Capitalization & Punctuation — Answer Key
Part A: Sort the Words
Sort each word or number into the correct category box.
1. Sort each word into the correct group.
Needs Capital Letter
februarychicagofriday Does Not Need Capital
milkfunnybook February is a month, Chicago is a city, and Friday is a day — all proper nouns that need capital letters. Milk, funny, and book are everyday words and stay lowercase.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. My birthday is in March.
March is the name of a month, and all months of the year are proper nouns that begin with a capital letter.
2. We went to the park to play.
A park is a place with grass and playground equipment where kids go to play. Park is a common noun, so it stays lowercase here.
3. Jake is my best friend.
Jake is a person's name, so it needs a capital J. It also starts the sentence, which is another reason to capitalize the first letter.
4. The bird flew over the tree.
Birds often fly above trees when they are looking for a place to land. Tree is a common noun and does not need a capital letter.
5. School starts on Monday.
Monday is the first school day of the week for most kids. Days of the week are proper nouns, so the M is capitalized.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. A question always ends with a period.
True False
Questions ask something and must end with a question mark (?), not a period. Periods are only used at the end of telling sentences.
2. The first word in a sentence starts with a capital letter.
True False
Every sentence begins with a capital letter so readers can easily see where a new idea starts.
3. Months of the year need capital letters.
True False
Names of months like January, April, and October are proper nouns, so they always start with a capital letter.
4. The word the always needs a capital letter.
True False
The word the only needs a capital T when it is the first word of a sentence — in the middle of a sentence it stays lowercase.