Unit 27

Punctuations
Objective: To learn about punctuations in written English.
Punctuations
The punctuations used in English are as follows.
Punctuation Usage Examples
Full stop or
Period (.)

End of the sentence

With abbreviations abbreviations (in
an abbreviation the last letter of the
word and of the abbreviation are not
the same)

Do not use full stops with
contractions(in a contraction the last
letter of the word and of the
contraction are the same)

The man arrived. He sat down.


Co. (Company) , etc. (et cetera)




Ltd (Limited), Dr (Doctor)

Comma (,)

Between items in a series or list.



Between three or more adjectives or
adverbs.

For two adjectives, use a comma
where you could use "and".



For numbers over 999.


For addresses, some dates, and
titles following a name.



Before or after direct speech. Do not
use a comma for reported speech.


Before a coordinating conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to join
two independent clauses. If the
independent clauses are short and
well-balanced, a comma is optional.

For parenthetical elements. A
"parenthetical element" is any part of a
sentence that can be removed without
changing the real meaning of the
sentence.




After an introductory element. A
My favourite sports are football, rugby, swimming,
boxing and golf.


I like the old, brown, wooden table.
He ran quickly, quietly and effortlessly.

It was a short, simple film. (It was a short and simple
film.)
I have a big black dog. (I have a big and black dog.)


1,000 (one thousand)
$73,050.75

911 Avenue Mansion, Petchburi Road, Bangkok,
10400, Thailand
November 4, 1948 (but 4 November 1948)
Fred Ling, Professor of English

He said, "I love you."
"I love you," he said.
He told her that he loved her.

He didn't want to go, but he went anyway.
I want to work as an interpreter, so I am studying
Russian at university.
She is kind so she helps people.


John Geton, who is chairman of the company, is
quite old.
Andrew, my wife's brother, cannot come.
Andrew (my wife's brother) cannot come.
The objective, to find peace in both countries, is
hard to reach.


Rushing to catch the flight, he forgot to take his
phone.
comma is optional for short, simple
introductory elements.








Sentence adverbs (words like
however, unfortunately, surprisingly
that modify a whole sentence) often
require one or two commas,
depending on their position in the
sentence.

An adverbial clause often needs a
comma when it comes at the
beginning of a sentence (but not at the
end of a sentence).

Do not use a comma to separate two
complete sentences. In this case, use
a full stop (period) or semi-colon.

As the year came to an end, he realised the days
were getting shorter.
By evening we were getting worried.
After a hefty meal cooked by his host's wife, he
went to sleep.
After a snack he went to sleep.




However, Anthony did arrive.
Anthony, however, did arrive.
We were, unfortunately, too late.
He had, not surprisingly, lost his temper.



If I win the lottery, I will buy a castle.
I will buy a castle if I win the lottery.



Ram wants to go out. Anthony wants to stay home.
Ram wants to go out, Anthony wants to stay home.

Semi-Colon(;)

Use a semi-colon instead of a full stop
or period. This is to separate
sentences that are grammatically
independent but that have closely
connected meaning.



Use a semi-colon as a kind of "super
comma". When we have a list of
items, we usually separate the items
with commas. If the list is complicated,
we may prefer to use semi-colons in
some cases.

Josef likes coffee; Mary likes tea.
Tara is a good speaker; she speaks very clearly.
You did your best; now let's hope you pass the exam.
Ram wants to go out; Anthony wants to stay home.

ABC Investments has offices in five locations:
Kensington, London; Brighton & Hove; and Oxford,
Cambridge and Manchester.

Rental cars must be returned on time; with a full tank
of petrol; in undamaged condition; and at the same
location as they were collected from.

Colon (:)

To introduce a list:






To introduce a single item, especially
when you want to emphasize that
item:




To introduce direct speech or a
quotation:





There are three countries in North America: Mexico,
the USA and Canada.
We can see many things in the sky at night: the
moon, stars, planets, comets, planes and even
satellites.


