Python for complete beginners · Unit 1: Getting started · Lesson 2 of 24

Lesson 2: print() and strings – talking in text

print() is the instruction you'll use more than any other. Learn exactly how it works, what strings are, and how to print text, numbers and sums.

⏱ About 35 minutesFor complete beginners: grades 6–8 and adultsRuns in your browser – nothing to install

The parts of a print instruction

Every print instruction has the same shape. Here are its parts:

• The name, print. This is a function: a ready-made job that Python knows how to do.
• Round brackets. When you write a function name followed by brackets, you call the function – you tell Python "do this job now".
• What goes inside the brackets. This is called the argument. It's the thing you hand to the function to work on. For print, it's what you want shown.

Think of a function as a machine with a slot. You drop something in the slot (the argument) and the machine does its job with it. The print machine's job is to show whatever you give it.

Strings: text in quote marks

A string is a piece of text. It can be a letter, a word, a sentence, or even empty. In Python you put strings inside quote marks. Both kinds work:

1print("Double quotes work")
2print('Single quotes work too')

Double quotes work
Single quotes work too

Why have two kinds? Because sometimes the text itself contains a quote mark. If you write 'It's raining', Python sees the apostrophe in It's as the end of the string and gets confused. The fix is to wrap the string in the other kind of quote mark:

print("It's raining")
print('She said "hello"')

A string can hold spaces, numbers and symbols too. Python prints everything between the quote marks exactly as it is, spaces and all.

Numbers and sums

You don't have to print text. You can print numbers, and they don't need quote marks. Whole numbers like 7 or 2026 are called integers.

Python can also do math for you. The symbols + (add), - (subtract), * (multiply) and / (divide) are called operators. Look very carefully at the difference quote marks make:

1print("2 + 3")
2print(2 + 3)
3print(10 * 4)

2 + 3
5
40

This is one of the most important ideas in today's lesson: quote marks mean "treat this as text". Without them, Python tries to understand and work out what you wrote.

print(12 + 30)
print(100 - 1)
print(6 * 7)

Printing several things at once

You can give print more than one argument. Put a comma between them, and print shows them on one line with a space in between:

1print("I am", 12, "years old")
2print("Total:", 5 + 5)

I am 12 years old
Total: 10

Commas are handy because you can mix strings and numbers freely, and the spaces are added for you.

Joining strings with +

With two numbers, + adds. With two strings, + joins them end to end. Joining strings is called concatenation (a long word that just means "chaining together").

1print("sun" + "flower")
2print("sun" + " " + "flower")

sunflower
sun flower

Unlike commas, + never adds spaces for you. And it only joins strings to strings – trying "Age: " + 12 causes an error. You'll see how to fix that in a later lesson; for now, use a comma when you want to mix text and numbers.

print("rain" + "bow")
print("Hello" + ", " + "Sam")

Two fun extras

print() with nothing in the brackets prints an empty line – useful for spacing out your output. And you can multiply a string by a number to repeat it:

print("ha" * 3)
print()
print("-" * 20)

Your turn

Remember: press Check to have your answer marked. Use Stuck? if you need a nudge.

print("HELLO")
print("my name is")
print("Sam")

2 + 3
5
23

print("It's my turn")

print(7 * 24)

print("Score:", 10)

Common mistakes

Quick quiz

Recap

• print is a function. What goes in its brackets is the argument.
• A string is text in quote marks. Use "…" or '…'; pick the other kind if the text contains one.
• Without quote marks, Python works sums out: print(2 + 3) shows 5.
• Commas print several things with spaces between them.
• + joins strings with no space (concatenation).

Next lesson is one of the most useful in the whole course: what to do when Python shows you an error – and why errors are completely normal.

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