Three ways to end a sentence | Punctuation | Khan Academy

Hello Garans and hello Paige, hi David. So today we're going to talk about the three different ways to end a sentence. This is what we call a terminal punctuation of English. Um, Paige, what are those three ways?

So the first is a period, okay? And then, an exclamation point, and a question mark. A period is just sort of the standard ending to a sentence, sure, right? It goes at the end of, I think, most sentences. Um, I would say that all of the sentences that we have spoken so far would probably end in periods. So what's a good example sentence that we could use a period at the end of?

“My mom ate a cookie.” So that's just sort of a straight-up regular old sentence. Yeah, just a standard declaration of a fact, exactly. This is a thing that is true: my mom ate a cookie. Yes, cool. And then we just put this, this period there to say that's the end of the thought, end of line.

So then what… what is an exclamation point for? Like, what would we use that for? Yeah, so an exclamation point is pretty much if someone is excited about what they're saying. Okay, I think so. If I were to say, “I'm going to eat so much candy when I get home,” I think that was probably an exclamation, sure, and ends in an exclamation point.

But it's not just like good excitement either, right? It's not just like “woo this is awesome.” Totally. There can be, you know, anger, like “go to your room,” right? Or like fear if you said… yes, exactly. We have the period, which is kind of this all-purpose terminal punctuation. You can just say a regular declarative sentence: here is a fact, my mom ate a cookie.

Or you can use exclamation points to demonstrate excitement or strong emotion, whether good or bad. So like, an interjection like “ah” or a command like “go to your room,” or if you're super excited, “I'm going to eat so much candy.”

What is this thing used for? Well, I think that was a perfect example of what that thing is used for. That is a question mark, which goes at the end of a question. So it basically just signifies, “I don't, I don't know the answer to this thing and I would like an answer to it, please.”

So, okay, so Paige, what's an example question that we could throw out using a question mark? How about, “Is this edible?” No, that's the eternal question I ask myself that every day.

Okay, so we have periods, just statements of facts; exclamations, expressions of strong emotion; or question marks, which ask a question, I guess? Yeah, cool.

Thanks Paige! Thank you for having me! You can learn anything, David out, Paige out.