We were all waiting for the hero of the evening: John.
There is one thing that he will not accept: stupidity.
The job of the colon is simple: to introduce.





He stood up and said loudly: "Ladies and Gentlemen,
please be seated."
John whispered in my ear: "Have you seen Andrea?"
As Confucius once wrote: "When words lose their
meaning, people lose their freedom."



To introduce an explanation





Colon to introduce examples, as
shown above

We had to cancel the party: too many people were
sick.
There is no need to rush: the meeting will be starting
one hour late.


For example, item 1 above reads "Use a colon to
introduce a list" and ends with a colon followed by
two example sentences.

Hyphen (-)
A hyphen is a
very short
horizontal line
between words.
Note that there is
no space
between a
hyphen and the
character on
either side of it.
Do not confuse a
hyphen (-) with a
dash (-), which is
longer.
The rules about
hyphens are not
fixed. The points
below are
guidelines rather
than rules.


To join words to show that their
meaning is linked in some way:


To make compound modifiers before
nouns:



With certain prefixes. The prefixes all-,
ex-, and self- usually need a hyphen:

When a prefix comes before a
capitalized word, use a hyphen:

When a prefix is capitalized, use a
hyphen:

When writing numbers 21 to 99, and
fractions:


To show that a word has been broken
at the end of a line (hyphenation):

With "suspended compounds". When
we use several very similar
compounds together, it may not be
necessary to repeat the last part of the
compound:

Book-case (or bookcase)
Race-horse (or racehorse)
Pick-me-up

A blue-eyed boy (but The boy was blue eyed.)
The well-known actor (but The actor is well known.)
Their four-year-old son (but Their son is four years
old.)

All-inclusive, Ex-wife, Self-control


Non-English


A-frame


Twenty-one
One hundred and sixty-five
Two-thirds

The directors requested that a more conven-
ient time be arranged.

They need to employ more full- and part-time staff.
(not They need to employ more full-time and part-
time staff.)
This rule applies only to 12-, 13- and 14-year olds.
(not This rule applies only to 12-year olds, 13-year
olds and 14-year olds.)

Dash (--)
A dash is a
horizontal line
that shows a
pause or break in
meaning, or that
represents
missing words or
letters. Note that
dashes are
rather informal
and should be
used carefully in
writing. Dashes
are often used
informally instead
of commas,
colons and
brackets. A dash
To show a pause or break in meaning
in the middle of a sentence:





To show an afterthought:





Like a colon to introduce a list:




To show that letters or words are
My brothersRichard and Johnare visiting Hanoi.
(Could use commas.)
In the 15th centurywhen of course nobody had
electricitywater was often pumped by hand. (Could
use brackets.)

The 1st World War was supposed to be the world's
last warthe war to end war.
I attached the photo to my emailat least I hope I
did!

There are three places i'll never forgetParis,
Bangkok and Hanoi.
Don't forget to buy some foodeggs, bread, tuna
and cheese.

I will look the children. (Typically used in
"missing word" questions.)

may or may not
have a space on
either side of it.
Do not confuse a
dash () with a
hyphen (-), which
is shorter.

missing:

Note: In fact, there are two kinds of
dash:
The en-dash (), which is the
width of the letter "n"
And the em-dash (), which
is the width of the letter "m"
However, the difference between them
is rather technical and mainly of value
to typographers. The dash is a
convenient and easy mark to use in
hand-writing. But it is often difficult to
find on a keyboard and for this reason
some people use the easier-to-find but
shorter hyphen (-) when word-
processing.

Question mark
(?)

At the end of all direct questions:



After a tag question



Dont forget to use a question mark at
the end of a sentence that really is a
direct question:





In very informal writing (personal
letter or email), people sometimes use
a question mark to turn a statement
into a question:
In the same situation, they may use
two or three question marks together
to show that they are not sure about
something:

Do not use a question mark after an
indirect or reported question:






Many polite requests or instructions
are made in the form of a question.
But because they are not really
questions, they do not take a question
mark:

Be careful with titles and abbreviations
when question marks are involved:

Note that there should be no space
immediately before a question mark.
What is your name?
How much money did you transfer?
Did you send euro or dollars?

