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Basic Punctuation Rules

Punctuation can make an enormous difference in the meaning of whatever it is youre writing.
Consider the following classic examples of the change in meaning that punctuation can communicate:

eats shoots and leaves Lets eat, Grandma! Woman, without her man, is nothing.
eats, shoots, and leaves Lets eat Grandma! Woman! Without her, man is nothing.

Lets face it: proper punctuation can make or break the impact of an otherwise well-constructed
sentence. These basic rules can strengthen your sentences with the punctuation they deserve, so that
the quality of your ideas is communicated with precision and clarity.

commas
Commas indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. For more information on
comma usage, see the Writing Center's "Commas" handout.

Commas are used to separate three or more The entree includes chips, salsa, and a beverage.
words, phrases, or clauses (sentence parts) in
a series.

Commas are used after an introductory Since we would be returning late anyway, we stayed
dependent clause (a group of words before to watch the sunset.
the subject of a sentence that do not form a
complete sentence).

Commas indicate that introductory words and In the light of day, everything looked different.
phrases moved from the end of the sentence.

Commas are used between independent claus- My family went to see the live taping of Ru Paul's Drag
es (complete sentences) joined by a coordinat- Race, but I stayed home with the flu.
ing conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Commas set off nonessential phrases or clauses My cousin, who recently joined the mafia, said it
(phrases that can be removed without changing would be best if I skipped town for awhile.
the sentences overall meaning) or appositives
(words or phrases that rename a noun).

Commas separate paired adjectives that de- They serve cheap delicious meat.
scribe a noun. You need a comma between ad- They serve cheap, delicious meat.
jectives that could go in any ordertheyre not
cumulative and could be separated by the word They always have cheap, taco meat.
and. Do not use a comma between adjectives They always have cheap taco meat.
that need to be in a particular order.

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quotation marks
Quotation marks show the beginning and end of a quotation or title of a short work. When citing, the quotation and
punctuation rules change; see Paraphrasing and Quoting and specific citation handouts for more help.

Quotation marks enclose the exact words of a person. Sia said, Im gonna swing from the chandelier.

Do not use quotation marks around a paraphrase Sia said she intended to pendulate from a chandelier.
or summary.

Quotation marks set off the titles of smaller works Short Story Book of Stories Chapter Book
within larger works. This can vary between different Poem Book of Poetry Episode Series
citation styles, so double check your style guide Article Magazine/Journal Song Album
for accuracy.

Place periods and commas inside quotation marks. Pope Francis said, Ill have extra mayonaise on that.

Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks. I reccommend the works: it comes with chicharrn!

Place question marks or exclamation points inside the Captain Lightfoot said, Dont you think its time we
quotation marks if they punctuate the quotation only. started letting women be pirates, too?
However, if the quote does not include a question or
exclamation, but the sentence itself is asking a question What did Aesop Rock mean by, Theres smoke in my
or exclaiming, the question mark or exclamation point iris, but I painted a sunny day on the insides of
sits outside of the quotation marks. my eyelids?

parentheses
Parentheses set off elements within a sentence that are related to the sentence but nonessential.

Parentheses set off additions or expressions that are not We visited several European countries (England,
necessary to the sentence. They tend to de-emphasize France, Spain) on our trip last year.
what they set off. They are often seen as less academic
in tone.

Parentheses can enclose figures in a sentence. Grades will be based on (1) participation, (2) in-class
Note: Use of numbers like this in sentences may writing, and (3) exams.
vary for different citation styles. Double check cita-
tion guidelines.

When the group inside the parentheses forms a The snow (do you remember what snow feels like?)
complete sentence but is inserted inside a larger was falling heavily.
sentence, no period is needed. However, if a ques-
tion mark or exclamation point is needed, it should
be included.

When parentheses are used to enclose an indepen- Im not looking forward to presenting to the class on
dent sentence, the end punctuation belongs inside Monday. (My childhood stage fright has never really
the parentheses. left me.) I hope I can get it over with quickly.

apostrophes
Apostrophes show possession and also indicate where a letter has been omitted to form a contraction.

