Letters build words, words build sentences that punctuation marks help you read.
The rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Marks that finish sentences
Punctuation marks help your voice pause and show a sentence's feeling.
A period is a dot. Use it to finish a sentence that tells you something: The cat is sleeping.
For a question, use a question mark. It has a bent line and a dot below: Is the cat sleeping?
An exclamation mark has a tall straight line over a dot. It ends a sentence with a strong feeling, such as excitement or surprise: The cat is awake!
End each written sentence with one of these marks. It helps your eyes and your voice know where the sentence finishes.
Finding a whole sentence
A sentence uses words to give a whole idea. The words need to make sense on their own.
When you write a sentence, begin with a capital letter. This is the big form of a letter: Apple begins with A, not a.
Finish with a period, question mark or exclamation mark.
The dog runs fast. This complete sentence opens with capital T and closes with a period.
running fast These words have no capital at the start. They also leave the idea unfinished.
Starting and Ending a Sentence
When we write a sentence, we always start it the same special way. We use a capital letter for the very first word.
Then, when the sentence is finished, we add a punctuation mark at the end. There are three marks we can use.
A period ends a sentence that tells something calmly. A question mark ends a sentence that asks something. An exclamation mark ends a sentence that shows excitement.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.