You're French, aren't you?
Snow isn't green, is it?
He should go and see a doctor, shouldn't he?

How else would I get there, after all?
What if I said to you, "I don't love you any more"?
"Who knows when i'll die?", he asked rhetorically.


See you at 9pm?



I think you said it would cost $10???


The teacher asked them what their names were.
(What are your names?)
John asked Mary if she loved him. (Do you love me?)
I'm wondering if she's coming. (Is she coming?)

Could you please send me your catalogue.
Would all first-class and business-class passengers
now start boarding.

"Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" was a play before it
was a film.
Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Was a play before it
was a film.
Have you seen the film "Who's afraid of Virginia
Woolf?"?
Have you seen the film Who's afraid of Virginia
Woolf??
Have you ever been to L.A.?


Exclamation
mark (!)
(Exclamation
Point in
American
English)
An exclamation
mark usually
shows strong
feeling, such as
surprise, anger
or joy. Using an
exclamation
mark when
writing is rather
like shouting or
raising your voice
when speaking.
Exclamation
marks are most
commonly used
in writing quoted
speech. You
should avoid
using
exclamation
marks in formal
writing, unless
absolutely
necessary.


To indicate strong feelings or
a raised voice in speech:








Many interjections need an
exclamation mark:


A non-question sentence
beginning with "what" or "how"
is often an exclamation and
requires an exclamation mark:


In very informal writing
(personal letter or email),
people sometimes use two or
more exclamation marks
together:


Note: Try to avoid exclamation marks
in formal writing such as an essay or
business letter.

She shouted at him, "Go away! I hate you!"
He exclaimed: "What a fantastic house you have!"
"Good heavens!" he said, "Is that true?"
"Help!"
"Shut up!"
"Stop!"

"Hi! What's new?"
"Oh! When are you going?"
"Ouch! That hurt."

What idiots we are! (We are such idiots.)
How pretty she looked in that dress! (She looked very
pretty in that dress.)

I met John yesterday. He is so handsome!!!
Remember, don't be late!!
I'll never understand this language!!!!

Forward Slash
(/)
The slash (/) is
also known as:
forward slash,
stroke, oblique.
You should use
the slash with
care in formal
writing.


To indicate "or":


Note: Do not over-use the slash to
indicate "or". It can suggest laziness
on the part of the writer. The "and/or"
construction is widely considered to be
very bad form.




For fractions:



To indicate "per" in
measurements of speed,
prices etc:







People often use a slash in
certain abbreviations:
Dear Sir/Madam (Sir or Madam)
Please press your browser's Refresh/Reload button.
(Refresh or Reload)
The speech will be given by President/Senator
Clinton. (President Clinton or Senator Clinton)
Mary will eat cake and/or fruit. (Mary will eat cake, or
Mary will eat fruit, or Mary will eat cake and fruit.)

1/2 (one half)
2/3 (two thirds)
9/10 (nine tenths)

The speed limit is 100 km/h. (kilometres per hour)
He can type at 75 w/m. (words per minute)
The eggs cost $3/dozen. ($3 per dozen)
They charge 1.50/litre for petrol. (1.50 per litre)

This is my a/c number. (account)
John Brown, c/o Jane Green (care of)
N/a (not applicable, not available)
W/o (without)

On credit card: Expires end 10/15 (October 2015)
He was born on 30/11/2007. (30th November 2007 -
bre)
It was invented on 11/30/2007. (November 30th,
2007 - ame)

Http://www.englishclub.com/writing




In dates to separate day,
month and year:





To separate parts of a website
address (url) on the Internet,
and to separate folders on
some computer systems:

File:///Users/mac/tara/ image.jpg



Backward
Slash(\)
The backslash is
not really an
English
punctuation
mark. It is a
typographical
mark used
mainly in
computing. It is
called a
"backslash"
because it is the
reverse of the
slash (/) or
forward slash.

