the word punctuation

7/30/2019 The Word Punctuation

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The word Punctuation,

derived from the Latin word

Punctun, a point, means theright use of putting in Points

or Stops in writing.

Proper Punctuation is very

important and can make allthe difference between

communicating your

message and creating a

communication gap. Itserves the purpose of

improving the clarity of asentence (through the use of

a full stop, comma, colon,

semi-colon and brackets),indicating words that are

not a statement (question

mark, exclamation mark,quotation mark), showing

how words relate to one


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another (apostrophe,

hyphen) and indicating that

a group of letters is anabbreviation (full stop) or

that letters are missing

(apostrophe).

History records thatimproper punctuation has

even made the difference

between life and death.

The following are the

principle Punctuation marks:

1. Full Stop

2. Comma

3. Semicolon

4. Colon
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5. Quesion Mark

6. Exclamation Mark

7. Quotation Mark

8. Hyphen

9. Apostrophe

10. Dash

11. Parentheses

The Full Stop is also

referred to as aperiodorpointor full point. The

primary use of this

punctuation mark ( . ) is

to make the end of a
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declarative sentence (one

that states a fact) or an

imperative sentence (one

that gives a command or

states a request).

Examples:

Declarative sentence:

People stopped visiting

theatres after the rates

were nearly doubled.

Nell was dead.

England formed an

alliance with Germany.


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Imperative Sentence:

Please pass me the salt.

Full Stops are also used infew abbreviations: Sept.,

i.e., etc. and et al. among

others.

The Full Stop can be used

in abbreviation, but this

practice is omitted in

modern style.

Examples:

He has completed M.A.


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The U.N.O is not

responsible for this kind of

crime against humankind.

If a sentence ends with aquestion mark or an

exclamation mark, one

does not use a Full Stop

after this, as the questionmark or the exclamation

mark already contains a

Full Stop within itself.

Examples:

He has completed M.A.

The U.N.O is not


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responsible for this kind of

crime against humankind.

If a sentence ends with a

question mark or an

exclamation mark, one does

not use a Full Stop after this,

as the question mark or the

exclamation mark already

contains a Full Stop within

itself.

The Comma ( , ) is meant to

add detail to the structure of

sentences and to make their

meaning clear by indicatingwords that either do or donot belong together. The

Comma usually represents

the natural break andpauses that a person makes


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while speaking and it

operates at phrase level and

word level.

Phrase level:

A Comma should be used to

make off parts of a sentencethat are separated by

conjunctions (and, but, yet,

etc.). The use of a Comma is

particularly important whenthere is a change in or a

repetition of the subject.

Example:

He was a habitual liar,

which is why people never

believed what he said.

Word level:


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A Comma is almost always

used to separate adjectiveshaving the same range of

reference coming before a

noun.

Examples:

It was dark, cold,

moonless night.

Adolph Hitler was a

ruthless, power-hungry,maniacal person.

Between a pair of adjectives,the comma can be replaced

by and to impart a stronger

effect.

Example:


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Adolph Hitler was a

ruthless and power-hungry,maniacal person.

When the adjectives have adifferent range of reference

(e.g., size and color) orwhen the last adjective has

a closer relation to the noun,

the comma is omitted.

Examples:

He wore a loose khaki

uniform.

He was a crazy old man.

Commas are used toseparate items in a list or

sequence.


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Example:

The guests were served

biscuits, pastries, pea-nuts,

and tea.

In the above example, acomma has been used

before the word and, which

few authorities believe is

unnecessary and shouldtherefore be avoided. In

many cases, however, acomma before the word and

helps ensure clarity.

Whether to use a commabefore the word and or not

would therefore depend

upon the structure of thesentence.


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However, the comma must

be left out between nouns

that occur together in thesame grammatical role in a

sentence (termed

apposition).

Example:

His son Ajay went on to

become a pilot.

But a comma needs to be

used when the noun is anadditional piece of

information that could be

deleted from a sentencewithout affecting the

meaning.

Example:


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His son, Ajay, went on to

become a pilot.

His son went on to become

a pilot.

Summary

The Comma is used

a. To separate the series of

words in the sameconstruction:

Examples:

England, Italy, Germanyand Spain formed an

alliance.

He lost lands, money,


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reputation and friends.

b. To separate each pair ofwords connected by and:

Examples:

We should be devout andhumble, cheerful and

serene.

High and low, rich andpoor, wise and fool, must all

die.

NOTE:

A Comma is generally not

used before the word

preceded by and.

c. To mark off a noun or


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phrase in Apposition:

Examples:

Paul, the apostle, was

beheaded in the reign ofNero.

