15 years ago
Punctuation-LESSON 3
Punctuation are expressions used in symbolic form to be presented in paper. Due to the advent of the internet, people have adopted the ‘short messages’, hence not many are aware of using punctuation.
CAPITAL LETTERS-
usage-starting of a sentence/name/pronoun ‘I’/Abbrevations/Titles(Sir,Madam,Master,Mister,etc),’God’
Examples-
a. India is my country.I love my country
b. Mr. Singh will be addressing the gathering shortly.
COMMA(,)-
usage-to list things/to separate two sentences/short pause
Examples-
a. Ram,Lakshman and Bhim are good friends.
b. I like reading, listening to music, taking long walks, and visiting with my friends.
c. In order to qualify for your certificate, you will need to take the TOEFL exam.
PERIOD(.)
Use a period to end a complete sentence. A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and predicate. In British English a period is called a 'full stop'.
Examples-
a. He went to Delhi last week.
b. They are going to visit.
QUESTION MARK (?)
The question mark is used at the end of a question. Generally questions beginning with ‘What’,’where’,’whom’,’when’,’which’ and ’how’ ends with a question mark ‘?’
Examples-
a. Where do you live?
b. How long have they been studying?
EXCLAMATION POINT (!)
The exclamation point is used at the end of a sentence to indicate great surprise. It is also used for emphasis when making a point.
Examples-
a. That ride was fantastic!
b. I can't believe he is going to marry her!
SEMICOLON ( ; )
There are two uses for a semicolon:
1. To separate two independent clauses. One or both of the clauses are short and the ideas expressed are usually very similar.
2. To separate groups of words that are themselves separated by commas.
Examples-
a. He loves studying; He can't get enough of school.
b. What an incredible situation; it must make you nervous. c. I took a holiday and played golf, which I love; read a lot, which I needed to do; and slept late, which I hadn't done for quite a while.
d. They plan to study German, for their travels; chemistry, for their work; and literature, for their own enjoyment.
COLON ( : )
A colon can be used To provide additional details and explanation; and to introduce a direct quote (a comma can also be used in this situation).
Examples:
a. He had many reasons for joining the gym: to get in shape, to make new friends, to lose some weight, and to get out of the house.
b. She gave notice for the following reasons: bad pay, horrible hours, poor relations with colleagues,and her boss. c. He announced to his friends: "I'm getting married!"
d. She cried out: "I never want to see you again!"
HYPHEN (-)
Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to some words. The purpose of this hyphen is to make the word easier to read. If you were to leave the hyphen out of a word like re-examine, it would be reexamine, which would be harder to read. Understand that some words do not require a hyphen to separate the prefix from the word, such as restate, pretest, and undo. Let a dictionary be your guide for when to use the hyphen after a prefix. When you use a hyphen, the two words have to rely on each other. Example: re-arrange.
Examples-
a. Cara is his ex-girlfriend
b. The up-to-date newspaper reporters were quick to jump on the latest scandal
DASH(--)
The dash ( -- or — ) should be used when making a brief interruption within a statement, a sudden change of thought, an additional comment, or a dramatic qualification. It can also be used to add a parenthetical statement, such as for further clarification, but should still be relevant to the sentence. Otherwise, use parentheses. Keep in mind that the rest of the sentence should still flow naturally.
Eamples-
a. An introductory clause is a brief phrase that comes—yes, you guessed it—at the beginning of a sentence. b. This is the end of our sentence—or so we thought.
DOUBLE QUOTATION(“ “)
The double quotation ( " ) encloses a direct quotation, whether made by a person or taken from a piece of literature.
Examples-
a. According to the article, the value of the dollar in developing nations is "strongly influenced by its aesthetic value, rather than its face value."
b. "I can't wait to see him perform!" John exclaimed.
SINGLE QUOTATION(‘ ‘)
Use the single quotation mark within a regular quotation to indicate a quotation within a quotation.
Example-Anothy said, "Anna told me, 'I wasn't sure if you wanted to come!'"
