Xitsonga Home Language - Term 2 - Week 7

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

Let's look at a simple sentence: 'Nwa n'wana u etlhelele.' (The child is playing.) Notice how we start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. If we want to ask a question, we can say: 'Nwa n'wana u etlhelele?' (Is the child playing?) Here, we use a question mark at the end. Let's practice identifying the punctuation in these sentences together.

I will write a sentence on the board with mistakes. For example: 'nwa n'wana u etlhelele, u dya.' (The child is playing, he is eating.) Can you find the mistakes? Let's work together to correct it. We need to make sure the sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. After correcting, we will read it aloud.

Now it's your turn! Write three sentences about what you did yesterday. Remember to start each sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop. After writing, read your sentences to a partner and check if they have the correct punctuation. You can also draw a picture to go with your sentences!

• Full stop (.)
• Comma (,)
• Question mark (?)
• Exclamation mark (!)

Answer: Question mark (?)

A question mark is used to indicate that a sentence is asking something.

• nwa n'wana u etlhelele.
• Nwa n'wana u etlhelele
• Nwa n'wana u etlhelele!
• nwa n'wana U etlhelele.

Answer: Nwa n'wana u etlhelele.

The correct sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.

Answer: Punctuation mark

Punctuation marks help us understand how to read sentences.

• Nwa n'wana u etlhelele?
• Nwa n'wana u etlhelele
• Nwa n'wana u etlhelele!

Answer: Nwa n'wana u etlhelele

This sentence is a statement and needs a full stop at the end.

Answer: My favorite food is X.

Students should provide a complete sentence that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.

• To end a sentence
• To show a pause
• To ask a question
• To start a sentence

Answer: To show a pause

A comma is used to indicate a brief pause in a sentence.

Answer: Start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.

These are essential rules for writing correct sentences.

• Full stop (.)
• Comma (,)