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Verbal Ability lesson

Punctuation and Capitalization

Every punctuation mark has a job. Learn the job of each mark, the four correct ways to join two sentences, and when a word takes a capital letter.

30 min read · Professional and Sub-Professional

What it is

Punctuation marks are the signs that organize writing: the period (.), question mark (?), exclamation point (!), comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:), apostrophe ('), quotation marks (" "), hyphen (-), dashes (– —), ellipsis (...), parentheses, brackets and the ampersand (&).

Capitalization means using a capital (big) letter at the start of a sentence and for specific names, such as people, places, agencies, laws, days and months.

Why it matters on the exam

In error identification and sentence correction, the underlined part is often a comma, an apostrophe or a capital letter. Many choices differ by just one mark, so you need to know each mark's job.

At work, punctuation changes meaning. "Let's eat, Ana" invites Ana; "Let's eat Ana" does not. In memos and letters, correct capitals for offices, titles and laws look careful and official.

Rule 1 of 10End marks: period, question mark, exclamation point
A period ends a statement or a mild command. A question mark ends a direct question. An exclamation point shows strong feeling. A reported (indirect) question ends with a period.
Worked example 1 of 4Sentence correction: a comma splice
Choose the best replacement for the underlined part. If it is already correct, choose E.
The seminar ended at noon, the participants went to lunch together.
  1. noon the participants
  2. noon, so the participants
  3. noon, however the participants
  4. noon: and the participants
  5. No change
Step 1 · Check both sides"The seminar ended at noon" can stand alone. "The participants went to lunch together" can stand alone. Two complete sentences.
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In the full lesson

  • How to recognize it on the test
  • What to look for (7 checks)
  • All 10 rules and tools
  • 4 worked examples, every step explained
  • 7 common mistakes and how to fix them
  • 4 exam techniques
  • Remember: 5 key points
  • Practice questions with explanations, and your progress saved
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More Verbal Ability lessons

ReviewTayo has 47 lessons that follow the official scope of the exam, each with rules, worked examples, common mistakes and practice. Open one and read the first part.

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