One Step Ahead: Punctuation
Overview
- full stops, commas, semicolons, and colons mark out the basic structure of what you are writing
- dashes and brackets can show groups of words that form a smaller group on their own within a sentence
- question marks, exclamation marks, and quotation marks show that what you are writing is something other than a simple statement by the writer
- the apostrophe and hyphen can link related words and show other special functions
- full stops can show that a group of letters form an abbreviation
- an apostrophe can show that letters are missing in a word
Comma
The comma works as a separator. Its main role is to indicate the structure
of sentences and to make their meaning clear by showing which words belong together
and which do not.
Commas used in pairs to mark an aside: But memories, she knew, must be painful
for him.
Comma used to mark off a subordinate clause: When our vital interests are
challenged, we will act.
Comma used to balance a sentence: The meeting is not cancelled, only postponed.
Colon or Semicolon?
A semicolon produces a balance between two parts of
a sentence.
A colon produces an effect whereby the meaning in the second
part leads on from the first part.
Examples:
· To err is human; to blame it on the other party is politics.
· This is Wednesday; we meet on Friday.
· I feel angry: do I look angry?
Question Mark
The question mark is used:
· to show a question has been asked
· sometimes when a question is in the form of a statement, to reflect
a rising tone of speech
· with emphatic statements in the form of questions
Apostrophe
The main role of the apostrophe is to show possession or association.
- If the noun is singular, you form the possessive by adding 's:
- the cat's paws (one cat)
- Mary's hair
- If the noun is plural and ends in s you add an apostrophe after the s:
- the cats' paws (several cats)
- the Smiths' house
- If the noun is plural and ends in a letter other than s, the possessive
is formed by adding 's:
- the children's clothes
- the sheep's hoofs
Hyphen
The hyphen has three broad roles:
1. as part of a word's spelling, e.g. take-off, dive-bomb, date-stamp
2. as a means of linking words that belong together in a sentence, e.g. The
meeting was attended by fifty-odd people.
3. to mark the division of a word that has to be split at the end of a line
in print.
Missing letters: contractions
The most common contractions are based on a pronoun and verb.
I'd [I had or I would]
you're [you are]
she's [she is]
it's [it is; be careful not to confuse this with the possessive its]
they're [they are]
There is another group of contractions based on a verb + not.
can not [can't]
did not [didn't]
is not [isn't]
might not [mightn't; this is very informal]
need not [needn't]
should not [shouldn't]
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