Capitalization & Punctuation — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which sentence is written correctly?
A) my birthday is in may.
B) My Birthday is in May.
C) My birthday is in May.
D) my birthday is in May.
This sentence has correct capitalization (My, May) and ends with a period.
2. What is wrong with this sentence? 'sarah likes to read books'
A) Missing a period and capital S
B) Missing a comma
C) Too many words
D) Nothing is wrong
The name Sarah needs a capital S because it is a proper noun, and the sentence needs a period at the end.
3. Which list uses commas correctly?
A) I like red blue, and green.
B) I like, red, blue, and green.
C) I like red, blue, and green.
D) I like red, blue and, green.
Commas separate items in a list. The correct format places a comma after each item except the last one.
4. How should the date 'october 31 2025' be written?
A) october 31, 2025
B) October 31 2025
C) October 31, 2025
D) October, 31, 2025
October needs a capital letter because months are proper nouns, and a comma goes between the day and year.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. In 'apples oranges and grapes,' commas go after apples and oranges.
The correct list is 'apples, oranges, and grapes.' Commas go after apples and oranges to separate the items.
2. A title like 'dr. Smith' should have a capital D on Doctor.
The abbreviation Dr. is a title and must start with a capital D: Dr. Smith.
3. The greeting 'dear aunt' needs a capital D and a capital A.
In the greeting 'Dear Aunt,' both words need capital letters: Dear Aunt.
4. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter and end with an end mark.
Every sentence needs an end mark, which can be a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.
5. The names of months like March and August always need capital letters.
Months of the year are proper nouns and always need to start with a capital letter.