End Marks and Complete Sentences

This lesson is about the tiny marks at the end, and about something even more important: knowing when you actually have a sentence.

Full stop for statements that tell you something. Question mark for questions, and questions only. Exclamation mark for strong feeling, like surprise or danger. One mark per sentence, at the end.

Here is the test. A real sentence needs a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. The dog in the garden. No verb, not a thought finished. So it is a fragment, not a sentence.

For explanation sentences, these three words are your tools. Because gives the reason. So gives the result. Which adds the detail. The match was cancelled because it rained, so we watched a film instead.

Look at what one mark does. You are coming, full stop: I am telling you. You are coming, question mark: really? You are coming, exclamation mark: I am thrilled. Same words, three different mornings.

Now you can choose the right end mark, spot a fragment from a mile away, and write a proper explanation sentence. Off to the quiz.