Milton, the great English,

poet was blind.

Pandit Nehru, the firstPrime Minister of India, died

in 1964.

d. To mark off words used in

addressing people:

Examples:

Come into the garden,

Maud.


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How are you Mohan?

Lord of this universe,

shield us and guide us.

NOTE:

But when the words are

emphatic, we ought to use

the Note of Exclamation.

Example:

Monster! By thee my child

is devoured.

e. To mark of two or more

adjectives or adverbs

coming together:

Examples:


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The girl, beautiful and

intelligent, did not turn upfor the examinations.

Then, at length, tardyjustice was done to the

memory of Oliver.

f. To mark of the direct

quotation from the rest of

the sentence:

Examples:

Exactly so, said Alice.

He said to his disciples,

Watch and pray.

Go then, said the

Minister.


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Semicolon is one of the

trickiest signs to use for

writers, which is why you

will find its usage the

least. However if properly

used, the it can be one ofthe most useful and

significant punctuation

marks.

The Semicolon ( ; ) is

basically a Punctuation

mark that indicates a

more pronounced pausethan that indicated by a

Comma but less important

than that of a Full Stop. In

essence, it divides two


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parts of a sentence that

balances each other, and

could stand independently

too.

For instance, consider thissentence.

He seemed in a foul

mood. So, I fled the scene.

The above two sentences

make perfect sense by

themselves. However, wecould use a Semicolon to

join these conveniently.

He seemed in a foul


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mood; so, I fled the scene.

The Semicolon can also be

used to replace a Comma

in a sentence in order to

indicate a strongerdivision. However, it

cannot be used if two

thoughts are not

connected in some way orthe other. it also cannot

be employed if one of the

sentences is not a

complete one in itself.

This sign represents a

pause of greater

importance than that


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shown by the Comma.

a. Semicolon is used to

separate the clauses of

Compound sentence, when

they contain a comma.

Example:

He was brave, largehearted man; we all

respected him.

b. Semicolon is used toseparate the series of

loosely related clauses.

Examples:


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Her court was pure; her

life serene.

God gave her peace; her

land reposed.

Today we love what

tomorrow we hate; today

we seek what tomorrowwe shun.

Unlike its cousin-the

semicolon, the Colon ( : )

is used more often in

formal print, but not as

frequently in daily writing.

The Colon is a Punctuation


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mark that is used to

precede a list of items, a

quotation or an expansion

or explanation. While a

semicolon links two

balanced statements, thispunctuation mark flows

conveniently from the first

statement to the second.

Usually, it links a generalor introductory statement

to an example, or a cause

to an effect or a premise

with a conclusion.

For Example, consider the

following sentence:


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The tour operator said

his package included: to

and fro air fair, a

complimentary drink on

arrival, breakfast, eveningsnacks and dinner, hotel

accommodation.

It is used sometimes toindicate more emphasis in

indirect speech.

Example:

The madman screamed:

I am not mad! The voice

of God commanded me to


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slay.

Besides, in American

English, it is used in the

initial greeting of a letter.

Example:

Dear Mr. Randhawa:

However, in British or

Indian English, a Comma

is used:

Dear Mr. Randhawa,

But by far, the most

common use of a Colon is


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to indicate to the reader

that a list of items follows:

Example:

The schoolchildren weretold to bring the following

items for the picnic: a

torch, a sleeping bag, two

sets of night clothes, threepanties/underwear, water

bottle, three hankies and a

lunch box.

There are other uses of a

Colon too.

It is used to divide the


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title of the book from the

subtitle.

Example:

Communication: OralCommunication

It is used to make a

difference between thehours and minutes when

writing the time.

Example:

Now the time is: 02: 25

pm


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It is used in differentiating

the chapter and verse in

the Bible or The

Bhagavad-Gita and other

similar instances.

Example:

Bible: The Book of

Nehemiah

Colon is used to introduce

a quotation.

Examples:

Bacon says: Reading

makes full man, writing an


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exact man, speaking a

ready man

Before enumeration :

Examples:

The principle parts of

English are: present tense,

past tense and pastparticiple.

The three students who

came to the seminar are:Clinton, Bush and Maud.

Between sentences

grammatically


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independent but closely

connected in sense:

Examples:

Study to acquire thehabit of thinking: No study

is more important.

A Question Mark ( ? ) is

mainly used to indicate adirect question.

Example:

Are you reading this

book?


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Have you completed

your exercises?

What is your name?

What is your native?

Are you ready?

Why is the train cominglate?