APOSTROPHE ( ‘)
Use the apostrophe together with the letter s to indicate possession. Be aware of the difference in using an apostrophe with singular or plural nouns. A singular noun will use 's, whereas the plural version of that singular noun will use s'. Also, be mindful of nouns that are always considered to be plural, such as children and people — here, you should use 's. Be aware of pronouns that are already possessive and do not require apostrophes, such as hers and its (it's is used only for the contractions of it is and it has). Their is possessive without apostrophe or s, except as a predicate adjective, where it becomes theirs.
Examples-
a. These children's test scores are the highest in the nation.
b. Shiva's sister is getting married today.
PARENTHESES ( )
Use parentheses ( ) to clarify, to place an afterthought, or to add a personal comment. Be sure to include the period after the closing parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Examples-
a. Steve Case (AOL's former CEO) resigned from the Time-Warner board of directors in 2005. b. You will need a flashlight for the camping trip (don't forget the batteries!)
BRACKETS( [ ] )
Use brackets ( [ ] ) to signify an editor's note in a regular piece of writing. You can also use brackets to clarify or to revise a direct quote so that it appeals to your own writing. Brackets are often used to encompass the word "sic" (Latin for thus), suggesting that the previous word or phrase was written "as is", with the error intended to be displayed.
Example-"[The blast] was absolutely devastating," said Susan Smith, a local bystander at the scene of the incident.
BRACES ( { } )
Braces ( { } ) are most widely used in denoting a numeric set in mathematics. Though generally uncommon, braces can also be used in regular writing to indicate a set of equal, independent choices.
Examples-
a. Choose your favorite utensil { fork, knife, spoon } and bring it to me.
b. { 1,5,7,9,89 }
SLASH ( / )
Use the slash to separate "and" and "or", when appropriate. The phrase "and/or" suggests that a series of options are not mutually exclusive.
Example- "To register, you will need your driver's license and/or your birth certificate."
Warnings
•While using English punctuation appropriately may help your writing to flow much more smoothly, generally creating a more "intelligent" appearance, don't overdo it. It's best to err on the side of omission than to add several superfluous apostrophes and commas.
•Try to keep the different languages' punctuation from each other, so you do not confuse languages and their punctuation rules with each other.
Punctuation are expressions used in symbolic form to be presented in paper. Due to the advent of the internet, people have adopted the ‘short messages’, hence not many are aware of using punctuation.
CAPITAL LETTERS-
usage-starting of a sentence/name/pronoun ‘I’/Abbrevations/Titles(Sir,Madam,Master,Mister,etc),’God’
Examples-
a. India is my country.I love my country
b. Mr. Singh will be addressing the gathering shortly.
COMMA(,)-
usage-to list things/to separate two sentences/short pause
Examples-
a. Ram,Lakshman and Bhim are good friends.
b. I like reading, listening to music, taking long walks, and visiting with my friends.
c. In order to qualify for your certificate, you will need to take the TOEFL exam.
PERIOD(.)
Use a period to end a complete sentence. A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and predicate. In British English a period is called a 'full stop'.
Examples-
a. He went to Delhi last week.
b. They are going to visit.
QUESTION MARK (?)
The question mark is used at the end of a question. Generally questions beginning with ‘What’,’where’,’whom’,’when’,’which’ and ’how’ ends with a question mark ‘?’
Examples-
a. Where do you live?
b. How long have they been studying?
EXCLAMATION POINT (!)
The exclamation point is used at the end of a sentence to indicate great surprise. It is also used for emphasis when making a point.
Examples-
a. That ride was fantastic!
b. I can't believe he is going to marry her!
SEMICOLON ( ; )
There are two uses for a semicolon:
1. To separate two independent clauses. One or both of the clauses are short and the ideas expressed are usually very similar.
2. To separate groups of words that are themselves separated by commas.
Examples-
a. He loves studying; He can't get enough of school.
b. What an incredible situation; it must make you nervous. c. I took a holiday and played golf, which I love; read a lot, which I needed to do; and slept late, which I hadn't done for quite a while.
d. They plan to study German, for their travels; chemistry, for their work; and literature, for their own enjoyment.
COLON ( : )
A colon can be used To provide additional details and explanation; and to introduce a direct quote (a comma can also be used in this situation).
