Year 1 English Questions and Exclamations: check-up and quiz

Key words. A question mark (?) ends a sentence that asks something.

Method. Read the sentence first, then decide what it does.

1. Read the sentence, leaving out its end mark. Look at what the words say.
   Where is the cat ___
2. Decide what it does. It asks us something, so it ends with a question mark.
   It is asking something.
3. Name the mark. Each end mark has its own name.
   question mark (?)

Check. Add the mark to the end and read it aloud. It sounds like a question. ✓

Watch out. A question still needs a question mark, even when it is short.

Key words. An exclamation mark (!) ends a sentence that shows a strong feeling.

Method. Decide what the sentence does, then choose its end mark.

1. Read the sentence aloud. Listen to what it is saying.
   Wow, look at that big cake
2. Decide what it does. It shows a strong feeling, so it ends with an exclamation mark.
   It is showing a strong feeling.
3. Add the end mark. The exclamation mark goes straight after the last word.
   Wow, look at that big cake!

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds excited or strong. ✓

Watch out. Use an exclamation mark only for a strong feeling. Most sentences do not need one.

Key words. A question word starts a question, like who, what, where, when, why or how.

Method. Think about what the question wants to know, then pick the question word for it.

1. Read the question with the gap. Look at the words after the gap.
   ___ did the cake fall?
2. Think about the answer. why asks about a reason.
   Why asks about a reason.
3. Write the question word. Start the question with a capital letter.
   Why did the cake fall?

Check. Read the whole question aloud: Why did the cake fall? ✓

Watch out. The question still ends with a question mark.

Method. Check whether the sentence asks for information.

1. Read the sentence. Listen to what it asks.
   Do you like apples?
2. Check the job. It asks if you like apples, so it is a question.
   It is asking.
3. Write the answer.
   Yes. It is a question.

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds like a question. ✓

Watch out. A question asks for information, even without a question word.

Key words. An exclamation mark (!) ends a sentence that shows a strong feeling.

Method. Look at the end of each sentence. Ask what each one does.

1. Read both sentences. Look at the end of each one.
   A: The sun is up.   B: Hooray, the sun is up!
2. Decide what the right one does. It shows a strong feeling, so it ends with an exclamation mark.
   It is showing a strong feeling.
3. Pick the sentence with the right end mark. The other one has the wrong end mark for what it does.
   B: Hooray, the sun is up!

Check. Read both out loud. It sounds excited or strong. ✓

Watch out. Look at the end of the sentence, and ask what it does.

Key words. A full stop (.) ends a sentence that tells something.

Method. Decide what the sentence does, then choose its end mark.

1. Read the sentence aloud. Listen to what it is saying.
   The bus is late
2. Decide what it does. It tells us something, so it ends with a full stop.
   It is telling something.
3. Add the end mark. The full stop goes straight after the last word.
   The bus is late.

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds finished. ✓

Watch out. Most sentences end with a full stop. Do not use a question mark or exclamation mark just because the sentence is short.

Key words. Singular means one. Plural means more than one.

Method. Plural means more than one. Change the word so it means more than one.

1. Start with the word for one. Singular means one.
   one dog
2. Make it mean more than one. Add the ending that makes more than one.
   dog → dogs
3. Write the plural.
   dogs

Check. Say it out loud: one dog, two dogs. ✓

Watch out. Check the ending. Most words add -s. Words ending in x, ch, sh or s add -es, like boxes.

Key words. A word is a group of letters that we say together, like cat.

Method. Touch each word once. The end mark is not a word.

1. Read the sentence slowly. Listen for the spaces between the words.
   Where is my red hat?
2. Touch each word as you say it. Each word has a space before it and after it.
   Where · is · my · red · hat
3. Count the words. The number you counted is the number of words.
   5 words

Check. Count again from the last word back to the first. You get 5 again. ✓

Watch out. Do not count the question mark or the exclamation mark as a word.

Method. Think about what a question mark tells the reader.

1. Think about the reader. A reader sees the mark and knows the sentence is a question.
   A question mark
2. Think about the job. The mark shows the sentence is asking something.
   It shows a question.
3. Write the answer.
   It tells the reader that the sentence is asking something.

Check. Read a sentence with and without the mark. You can see the difference. ✓

Watch out. Without the question mark, the reader does not know the sentence is asking.

Method. Think about the job of a sentence that tells something.