It can also be used in a

sentence that ends with aquestion.

Example:


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You are involved in

crime too, arent you?

It is sometimes also used

when a question is worded

like a statement.

Example:

I wonder if its worthcalling him?

In instances where there

is doubt or uncertaintyabout a name, date or

word,it is used to indicate

this.


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Example:

Mullah Nasruddin (?

1208-1284) was one of

the worlds most loved

tricksters.

The Question mark,

preceding the year of birth

indicates that MullahNasruddins year of birth

is uncertain.

And although it may seemlike an error, a series of

questions that are not

complete should have this

mark after each fragment.


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Example:

Can you believe that he

is an inveterate liar? Or

that he is not working? Orthat he had never taken

up a job in the first place?

Or that he never ever has

any money?

However, question marks

should not be used in few

situations where it mayseem that the use is

required. The exceptions

include indirect questions,

where the question is


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reported rather than

directly expressed.

Example:

He inquired what time itwas.

Rhetorical questions (a

question asked for effector to make a statement

rather than to elicit

information) also may not

require this Mark.

Why ducks sleep on one

leg.


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How the tiger got its

stripes.

Rhetorical questions do

not require this Mark since

they are simply meant foreffect and do not call for

an answer.

The Exclamation Mark ( ! )is simply a punctuation

mark that indicates an

exclamation. The

statement could also be

one expressing shock or

surprise. In essence, this

mark indicates in writing


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what one would verbally

say by shouting or

speaking strongly, either

to attract attention or to

emphasis a point.

There are quite a few

ways to use this mark. For

instance, a parents

warning the child andtrying to enforce discipline

might say:

Behave yourself!

Or you could indicate the

expression of a strong

feeling of surprise,


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absurdity, approval,

disapproval, regret and a

host of other emotions.

What a terrible thing to

do!

How crazy of him to

have done such a thing!

Where the hell is he?!

In the above examples,

words like how or whatprecede the sentence. The

last sentence is preceded

by where, and ends with a

question mark as well as


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an exclamation mark,

which is one of the rare

usages. Such a sentence

denotes both the element

of questioning and of

surprise.

You could also use this

Mark to express a wish or

a felling of regret.

The kids would have

loved to tag along!

If only you had informed

me in advance!

A note of caution, though,


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is that in day-to-day

writing, this mark is used

sparingly. Using it too

often detracts from proper

usage. Besides, it will be

counterproductive toattempt adding a false

sense of drama or

excitement to a style of

writing that is routine,unexciting or prosaic.

The Quotation Mark ( )

& ( ) is also called an

Inverted Comma. It

consists of the double and

the single quotation marks


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as shown above. This

mark is used either to

mark the beginning and

the end of quotation or

title or to indicate slang

usage or words that arejargon.

The most common use is

to tell the reader the exactwords spoken by a person,

which is called direct

quotation.

For Example:

He told me, I will come

to work an hour late


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today.

The above sentence is

direct quote. As an

indirect quote, it would be

stated in this way.

He told me that he

would come to work an

hour late today.

In the above example, the

quotation marks are not

used since it is an indirectstatement. Although both

sentences convey exactly

the same meaning, in the

first instance it is said that


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the person quoted has

spoken directly.

In common writing, only

the double quotation

marks is used. However,in the print media, both

the double and single

quotation marks are used

depending upon thecontext in which they are

used.

The usage in Britain andAmerica differs, but we

shall restrict ourselves to

one kind only. Single

quotes are usually used to


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indicate a quote with a

quote or to indicate that

the person quoted has

expressed a sentiment

mentally rather than

verbally.

For instance:

Seethe told, whyshould I help you out,

Rajesh informed Hamish.

In the above sentence,Rajesh speaks directly to

Hamish and tell him what

Seethe told him.

Therefore, Seethes


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directly quoted words are

used in single quotation

marks.

The simple rule of thump

is that if the direct quotesare in double quotation

marks, any quote within

this quote will be in single

quotation marks.

The rule will also apply

vice versa, i.e., a direct

quote in single quotationmarks that includes

another quote within

would then have the

inclusive quote in double


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quotation marks.

The common error made

with quotation marks is

that users tend to put the

punctuation marks afterclosing the quotes.

Example:

. He was furious and told

me, Get lost!

The above sentence withthe punctuation marks is

incorrect. The correct

usage would be with the

exclamation mark coming


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before the quotes are

closed.

. He was furious and told

me, Get lost!

The only time one could

use the punctuation mark

after the quotes is when

the quote is incomplete.

. Gila was furious and

swore that she would get

even with me at all cost.

