English · First steps

Sentence punctuation: capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks

Every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. The end mark tells the reader how to read the sentence: as a statement, a question or with strong feeling.

Ages: 5–9 (rough guide)
Level: First steps
Subject: English
Time: 10–15 minutes
Format: Online + printable
Stage: UK Years 1–2 · roughly US Kindergarten–Grade 2

Try it online Print worksheet & answers Online + Print

1Learn it
2See it worked
3Try it online
4Print it
5Check your answer

Before you start

Who it's for and what to know first

Can read and write simple sentences and knows capital and lower-case letters.

Learn it

How it works

A statement tells you something and ends with a full stop: The cat is asleep.
A question asks something and ends with a question mark: Where is the cat?
An exclamation shows strong feeling, like surprise or danger, and ends with an exclamation mark: Watch out!
Capital letters go at the start of every sentence, for the word I, and for names of people, places, days and months.
Read your sentence aloud. If your voice goes up at the end, it is probably a question.

Worked example 1

Punctuate: can we go to the park on saturday

It starts a sentence, so Can needs a capital.
Saturday is a day, so it needs a capital.
It asks something, so it ends with a question mark.

Answer: Can we go to the park on Saturday?

Worked example 2

Punctuate: my brother tom lives in cardiff

Capital for My (sentence start), Tom (name) and Cardiff (place).
It tells us something, so add a full stop.

Answer: My brother Tom lives in Cardiff.

Try it online · print it · check it

Practice questions

First steps · ages 5–9

Capital letters, full stops, question and exclamation marks

NameDate

For end marks, write the name: full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. For counting questions, write a number.

1.Which end mark: ‘Where is my coat’
2.Which end mark: ‘The dog ran across the park’
3.Which end mark: ‘Watch out, the pan is hot’
4.Which end mark: ‘What time does the film start’
5.Which end mark: ‘I had toast for breakfast’
6.Which end mark: ‘What a brilliant goal’
7.How many capital letters are needed? ‘on monday, sam and i went to leeds.’
8.How many capital letters are needed? ‘my friend priya lives in wales.’

First steps · answersAnswer key

Capital letters, full stops, question and exclamation marks — answer key

For end marks, write the name: full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. For counting questions, write a number.

1.Which end mark: ‘Where is my coat’question mark
2.Which end mark: ‘The dog ran across the park’full stop
3.Which end mark: ‘Watch out, the pan is hot’exclamation mark
4.Which end mark: ‘What time does the film start’question mark
5.Which end mark: ‘I had toast for breakfast’full stop
6.Which end mark: ‘What a brilliant goal’exclamation mark
7.How many capital letters are needed? ‘on monday, sam and i went to leeds.’5
8.How many capital letters are needed? ‘my friend priya lives in wales.’3

Tips

Common mistakes

Forgetting a capital for the word I.
Putting a question mark after a statement such as ‘I wonder where it is.’ — it tells, so it ends with a full stop.
Using lots of exclamation marks!!! One is enough.

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026