The Hunger Games - Punctuation

Literacy and Grammar

We use full-stops to mark the end of a sentenceWe use capital letters at the start of a sentence and for proper nouns

The Hunger Games - An introduction

The Hunger Games is a science fiction book by Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2008. It wasmade into a movie in 2012.The story takes place in a fictional country named Panem. Panem is controlled by the "Capitol"which controls the twelve poorer "districts". Every year one girl and one boy are chosen fromeach district to fight to the death. This event is called The Hunger Games.Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old girl. She is poor but she is good at hunting. Katniss is fromthe poorest district, district 12. Her father died in an explosion. Her mother is sad over thedeath of her husband. Katniss also has a 12-year-old sister named Prim. Her family is very poorand does not have enough food to eat. Katniss must hunt in the forest to get food for herfamily.The boy chosen from district 12 is Peeta Mellark. Peeta once helped Katniss and her family bygiving her bread. Peeta's family owns a bakery. They have more money than Katniss' family.Peeta loves Katniss she does not know it.

The following sentences make sense:There are big trees.The houses are old.You can see electricity pylons.Everybody seems very depressed.There is no new technology.The other sentences don't make sense as some of them do not have a verb, full-stops or capital letters.

Sentences:It is the day of the reaping and everyone is nervous.They are nervous because they don't want their name to be picked.Katniss is sixteen but her sister is younger.Everyone stands and watches the film. Effie picks a name and calls out Prim's name.Katniss volunteers because she knows that Prim would die.Effie picks another name and calls out Peeta's name.The guards take them away because they don't want them to escape.Katniss feels scared, but she tries to be brave.Katniss wants to run away but she can't.

but

and

because

We use the word ‘ ’ to connect two things that are the same.We use the word ‘ ’ to give a reason for something.We use the word ‘ ’ to connect two things that are different.

We can make sentences longer by using the simple words ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’.Look at the examples in the box.

Katniss and Peeta said goodbye to their families and went to the station. They left District 12 and travelled by train to the Capitol. The train was very new.On the train, Katniss and Peeta were amazed because they had never saw so much food before. There was lots of delicious food.Effie told them all about The Hunger Games. They met Haymitch, who was a Hunger Games winner. Haymitch wasn't really interested in helping them but he was interested in eating and drinking.Katniss watched some videos of past Hunger Games competitions.When they arrived in the Capitol, they were amazed when they saw lots of people wearing strange clothes. Everything is was different to District 12.

say saidgo wentleave lefttravel travelledis wasare werehave hadtell toldmeet metisn’t wasn't watch watchedarrive arrivedsee saw

1. Caesar talked [excitedly] about the opening ceremony.2. The crowd waited [patiently] for the ceremony to begin.3. Katniss looked [nervously] at the other tributes.4. Cinna talked [kindly] to Katniss and Peeta.5. The crowds cheered [wildly] as the tributes came out.6. The tributes from District one waved [confidently] at the crowds.7. President Snow watched the ceremony [seriously].8. Katniss and Peeta held their hand up [proudly].

The tributes is/ are all in the training room.There is/ are lots of weapons there.Katniss don’t/ doesn’t look comfortable and relaxed.Cato look/ looks relaxed. The tributes listen /listens carefully to the rules for the training room.The tributes think /thinks Peeta is weak.He show/ shows them that he is strong.The tributes practice/ practise their survival skills.Some of the tributes is/ are very aggressive in the training room.Peeta is /are good at camouflage.Rue watch/ watches Katniss.

Katniss and Peeta felt worried, anxious and tense before their evaluations.When she went in to the room, Katniss saw a bow and arrow.In the viewing gallery, Katniss could see people talking, laughing and eating.She tried to hit the target, but failed.When Katniss missed the target, everyone laughed.When Katniss tried again, she hit the target.Because people were annoying her, Katniss got angry.In the viewing gallery, people were eating fruit, pig and vegetables.Suddenly, Katniss shot an arrow in to the gallery.Katniss bowed to the gallery, put the bow down and left.

1. "Are you excited?" asked Caesar.
2. "Welcome." exclaimed Caesar.
3. "Marvel" yelled Caesar.
4. "I'm ready to go." confirmed Cato.
5. "Are you a hunter?" questioned Caesar.
6. "You know her, as the girl on fire!" stated Caesar.
7. "What?" requested Katniss.
8. "My heart stopped." admitted Caesar.
9. "Is it safe?" commented Caesar.
10. "Steady, steady" assured Caesar.

We use capital letters at the start of a sentence or for a proper noun.We use speech marks to indicate when someone is speaking.We use question marks at the end of a question.We use a comma for lists, and when there is a pause between clauses.We use a full-stop at the end of a sentence.