The backslash is used in several
computer systems, and in many
programming languages such as C
and Perl.
It is commonly seen in Windows
computers:
C:\Users\Win\Files\jse.doc
Do not confuse the backslash (\) with
the slash (/) or forward slash.
Although it is not really an English
punctuation mark, the backslash is
included on these pages for
completeness.


Quotation
marks
We use quotation
marks to show
(or mark) the
beginning and
end of a word or
phrase that is
somehow special
or comes from
outside the text
that we are
writing. Quotation
marks can be
double ("...") or
single ('...') - that
is really a matter
of style (but see
below for more
about this).
Quotation marks
are also called
"quotes" or
"inverted
commas".


Around the title or name of a
book, film, ship etc:























Around a piece of text that we
are quoting or citing, usually
The second most popular book of all time,
"Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung", has
sold over 800,000,000 copies and was formerly
known as "The Red Book".
'Titanic' is a 1997 movie directed by James Cameron
about the sinking of the ship 'Titanic'.
Note that in the above case, we may use "italics"
instead of quotation marks. So the above examples
would then appear as:
The second most popular book of all time, Quotations
from the Works of Mao Tse-tung, has sold over
800,000,000 copies and was formerly known as The
Red Book.
Titanic is a 1997 movie directed by James Cameron
about the sinking of the ship Titanic.

Obviously, the use of italics is not possible in
handwriting or with old-style typewriters.


In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English
Language, David Crystal argues that punctuation
"plays a critical role in the modern writing system".

It was a moonlit night. James opened the door and
stepped onto the balcony, followed by Mary. They
stood in silence for a few moments, looking at the
moon. Then Mary turned to him and said: "Do you
from another source:



Around dialogue or direct
speech:








A word or phrase that we see
as slang or jargon:


Around a word or phrase that
we want to make "special" in
some way:

love me, James?"


The police were called to a "disturbance" - which in
reality was a pretty big fight.

Note that sometimes we use "italics" instead of
quotation marks.

Double or
single quotation
marks?
Quotation marks
can be double ("-
") or single ('-'). If
we want to use
quotation marks
inside quotation
marks, then we
use single inside
double, or double
inside single.
He said to her: "I
thought 'Titanic'
was a good film."
He said to her: 'I
thought "Titanic"
was a good film.'

Punctuation inside or outside final
quotation mark?
If the quoted words end with a full
stop, then the full stop goes inside the
quotation marks. If the quoted words
do not end with a full stop, then the full
stop goes outside the quotation
marks:

Note that in US English, the full stop
usually goes inside the quotation
marks in all cases:


However, US English adopts the
British style for question marks and
exclamation marks:






How do we indicate quotation
marks when speaking?
People may say "quote, unquote" or
"open quotes, close quotes" when
reading aloud texts containing
quotation marks:



"Quote, unquote" may also be said
informally in front of rather than
around the quoted words:


"Quote, unquote" is sometimes used
to mock or show disapproval or
disbelief:


People sometimes say "in quotes"
(often putting up their two hands with
two fingers extended on each hand,
like quotation marks), indicating that
the words came from another source,
or in a mocking way, or suggesting
that they don't quite believe what they
have just said:

He said: "I love you."
She has read "War and Peace".





He said: "I love you."
She has read "War and Peace."

He said: "Do you love me?"
Have you read "War and Peace"?
Can you imagine? He has never read "War
and Peace"!


On page two it says, quote, Now is the time
to invest, unquote.
On page two it says, open quotes, Now is the
time to invest, close quotes.

The brochure describes the car as, quote,
unquote, total luxury.


Then he arrived with his quote, unquote new
girlfriend.


Then he arrived with his new girlfriend, in
quotes.

