Punctuation

Year 9 English
Language Conventions
Lesson 2
Revision
• Think of today as revision.
• Most of this lesson should be things you’ve already learned by Year 9.
• If there’s anything today that sounds new, make sure you let your
teacher know so they can slow down.
Match them up!
• Before we learn anything new, let’s see what we already know…
• On the next slide, match-up the jumbled terms with their correct
definitions and examples.
1. Full Stop a. Indicates possession or contractions
: ()
2. Comma b. Connects two independent clauses ‘
3. Question Mark
c. Indicates a break in a sentence ,
4. Apostrophe -
d. Indicates the end of a sentence ?
5. Colon ;
6. Semicolon e. Indicates additional information
.
7. Brackets f. Indicates an interjection or strong feelings –

8. Dashes g. Indicates a list or an announcement

9. Hyphen
h. Indicates a question
10. Exclamation Mark
i. Creates a compound word

j. Indicates additional information

Full Stop [ . ]
• A full stop indicates the end of a sentence.
• We are going to the swimming pool.
Comma [ , ]
• A comma indicates a pause or break in a sentence.
• Often used to break up lists of information.
• We could catch the bus, walk, or get a lift.
Question Mark [ ? ]
• A question mark ends a sentence to indicate a question is being
asked.
• Did you want to join us?
Apostrophe [ ‘ ]
• Possessive apostrophes indicate that something belongs to someone.
• Sophie’s contact lens fell out.

• Apostrophes of contraction indicate that two words have been joined

together to form a new word where some letters are lost.
• We didn’t leave the house on time.
Colon [ : ]
• A colon introduces a list, or makes an announcement.
• I’ve packed my bag: towel, bathers, sunscreen and a hat.
• There’s one guarantee with swimming: it’s wet.
Semicolon [ ; ]
• A semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses.
• They can also be used to break up the information in a complex list
(where ordinary commas are getting confusing).
• There are so many people at the pool today; it’s pretty much one big party.
• I saw Stephen, Henry and Monica Cho; Louis and Whitney Phillips; and the
entire Singh family.
Brackets [ ( ) ] and Dashes [ – ]
• Brackets and dashes indicate that information is additional.
• You should be able to add and remove the information within
brackets and dashes without disrupting the grammar of a sentence.
• As the pool was so busy (it was a very hot day), they extended the opening
hours.
• Look at your skin – it’s bright red – you’re sunburnt already!
Hyphen [ - ]
• Hyphens indicate that two words have been joined together to make a new word
without using a contraction (can also be used when adding prefixes to words). These
are called compound words.
• That breeze is breath-taking.

• Hyphens are different to dashes. Hyphens are short, dashes are long.
• Dashes break up sentences, hyphens join together words.
• - is a hyphen
• – is a dash

• Hyphens often fall out of use over time as people get used to the idea of the word
being a new one.
Exclamation Mark [ ! ]
• An exclamation mark is usually used after an interjection or
exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show emphasis.
• The exclamation mark almost always marks the end of a sentence.
• Oh no!
• You’re sunburnt already!
Capital Letters
• Capital letters are used to indicate:
• The start of a sentence
• Proper nouns
• Titles

• The book Monica read was called Station Eleven.

Your Turn 1
• Rewrite each of the sentences below so that they no longer contain
punctuation errors.
Your Turn 2
• Rewrite these sentences so the apostrophes are in the correct place.
Your Turn 3
• Rewrite the paragraph below with correct punctuation.
Worksheets
• To consolidate your learning, complete the worksheets below:

• Commas
• Semicolons
• Brackets and Dashes
• Apostrophes showing possession
• Apostrophes showing a contraction