1. Read the job. A sentence that tells something gives information.
   tells
2. Find the mark. A sentence that tells something ends with a full stop.
   tells = full stop
3. Write the answer.
   full stop (.)

Check. Read a sentence that tells something and check it ends with a dot. ✓

Watch out. The full stop is the most common end mark.

Key words. A question mark (?) ends a sentence that asks something.

Method. Decide what the sentence does, then choose its end mark.

1. Read the sentence aloud. Listen to what it is saying.
   Why is the door shut
2. Decide what it does. It asks us something, so it ends with a question mark.
   It is asking something.
3. Add the end mark. The question mark goes straight after the last word.
   Why is the door shut?

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds like a question. ✓

Watch out. A question still needs a question mark, even when it is short.

Key words. An exclamation mark (!) ends a sentence that shows a strong feeling.

Method. Decide what the sentence does, then choose its end mark.

1. Read the sentence aloud. Listen to what it is saying.
   Hooray, the rain has stopped
2. Decide what it does. It shows a strong feeling, so it ends with an exclamation mark.
   It is showing a strong feeling.
3. Add the end mark. The exclamation mark goes straight after the last word.
   Hooray, the rain has stopped!

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds excited or strong. ✓

Watch out. Use an exclamation mark only for a strong feeling. Most sentences do not need one.

Key words. Who asks about a person. Where asks about a place. When asks about a time.

Method. Think about the kind of answer we want.

1. Think about the answer. We want to know about a time.
   The answer is a time.
2. Find the question word for it. when asks about a time.
   when = a time
3. Write the question word.
   when

Check. Ask the question: When is lunch? ✓

Watch out. Each question word asks for a different kind of answer.

Key words. A question mark (?) ends a sentence that asks something.

Method. Look at the end of each sentence. Ask what each one does.

1. Read both sentences. Look at the end of each one.
   A: Ali is in the bath.   B: Is Ali in the bath?
2. Decide what the right one does. It asks us something, so it ends with a question mark.
   It is asking something.
3. Pick the sentence with the right end mark. The other one has the wrong end mark for what it does.
   B: Is Ali in the bath?

Check. Read both out loud. It sounds like a question. ✓

Watch out. Look at the end of the sentence, and ask what it does.

Key words. An exclamation mark (!) ends a sentence that shows a strong feeling.

Method. Decide what the sentence does, then choose its end mark.

1. Read the sentence aloud. Listen to what it is saying.
   Wow
2. Decide what it does. It shows a strong feeling, so it ends with an exclamation mark.
   It is showing a strong feeling.
3. Add the end mark. The exclamation mark goes straight after the last word.
   Wow!

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds excited or strong. ✓

Watch out. Use an exclamation mark only for a strong feeling. Most sentences do not need one.

Key words. Singular means one. Plural means more than one.

Method. Plural means more than one. Change the word so it means more than one.

1. Start with the word for one. Singular means one.
   one bus
2. Make it mean more than one. Add the ending that makes more than one.
   bus → buses
3. Write the plural.
   buses

Check. Say it out loud: one bus, two buses. ✓

Watch out. Check the ending. Most words add -s. Words ending in x, ch, sh or s add -es, like boxes.

Method. Check what the sentence does: does it ask, or does it tell?

1. Read the sentence. It asks where the park is.
   Where is the park?
2. Decide what it does. It asks something, so it needs a question mark.
   It is asking.
3. Write the answer.
   No. It asks something, so it needs a question mark.

Check. Read it aloud. It sounds like a question. ✓

Watch out. Look at what the sentence does, not at the words it has.

Method. Turn the sentence into a question, then add the right end mark.

1. Read the sentence. It tells us Ruby can swim.
   Ruby can swim.
2. Move the word can to the front. A question puts can before the name.
   Can Ruby swim
3. Write the question. It now asks something, so it needs a question mark.
   Can Ruby swim?

Check. Read it aloud. It asks something and ends with a question mark. ✓

Watch out. The question mark replaces the full stop.

Method. Think about the first letter, the question, and the end mark.

1. Look at the first letter. It is small, so it needs a capital.
   can
2. Make the first letter a capital. Write the capital C.
   C
3. Add the end mark. We want to ask, so it needs a question mark.
   Can we play with the ball?

Check. Read it aloud. It starts with a capital and ends with a question mark. ✓

Watch out. Check the start and the end of the sentence.