A sentence expresses a complete thought. Early writers can build a sentence by saying who or what it is about, then telling what happens. Speaking the sentence before writing it helps a child check whether the idea is complete.
Find the naming word and action
A noun names a person, place, animal or thing. A verb can tell what someone or something does. In ‘The bird sings’, bird is a noun and sings is the verb. Adding a detail can make the picture clearer: ‘The small bird sings softly.’
Keep early sentences short. A complete short sentence is more useful than a long group of words with no clear meaning.
- Who or what? The children.
- What happens? The children play.
- Where? The children play in the park.
Check the beginning and ending
Begin a sentence with a capital letter. A statement usually ends with a full stop. A direct question ends with a question mark. Names of people and places also begin with capitals, even in the middle of a sentence.
- Statement: Rina reads a book.
- Question: Where is Rina’s book?
- Leave a space between words so readers can separate them.
Put it into practice
A worked example
Turn ‘the dog runs’ into a correctly written sentence.
- The thought is complete: it tells us about the dog and its action.
- Give the first word a capital letter and add a full stop.
Answer: The dog runs.
Try it yourself
Have a go before revealing the answer.
Complete this sentence with an action: ‘The fish ___.’
Show answer
One possible answer is ‘The fish swims.’
Answer: One possible answer is ‘The fish swims.’
Correct: ‘where is amit’
Show answer
Where is Amit?
Answer: Where is Amit?
Watch out for these
- A group such as ‘in the garden’ usually needs more words to express a complete thought.
- Use a question mark for a question, rather than adding one to every sentence.
Continue with official resources
Match these concept notes to your current textbook and syllabus. They are independent explanations, not official board publications.
