Formatting a Sentence – Capitalization and Question Tags

Formatting a Sentence – Capitalization and Questions Tags 

Everyone knows that the first letter of every sentence should be capitalized. But apart from this there are certain other cases too, where we use capital letters.  

Rules  

1. Always use capital letters to begin the names and other proper noun and the adjective that are derived from them. 

E.g., They are going to Tom’s house. 

2. Always begin a quote with capital letter. 

E.g., He said, “I am a looser.”  

3. Always capitalize the names of days, months, holidays, title of books, movies, and author’s name extra. 

E.g., Wasteland is my favorite poem. 

4. Always use capital letters to begin the name of country, nationality, city and language. 

E.g., English is a global language. 

5. Always capitalize the pronoun “I” irrespective of its position. 

E.g., How can you say that I am the culprit? 

Use of Comma in Sentences 

Comma is a punctuation mark that divides words, clauses or ideas in a sentence. 

Commas are used for many purposes: 

1. Commas are used to separate items in a series. 

E.g., My favorite vegetables are potato, spinach, onion and cabbage. 

2. Commas are used between the names of a city and state. 

E.g., My sister lives in Manchester, England. 

3. Commas are used with dates. They are used between day and month. 

E.g., My mother’s birthday is on 24, June. 

4. Commas are used after introductory words or mid interjection. 
   E.g., Yes, I am totally wrong. 

5. Commas are used to separate direct address.  

E.g., Steve, how are you? 

6. Commas are used to separate clauses, participle phrases, appositives,   

E.g., Joe Biden, the president of America, will inaugurate the function. 

7. Commas are used between two independent clauses that are joined with a coordination conjunction.  

E.g., I went to the shop, but I forgot to take phone. 

8. Commas are used to separate subordinate clauses at the beginning of a sentence. 

E.g., Before leaving the class, I should have conducted a seminar 

Question Tags 

A question tag is a short question that comes at the end of a statement. It is usually used while asking for confirmation or agreement. A pronoun should always be the subject of the question tag.  

E.g., The milk is white, isn’t? 

The museum isn’t closed, is it? 

In both cases, the answer is known but is being asked just for confirmation. 

Rules 

1. The subject in the statement (body part) and question tag (tail part) should be same.  

E.g., Tom was playing football, wasn’t he? 

2. She will bring the book, won’t she? 

1. When the statement is positive, we should use a negative tag. 

E.g., You are a dancer, aren’t you? 

(b) When a statement is negative, we should use a positive tag. 

E.g., Jancy isn’t a doctor, is she? 

Note: The adverb never, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely and scarcely has negative meaning. So, we use positive question tags with them. 

E.g., You seldom go to the church, do you? 

She has never worried about exams, has she? 

3. (a) When using question tags in sentences with auxiliary verbs, we have to use the same verb in the main part. 

E: Jerry had met him before, hadn’t he? 

(b) When using question tag in sentences without an auxiliary verb, we have to use an appropriate form of do. 

E.g., She went to America last Friday, didn’t she? 

E.g., He lives in Dubai, doesn’t he? 

4. When using question tag in sentences with modal verbs, we have to use the same verb in the main part. 

E.g., He won’t tell me, will he? 

Steve must come?  Mustn’t he? 

Certain exception cases: 

1. I am a teacher, aren’t I? 

Here, the question tag used for I am is aren’t I. 

2. Let’s go party, shall we? 

Here, the question tag used for let’s is shall we. 

3. Imperative question tag 

1. If the statement starts with the “DON’T”, we use “will you”? as the question tag. 

E.g., Don’t make sound, will you? 

2. If the statements starts with “let him or “them”, we use “will you” as the question tag. 

E.g., Let him do it, will you? 

3. If the statement is a request, advice, invitation, suggestion, wish, order, we can use “will you” for positive meaning and “won’t you “for the negative meaning. 

E.g., Give me a pen, won’t you? 

1. Open the window, won’t you?