English Second Language·Punctuation & spelling · NSSCO 3.1
Punctuation marks and how to use them
Narrated lesson · press play
Little marks, big job. The full stop, the comma, the question mark and their friends tell your reader when to pause, when to stop, and exactly what you mean. In this gentle lesson Miss Veronica meets every punctuation mark one by one — with a clear rule and a simple example for each — and shows how one tiny comma can be the difference between inviting Grandma to eat and eating Grandma!
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 3.1):
- Learners should be able to use the full stop to end a statement and to mark an abbreviation.
- Learners should be able to use the comma correctly in lists, after an introductory phrase, before a joining word linking two sentences, to set off extra information, and in direct address — and avoid the comma splice.
- Learners should be able to use the question mark and the exclamation mark accurately.
- Learners should be able to use inverted commas for direct speech and for titles.
- Learners should be able to use the apostrophe for contractions and to show possession.
- Learners should be able to use the colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, brackets and ellipsis, and tell a dash from a hyphen.
- Learners should be able to explain how punctuation changes the meaning of a sentence.
- Learners should be able to add missing punctuation to an unpunctuated sentence or paragraph.
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Miss Veronica and Mike talk through the whole topic — with the figure and working drawn live.