Apostrophe ()

In possessive forms:







In contracted forms (the apostrophe
shows that letters have been left out):

The ball of the boy > the boy's ball
Tara's sister
My friend's mother
New York's nightmare scenario
The moon's phases

Cannot > can't
They have > they've
I would (or I had) > I'd
It is (or it has) > it's
Who is > who's


Certain words are sometimes written
with an apostrophe (to show that they
are really a shortened form of the
original, longer word):

Some people use an apostrophe when
the first two figures of a year are left
out:

You can use an apostrophe to show
the plural of letters and numbers:



You can use an apostrophe to show a
plural form for words that are not
normally plural:


Possessive pronouns or determiners
(except one's) do not use
apostrophes. Do not confuse them
with contractions. The following are
typical mistakes:
Wrong Right
It's value is
Its value is
It's going to rain
Who's are these?
Whose are these?
Who's coming?
These are your's These are yours
Exception > One's self-esteem

Influenza > 'flu (or flu)
Telephone > 'phone (or phone)

1948 > '48


You should dot your i's and cross your t's.
Do you like music from the 1950's?


Your plan is good, even if there are lots of
but's in it.

Underline
An underline is a
horizontal line
immediately
below a piece of
writing.

In handwriting, we traditionally use
underlining to indicate emphasis:

Underline can be a noun and a verb.
You can ask someone "to underline"
something.

We can also use the term
"underlining" in a more general sense.

In typewriting, we can use underlining
to show emphasis, and also things like
titles of books and films, and names of
ships.

However, in print and computer
writing, we use underlining much less,
partly because we have bold and
italics to do a similar job.

In addition, with the development of
the Internet and world wide web, web
pages traditionally use underlining to
indicate a link. As such, it is not good
practice to use underline on web
pages.
Underline is also called underscore,



"Please underline all the errors."

On most web pages, underlining is reserved
for links.

especially in American English.

Underscore
Underscore is a
line below text-
level

In American
English,
underscore can
also mean
underline.

In email addresses, filenames and url [email protected]
Image_123.jpg
Http://www.englishclub.com/under_score/

Square brackets
or brackets
We typically use
square brackets
when we want to
modify another
person's words.
Here, we want to
make it clear that
the modification
has been made
by us, not by the
original writer.
For example:
British
English
[] =
square
brackets

American
English
[] =
brackets

1. To add clarification:


2. To add information:




3. To add missing words:

4. To add editorial or authorial
comment:

5. To modify a direct quotation:

We also sometimes use square
brackets for nesting, for example:
Square brackets can also be
nested (using square brackets
[like these] inside round
brackets).

o The witness said: "He [the
policeman] hit me."

o The two teams in the finals of the first
FIFA Football World Cup were both
from South America [Uruguay and
Argentina].

o It is [a] good question.

o They will not be present [my
emphasis].

o He "love[s] driving." (The original
words were "I love driving.")

Ellipsis
mark()
The ellipsis mark
consists of three
dots (periods).
We use the ellipsis mark in place of
missing words. If we intentionally omit
one or more words from an original
text, we replace them with an ellipsis
mark.
The ellipsis mark is also called a
"suspension point" or "dot dot dot".







We sometimes also use an ellipsis
mark to indicate a pause when
someone is speaking, or an unfinished
sentence.


Do we use a space with an ellipsis
mark? That is a question of style.
Many style manuals recommend no
space, like this:
Suppose we want to quote "The film
focussed on three English learners from Asia
who were studying at university." Perhaps we
want to omit "from Asia who were" to save
space. So we write:

"The film focussed on three English
learners...studying at university."

The new sentence still makes sense, but the
ellipsis mark shows the reader that
something is missing.

She turned to James and said, "Darling, there
is something...I need to tell you. I have never
felt like...like this before."
"It's not easy to explain. It's not..." Her voice
trailed away as emotion welled up within her.

Three English learners...studying at
university
It's not...


Others recommend using a space
before and after an ellipsis mark, like
this:

The important thing is that you choose
one style and use it consistently. Do
not mix your styles.



Three English learners ... Studying at
university
It's not ...