Examples:
a. He had many reasons for joining the gym: to get in shape, to make new friends, to lose some weight, and to get out of the house.
b. She gave notice for the following reasons: bad pay, horrible hours, poor relations with colleagues,and her boss. c. He announced to his friends: "I'm getting married!"
d. She cried out: "I never want to see you again!"
HYPHEN (-)
Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to some words. The purpose of this hyphen is to make the word easier to read. If you were to leave the hyphen out of a word like re-examine, it would be reexamine, which would be harder to read. Understand that some words do not require a hyphen to separate the prefix from the word, such as restate, pretest, and undo. Let a dictionary be your guide for when to use the hyphen after a prefix. When you use a hyphen, the two words have to rely on each other. Example: re-arrange.
Examples-
a. Cara is his ex-girlfriend
b. The up-to-date newspaper reporters were quick to jump on the latest scandal
DASH(--)
The dash ( -- or — ) should be used when making a brief interruption within a statement, a sudden change of thought, an additional comment, or a dramatic qualification. It can also be used to add a parenthetical statement, such as for further clarification, but should still be relevant to the sentence. Otherwise, use parentheses. Keep in mind that the rest of the sentence should still flow naturally.
Eamples-
a. An introductory clause is a brief phrase that comes—yes, you guessed it—at the beginning of a sentence. b. This is the end of our sentence—or so we thought.
DOUBLE QUOTATION(“ “)
The double quotation ( " ) encloses a direct quotation, whether made by a person or taken from a piece of literature.
Examples-
a. According to the article, the value of the dollar in developing nations is "strongly influenced by its aesthetic value, rather than its face value."
b. "I can't wait to see him perform!" John exclaimed.
SINGLE QUOTATION(‘ ‘)
Use the single quotation mark within a regular quotation to indicate a quotation within a quotation.
Example-Anothy said, "Anna told me, 'I wasn't sure if you wanted to come!'"
APOSTROPHE ( ‘)
Use the apostrophe together with the letter s to indicate possession. Be aware of the difference in using an apostrophe with singular or plural nouns. A singular noun will use 's, whereas the plural version of that singular noun will use s'. Also, be mindful of nouns that are always considered to be plural, such as children and people — here, you should use 's. Be aware of pronouns that are already possessive and do not require apostrophes, such as hers and its (it's is used only for the contractions of it is and it has). Their is possessive without apostrophe or s, except as a predicate adjective, where it becomes theirs.
Examples-
a. These children's test scores are the highest in the nation.
b. Shiva's sister is getting married today.
PARENTHESES ( )
Use parentheses ( ) to clarify, to place an afterthought, or to add a personal comment. Be sure to include the period after the closing parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Examples-
a. Steve Case (AOL's former CEO) resigned from the Time-Warner board of directors in 2005. b. You will need a flashlight for the camping trip (don't forget the batteries!)
BRACKETS( [ ] )
Use brackets ( [ ] ) to signify an editor's note in a regular piece of writing. You can also use brackets to clarify or to revise a direct quote so that it appeals to your own writing. Brackets are often used to encompass the word "sic" (Latin for thus), suggesting that the previous word or phrase was written "as is", with the error intended to be displayed.
Example-"[The blast] was absolutely devastating," said Susan Smith, a local bystander at the scene of the incident.
BRACES ( { } )
Braces ( { } ) are most widely used in denoting a numeric set in mathematics. Though generally uncommon, braces can also be used in regular writing to indicate a set of equal, independent choices.
Examples-
a. Choose your favorite utensil { fork, knife, spoon } and bring it to me.
b. { 1,5,7,9,89 }
SLASH ( / )
Use the slash to separate "and" and "or", when appropriate. The phrase "and/or" suggests that a series of options are not mutually exclusive.
Example- "To register, you will need your driver's license and/or your birth certificate."
Warnings
•While using English punctuation appropriately may help your writing to flow much more smoothly, generally creating a more "intelligent" appearance, don't overdo it. It's best to err on the side of omission than to add several superfluous apostrophes and commas.
•Try to keep the different languages' punctuation from each other, so you do not confuse languages and their punctuation rules with each other.
Swetha Shenoy
