Sentences and Punctuation: Class 3 Study Guide
A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense. Punctuation tells the reader how to read it.
Every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. It needs a subject (the person or thing we are talking about) and a verb. The monkey climbed the tree is a complete sentence. Climbed the tree is not, because we do not know who climbed.
There are four kinds of sentences: a statement tells something, a question asks something, a command tells someone to do something and an exclamation shows strong feeling.
The four kinds of sentence
| Kind | Ends with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | Full stop . | We visited the Red Fort. |
| Question | Question mark ? | Where is the museum? |
| Command | Full stop or ! | Close the door. |
| Exclamation | Exclamation mark ! | What a beautiful rangoli! |
Other punctuation marks
A comma separates items in a list: I bought apples, bananas, grapes and oranges. An apostrophe shows that letters are missing (don't = do not) or that something belongs to someone (Gita's bag). Inverted commas (speech marks) go around the words someone says: "Come here," said Mother.
Joining sentences
Use joining words (conjunctions) such as and, but, because, so and or to make longer sentences. I wanted to play, but it was raining. She was tired, so she went to bed early.
It was hot. We drank water.
so
It was hot, so we drank water.
Worked examples and common mistakes
Correct this: what is your name becomes What is your name? Add commas: We saw lions tigers and bears becomes We saw lions, tigers and bears. Common mistakes are missing capital letters (even for I), using full stops for questions and using apostrophes in plurals (write 'two books', not 'two book's').
Check your understanding: model answers
1. For example: Our school has a big playground. (statement) Where is the library? (question) Please sit down. (command) 2. "Where are you going?" asked Mina. 3. She was happy because she won the prize.
✨ Key Takeaways
- A sentence has a subject and a verb and makes complete sense.
- Statements, questions, commands and exclamations end with different marks.
- Commas separate items in a list.
- Joining words make longer, clearer sentences.
💬 Questions for Discussion & Reflection
- Write one statement, one question and one command about your school.
- Add punctuation: where are you going asked mina
- Join using 'because': She was happy. She won the prize.
Print lined paper for writing →