Sesotho Home Language - Term 1 - Week 9

Punctuation marks are important in writing because they help us understand the meaning of sentences. In Sesotho, we use full stops (.), commas (,), and question marks (?) to show pauses and the end of thoughts. Today, we will learn how to use these punctuation marks correctly in our sentences.

Let's look at the sentence: 'Ke rata ho bapala'. This sentence means 'I like to play'. Notice that it has no punctuation. We can edit it to: 'Ke rata ho bapala.' Now it has a full stop at the end, which shows that the thought is complete.

I will read a short sentence, and you will help me add the correct punctuation. For example, if I say 'O kae', you will tell me that it needs a question mark because it is a question. Let's try another one: 'Ke ja borai'. What punctuation should we add at the end?

Now it's your turn to write! Write three sentences about your favorite animal. Remember to use correct spacing between words and add punctuation at the end of each sentence. After you finish, we will share our sentences with the class.

• .
• ?
• ,
• !

Answer: .

A full stop is used to indicate the end of a statement.

• Ke rata borai.
• O kae?
• Ke thabile.
• Ke ja.

Answer: O kae?

The sentence 'O kae?' is a question and ends with a question mark.

Answer: Ke rata pizza.

This sentence means 'I like pizza' and should end with a full stop.

• Punctuation
• Spacing
• Editing
• Grammar

Answer: Spacing

Spacing refers to the gaps we leave between words in a sentence.

Answer: !

An exclamation mark is used to show excitement or strong feelings.

• Ke ja, borai
• Ke ja borai.
• Ke ja borai!
• Ke ja borai?

Answer: Ke ja borai.

The correct sentence ends with a full stop.

• One
• Two
• Three
• Four

Answer: Three

You should write three sentences about your favorite animal.

Answer: We check for punctuation and spacing.

Editing involves checking that sentences have the correct punctuation and spacing.