Spanish Sentence Punctuation, Capitals, and Question Marks

In this lesson, you will review how to punctuate short Spanish sentences and how to use capital and lowercase letters appropriately.

Statements end with a period

— I work in an office.
— I study Spanish.
— Today it is cold.

Questions use two question marks

Written Spanish uses an inverted question mark at the beginning and a standard question mark at the end.

— How are you?
— Where do you work?
— What are you going to do tomorrow?

Exclamations also open and close

Spanish uses an inverted exclamation mark at the beginning and a standard exclamation mark at the end.

— Hello!
— Thank you!
— Perfect!

Commas in simple sentences

A comma can separate a greeting from a name or separate simple connected information.

— Hello, Ana.
— Good morning, teacher.
— Today it is sunny, but it is cold.

Capitalize the beginning of a sentence

— I work in Madrid.
— Today I study Spanish.

Capitalize proper names

— Ana lives here.
— Carlos works in Madrid.
— I am going to Valencia.

Languages and nationalities are normally lowercase

— I speak Spanish.
— I speak English.
— I am Spanish.

Days and months are normally lowercase

— On Monday I work.
— On Saturday I study.
— My birthday is in June.

Do not copy English capitalization automatically

English often capitalizes languages, nationalities, weekdays, and months. Spanish normally does not.

Punctuating only the question part

If only part of a sentence is a question, the question marks surround the part that is actually interrogative.

— Hello, Ana. Where are you?

Keep familiar written accents

Correct punctuation does not replace accent marks.

— What are you doing?
— Where is the station?
— When is the class?

Editing task

Review this corrected model:

— Hello, Marta. How are you? Today I study Spanish at home. On Saturday I am going to Madrid.

A practical editing method

Capitalize the first word of each sentence.
Capitalize names and place names.
Keep languages, nationalities, days, and months lowercase.
Use both opening and closing question marks.
Use both opening and closing exclamation marks.
Keep written accent marks in words that require them.

From Writing Mechanics to the A1 Reading and Listening Checkpoint

You can now review short Spanish writing for punctuation, capitalization, question marks, and familiar accent marks. The next lesson is the A1 reading and listening checkpoint, where you will organize a practical day in a new city.