Look below at the example. Can you see the difference between a
capital letter and a small letter?
Example:
A is the capital letter of a; B is the
capital letter of b; C is the capital letter of c,
and so on.
Now you have a go. Write the capital letters for the following
(remember they are the big letters).
h
_________________ m __________________ t
____________________ f ______________
When do I use a capital letter in a sentence?
Whenever you start a sentence you should always start with a
capital letter. Look at the sentence below. The first word, the,
doesn't have a small t, it has a capital T.
Example:
The big cat went across the road.
You also need a capital letter when you are naming a person or
place. Capital letters tell people who are reading your story
that Tom is a person and that Willow Place and Hamilton are the
names of places — also called proper names.
Example:
Tom's cat went across the road. The road was called Willow
Place and was in Hamilton.
Sometimes you may think that you need a capital letter in the
middle of a sentence, but remember the rule is it has to name a
person or place. Some words like hospital or school may sound as
though they need to have a capital letter, but they don't. You
only use a capital letter if you are telling people what that
hospital or school is called, its proper name.
Example:
Tom's cat went to a hospital because it was hurt. (You don't
need a capital letter for hospital because it isn't a specific
name, it could be any hospital, anywhere.)
Example:
Tom's cat went to the Blue Cat Hospital
because it was hurt. (Now we have given the hospital a name,
Blue Cat Hospital, so hospital needs a capital letter.
Why do I need a full stop?
Imagine you have a story which has 1200 words in it and it's all
one sentence. Now imagine you have to read it aloud to your
class. Do you think you could talk that long without taking a
breath? A full stop makes the reader stop and take a breath. But
it is more than just a breath stop, it shows people that you
have finished your sentence. Full stops come at the end of all
sentences — a bit like the capital letter at the beginning of a
sentence, it's just what you have to do to make your sentence
read well.
Example:
Tom's cat went across the road the road was called Willow Place
and was in Hamilton a car was going down Willow Place when it
hit Tom's cat Tom's cat went to the Blue Cat Hospital because it
was hurt
Did you know when to stop for a breath? There were lots of words
in this paragraph. Let’s see if we can make it easier to read.
Example:
Tom's cat went across the road. The road was called Willow Place
and was in Hamilton. A car was going down Willow Place when it
hit Tom's cat. Tom's cat went to the Blue Cat Hospital because
it was hurt.
You can see how much easier it is to read this paragraph with
its capital letters and full stops in the right places.
Other writing tips:
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