Capital Letters and Sentence Endings

What you’ll learn

Mark the beginning and end of a sentence.

សម្គាល់ដើម និងចុងប្រយោគដោយអក្សរធំ និងវណ្ណយុត្តិ។

Writing focus

Begin a sentence with a capital letter. Capitalise the pronoun I, people’s names, places, days, months, and language names. End a statement with a full stop and a direct question with a question mark. A line break alone does not show how sentences relate in ordinary prose.

ចាប់ផ្ដើមប្រយោគដោយអក្សរធំ។ I ឈ្មោះមនុស្ស ទីកន្លែង ថ្ងៃ ខែ និងភាសា ត្រូវប្រើអក្សរធំ។ ប្រយោគថ្លែងបញ្ចប់ដោយខណ្ឌ ហើយសំណួរផ្ទាល់ដោយសញ្ញាសួរ។

Writing patterns

Pattern	Example or form
Sentence boundary	We arrived. The room was empty.
Proper names	Dara lives in Kampot.
Pronoun and language	I study English.
Direct question	When does the lesson start?

Examples

1. I live in Phnom Penh.

   ខ្ញុំរស់នៅភ្នំពេញ។

2. Our lesson is on Monday.

   មេរៀនយើងនៅថ្ងៃចន្ទ។

3. Do you study English?

   តើអ្នករៀនអង់គ្លេសទេ?

4. Please bring your notebook.

   សូមយកសៀវភៅកត់ត្រារបស់អ្នកមក។

Model writing

My name is Dara. I live in Kampot.

I study English on Monday and Friday. My class starts at six.

Would you like to study with me?

Common mistakes

Instead of	Use	Why
i study english.	I study English.	Capitalise I and the language name.
The lesson starts at six what time will you arrive?	The lesson starts at six. What time will you arrive?	Separate the statement and direct question.

Practice

Try these questions before opening the answers. Write or say each answer.

សាកល្បងឆ្លើយសំណួរទាំងនេះជាមុនសិន មុននឹងបើកមើលចម្លើយ។ អ្នកអាចសរសេរ ឬនិយាយចម្លើយរបស់អ្នក។

1. Correct capitals: dara lives in kampot.
2. Add sentence endings: I have a question Can you help me
3. Write a sentence naming a day and a language.

Answers and explanations

Show answers / បង្ហាញចម្លើយ

1. Dara lives in Kampot.

   People’s names, place names, and sentence openings take capitals.

2. I have a question. Can you help me?

   The statement takes a full stop; the question takes a question mark.

3. I study English on Friday.

   Model answer: capitalise both English and Friday.

Quick recap

• Capitalise the first word, I, and proper names.
• Use a full stop for a statement.
• Use a question mark for a direct question.