Every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. Capital letters are also used for names, for days of the week and for the word “I”. These small marks help readers know where sentences begin and end.
What your child will learn
- Start every sentence with a capital letter
- End telling sentences with a full stop
- Use capital letters for names of people, places and days
- Always write “I” as a capital letter
Capital letters have jobs
A capital letter tells the reader “a new sentence starts here” or “this is a name”. A full stop tells them “this sentence is finished — take a little breath”.
Children often remember the capital at the start of a sentence but forget names in the middle, like “My friend Ben”, or the word “I”. Capital City practises all three.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which name is written correctly?
- sAm
- SAm
- Sam
- sam
Show answer
Answer: Sam. Names start with a capital letter, then small letters: Sam.
2. Which sentence starts correctly?
- the cat sat on the mat.
- the Cat sat on the mat.
- tHe cat sat on the mat.
- The cat sat on the mat.
Show answer
Answer: The cat sat on the mat.. A sentence starts with a capital letter: The.
3. What goes at the end of a telling sentence?
- A full stop (.)
- A comma (,)
- A capital letter
- Nothing
Show answer
Answer: A full stop (.). A telling sentence ends with a full stop.
Tips for grown-ups
- Hunt for capital letters in a picture book and ask why each one is there.
- Write a shopping list together with the names of shops using capital letters.
- Practise writing your child’s full name, with capitals in the right places.