Capitalization & Punctuation — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. January is the first month of the year.
January comes right after December and begins the new year. Months are proper nouns, so the J is capitalized.
2. Did you see the rainbow?
This sentence starts with "Did you," which shows it is an asking sentence. Asking sentences always end with a question mark.
3. My teacher name is Mrs. Smith.
Titles like Mrs. and the name Smith are both proper, so both words start with capital letters, and Mrs. uses a period after the abbreviation.
4. We live in the United States.
United States is the name of our country, and both important words in the country's name need capital letters.
5. Wow, that was amazing!
Words like "Wow" and "amazing" show strong feeling, so the sentence needs an exclamation point at the end.
6. The Fourth of July is a holiday.
The Fourth of July is the name of a specific holiday, so Fourth is treated as a proper noun and capitalized.
7. Please sit down in your chair.
A chair is the piece of furniture a person sits in. Chair is a common noun, so it stays lowercase in the middle of the sentence.
8. Do you like ice cream?
The word Do is the first word of this question, so it must start with a capital D.
9. I went to Florida for vacation.
Florida is the name of a specific state. Names of states are proper nouns, so Florida always begins with a capital F.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
End of a telling sentence
→ period
period
End of a question
→ question mark
question mark
End of an excited sentence
→ exclamation point
exclamation point
First word of a sentence
→ capital letter
capital letter
Telling sentences close with a period, questions close with a question mark, and excited sentences close with an exclamation point. No matter the type, every sentence begins with a capital letter.