vonsmith,
Let's assume that Hal's name is Zero. If we respond with "Zero. Are you tired?" (putting a period after the name), will Hal forget "Zero" and remember "Are you tired?" In other words, does Hal regard that utterance as 2 discrete sentences or as one all-inclusive response?
Furthermore, if we tie 2 or 3 sentences together with, say, a semicolon or commas, will Hal digest all of that as a whole, or break it up into smaller bits? How important is end-punctuation in teaching Hal?