English Quiz - Punctuation (Exclamation Marks) 01 (Questions)

Exclamation marks are used for: interjections (Ouch!), commands (Sit down!) and to exclaim or show surprise/anger (That's your second warning!). Try to use a range of punctuation in your writing, including exclamation marks. But, be careful! Overuse of exclamation marks makes them lose their effect!

I love writing! It's my favourite thing! When I wake up in the morning, I grab my notebook from the desk, SLAP! it down and just begin writing! If I'm feeling inspired, I can keep writing for half an hour! And all that before I even think of having breakfast!

Are you exhausted yet from reading that? Besides using exclamation marks for commands and interjections, you can use them sparingly to emphasise the suddenness of an event, the strength of an emotional reaction or the loudness of a sound. It's fine, of course, to use more exclamation marks when writing informally, such as in messages to friends, but they become less effective in more formal writing. Spending more time using words to express your meaning will help you be less reliant on exclamation marks.

Nevertheless, it is important to know how to use them correctly, so try this quiz for practice.

1.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	I think that you need to look out
[ ]	Look out
[ ]	Please could you look out for my bag
[ ]	The look-out is on the cliff

2.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Dear John, I hope that you are well
[ ]	Oh dear
[ ]	The letter is from my dear Aunty Jean
[ ]	The Smiths have got a dear little puppy

3.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	As you can appreciate, I was not pleased
[ ]	I appreciated him telling me why he was late
[ ]	I wasn't pleased when he came home so late
[ ]	Why was I not pleased when he came home late

4.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Could you stop that thief please
[ ]	Is that thief stopping
[ ]	Stop thief
[ ]	Would you tell that thief to stop

5.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Please could you tell them that the paint is wet
[ ]	The paint was wet; he did not touch it
[ ]	Wet paint - don't touch
[ ]	Why can't I touch the wet paint

6.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Did you have to stand up on the train
[ ]	I asked him if he would mind standing up
[ ]	Stand up
[ ]	The passengers stand up because there are no free seats

7.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	I asked him if he would tidy up this mess
[ ]	Tidy up this mess
[ ]	We are tidying up this mess
[ ]	We will tidy up this mess in the morning

8.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Could you help me please
[ ]	He asked her for help
[ ]	Help
[ ]	I asked you to help

9.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Come in
[ ]	I said that he could come on in
[ ]	They are coming in with the tide
[ ]	Will you come in and have a cup of tea

10.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Has he passed his test yet
[ ]	He passed his test last year
[ ]	They cheered loudly because he passed his test
[ ]	You've passed Hooray

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Punctuation

English Quiz - Punctuation (Exclamation Marks) 01 (Answers)

1.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	I think that you need to look out
[x]	Look out
[ ]	Please could you look out for my bag
[ ]	The look-out is on the cliff

Look out!

2.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Dear John, I hope that you are well
[x]	Oh dear
[ ]	The letter is from my dear Aunty Jean
[ ]	The Smiths have got a dear little puppy

"Oh dear!" is an exclamation

3.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[x]	As you can appreciate, I was not pleased
[ ]	I appreciated him telling me why he was late
[ ]	I wasn't pleased when he came home so late
[ ]	Why was I not pleased when he came home late

The exclamation mark hints at strong feeling

4.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Could you stop that thief please
[ ]	Is that thief stopping
[x]	Stop thief
[ ]	Would you tell that thief to stop

"Stop thief!" requires an exclamation mark

5.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Please could you tell them that the paint is wet
[ ]	The paint was wet; he did not touch it
[x]	Wet paint - don't touch
[ ]	Why can't I touch the wet paint

Exclamation marks add force to a sentence

6.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Did you have to stand up on the train
[ ]	I asked him if he would mind standing up
[x]	Stand up
[ ]	The passengers stand up because there are no free seats

"Stand up!" is an order

7.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	I asked him if he would tidy up this mess
[x]	Tidy up this mess
[ ]	We are tidying up this mess
[ ]	We will tidy up this mess in the morning

"Tidy up this mess!" Instructions with exclamation marks have more force

8.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Could you help me please
[ ]	He asked her for help
[x]	Help
[ ]	I asked you to help

"Help!" is probably a shout

9.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[x]	Come in
[ ]	I said that he could come on in
[ ]	They are coming in with the tide
[ ]	Will you come in and have a cup of tea

Exclamation marks give us a clue how something should be said

10.

Which of the following needs an exclamation mark?

[ ]	Has he passed his test yet
[ ]	He passed his test last year
[ ]	They cheered loudly because he passed his test
[x]	You've passed Hooray

"You've passed! Hooray!" needs two exclamation marks