How to use full stops

What are full stops?

A sentence is a group of words that are connected to each other.

A full stop shows where a sentence ends.

The parrot swooped down.

Full stops separate two sentences and show where pieces of information are not linked.

The parrot swooped down. It tried to snatch Betty's sandwich.

Let’s go on safari with Betty and Harry and see how they use full stops to make their notes clear.

A sentence is a group of words about one idea. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a piece of punctuation.

Full stops separate sentences about different ideas, so your writing is clear.

Without a full stop, sentences can run together and sound confusing.

The elephants splashed the jeep drove away.

This sounds like the jeep got splashed by the elephants.

A full stop is needed to separate the two sentences.

The elephants splashed. The jeep drove away.

A longer sentence can link two pieces of information about the same idea using words like ‘and’ or ‘but’.

It still needs a full stop at the very end.

We watched the monkeys but they hid in the tree.

Full stops always go at the end of sentences.

Betty and Harry have written about the rainforest on their latest adventure.

Choose the sentence written correctly.

a) I saw a bright parrot fly past.

b) the monkey swung across the branches

c) we climbed up the tall tree.

Betty and Harry are on a mountain trek. They’ve written about what they saw, but the punctuation is missing.

Add in the missing full stops to the sentence below.

We climbed a steep hill and we saw a family of goats The wind was very strong but we reached the top safely

Hide three “treasures” (toys, books, objects) in your room for a friend or adult to find.

To help them find the items, write a list of clue sentences.

Remember, each sentence should start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Each sentence should share one clue or idea.