LG Extravert

Hey just got this phone and can't figure out how to use the shift key for punctuation, etc. When I hit shift and then the letter key I just get that letter and same thing if I hold down the shift key and press letter key at the same time. are keys or numbers locked? first time with a qwerty keypad- old dinosaur phone had to keep pressing keys down to get correct letter/number. any help would be appreciated. hope i don't have a lot of problems with memory as others have.