To show possession, add an apostrophe and an s to Jennys book anyones guess

singular nouns or indefinite pronouns that end in one somebodys laptop the waltzs tempo
or body.

Add only an apostrophe for plural possessive nouns my parents car

ending in s. Remember that the apostrophe placement the musicians instruments
depends on whether there is more than one noun: stu-
dents books (one student), students books (more than
one student).

Do not use an apostrophe with possessive personal yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, whose, its
pronouns.

Apostrophes are also used in contractions (two words I am = Im cannot = cant they are = theyre
which have been combined into one) to mark where the I have = Ive let us = lets you are = youre
missing letter or letters would be.

hyphens
Hyphens are used to form compound words or join word units. They are also used to join prefixes, suffixes,
and letters to words.

Use hyphens with compound numbers from twenty-one forty-two students

to ninety-nine and with fractions used as modifiers (ad- three thousand five hundred and sixty-seven students
jectives). two-thirds majority (vs. two thirds of the voters)

Use hyphens in a compound adjective only when it a well-liked author

comes before the word it modifies. There are excep- an author who is well liked
tions; look up compound adjectives in the dictionary if a world-renowned composer
you are unsure whether or not to hyphenate them. a composer who is world renowned

Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex-, self-, and all-; with the all-star ex-mayor pro-choice
suffix elect-; and with all prefixes before a proper noun self-image non-European senator-elect
or proper adjective.

Use a hyphen with compound phrases. Note: When the nine-year-old boy he is nine years old
describing ages, phrases that function as adjectives sister-in-law all-or-nothing
will use hyphens, while numbers as adjectives will not up-to-date soon-to-be
use hyphens.

Also, note how hyphens can change meaning, and use a hot-water bottle (a bottle for holding hot water)
them accordingly. a hot water bottle (a bottle of water that is hot)
to re-press a shirt (to iron again)
to repress bad memories (to keep at bay)
colons
Colons come after the independent
clause (complete sentence) and
before the word, phrase, sentence,
quotation, or list they are introducing.

Never use a colon after a verb that

directly introduces a list.
..
Colons follow independent clauses and call attention to the information that comes after.

Lately, I have had only one thing on my mind: graduation.

Lately, I have had one thing on my mind: graduating from college.
Lately, I have had only one thing on my mind: I cant wait to graduate.
Lately, I have had several things on my mind: papers, grades, and finals.

The things on my mind are: papers, grades, and finals.

The things on my mind are the following: papers, grades, and finals.
The things on my mind are papers, grades, and finals.

.
dashes
Dashesoften confused with hyphensconnect groups of words to other keyboard shortcuts
groups of words to emphasize a point. Usually, the dash separates words in Mac: shift+option+hyphen
the middle or at the end of a sentence. PC: alt+0151

,
In the middle of a sentence, a dash Our ideas for the weekend, going to a movie, having a picnic, doing
can put special emphasis on a group homework, and hiking Garcia Trail, seemed like a lot to squeeze in.
of words or make them stand out
from the rest of the sentence. Our ideas for the weekendgoing to a movie, having a picnic, doing
homework, and hiking Garcia Trailseemed like a lot to squeeze in.
At the end of a sentence, a dash sep-
arates information from the rest of I knew the material perfectlyuntil test day.
the sentence. We went to Slauson Parkthe one north of Fifth Street.

semicolons
Semicolons separate clauses or phrases that are related and that receive equal emphasis. You can go your whole life
without using them, or you can impress your readers by using them correctly!

Semicolons join two independent Megan said she was tired; she had stayed up late cutting giraffe-shaped
clauses (complete sentences) that holes out of foreign newspapers.
are closely related if no coordinating
conjunction is used. .

Semicolons signal to a reader that the We were planning to go get coffee; however, he had to cancel.
information in both sentences should
be taken together.

Semicolons help avoid confusion be- She traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea; and Nairobi, Kenya.
tween items in lists where there are
already commas.