In this example, Gilas

words have not been

quoted directly or


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completely. Just few of

her words have been

quoted word for word and

are indicated in double

quotes. In such instances,

closing the double quoteafter the punctuation

mark would be incorrect.

The above rules reflect the

usual usage.

When quoted words are

broken up or interrupted

by reporting verb such assay, said, told, informed

etc., the quotation marks

would be given in this

manner.


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What I would love to

have, Ram told Seta, is a

steaming hot cup ofcoffee.

In this instance, note the

usage of the commasbefore closing the first

double quote and after

Seta, since both sentences

connect the same thought.However, if they were two

independent thoughts, the

sentence would be written

in this manner.


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Example:

There was something

that I would love to have,

Ram told Seta. And thatis steaming hot cup of

coffee.

The beauty of the aboveexample, though, lies in

the fact that it could be

used following the rules of

the previous example andwould still not read amiss,

purely because the

conjunctive word and has

been used.


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There was something

that I would love to have,

Ram told Seta, and that is

steaming hot cup of

coffee.

Another rule to remember

with quotes (which is a

common error even mediapundits and editors make)

is that when a person is

speaking and it runs

several paragraphs,successive paragraphs will

all have the opening mark,

but the closing mark will

only be used in the last


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paragraph. Closing the

mark after each paragraph

when the same person is

speaking is incorrect and

will create confusion in

the readers mind whetherthe same person is

speaking or different

persons have been quoted.

Single or double marks are

also used to indicate the

title of a movie, book,

article, poem, serial, etc.In such instances, there is

no fixed rule and

depending on personal

preference or an in-house


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style, single or double

marks mat be used.

However, there are many

who prefer not to use

these marks to indicatetitles and instead use

italics for this purpose.

Single or double marks arealso used when indicating

slang terms and jargon or

words from other

languages other thanEnglish.


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A Hyphen ( - ) is a sign

that is used to join words

to indicate that they have

a combined meaning or

that they are

grammatically linked, or toindicate a word that has

been split up at the end of

the line. In print, this

mark is half the length ofa dash. In actual writing,

though, there is a little

noticeable difference

between a Dash and aHyphen. However, the

purpose of both these

signs is exactly the

opposite.


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The dash is used to

separate words or a group

of words, while this mark

is used to link words or

parts of words.

This is used to join two or

more words in order to

form a single word (calleda compound word):

Good-for-nothing

Free-for-all

Sweet-and-sour


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Multi-purpose

Passer-by, man-of-war,

jack-of-all-trades etc

Passers-by should bekept away from this

function.

Or to join words that havea grammatical relationship

which form a compound:

Point-blank

Load-bearing

However, even at the end


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of sentences, always avoid

hyphening acronyms,

numbers, contractions and

internet or email

addresses.The Apostrophe ( ) is apunctuation mark that is

used to indicate either

possession (e.g., Rajahs

book) or the omission ofletters or numbers (e.g.,

cant, August 04).

This is used more in

Contractions.

Singular nouns indicate


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the possessive by adding

s:

The tigers roar

indicating one tiger

Plural nouns indicate the

possessive by adding this

mark after the s:

The tigers roar-

indicating more than one

tiger

If the plural noun ends in

an alphabet other than s,

the possessive is indicated


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by adding s:

The kittens meowing

indicating more than one

cat

While this mark has a

specific use, many misuse

it more often. Forinstance, ordinary plural

words do not need this

mark, many end up using

it here.

Examples:

Prices


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Worrys

Movies

The correct usage withthese plural forms would

read:

Prices

Worries

Movies

This is also used in

contractions (cant for can


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not), which is where

people also tend to get

confused.

The most common

confusion is with thepossessive whose with

whos.

Whos is simply acontraction of who is.

Example:

Whos fault is it?

The above sentence is

incorrect. The correct


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usage is:

Whose fault is it?

Another problem the usersface is with names that

end with an s.

Example:

Thomas

Charles

Vilas

Ulnas


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The confusion here has

much to do with the

awkward sound that

results. In such cases, you

could either write thenames:

Thomas or Thomass

Charles or Charless

Vilas or Vilass

Ulnas or Ulnass

However, it is preferable

to use the second option


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in such cases.

Apostrophes should not be

used in the pronouns hers,

its, ours, yours and theirs.

This would be incorrect

way to end the letter:

Yours truly

The correct way would be:

Yours truly

Likewise, watch out for:


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its and its

Its (without an

apostrophe) is a

possessive that denotes

belonging to it.

Example:

The dog is expecting itsdinner.

Its (with an apostrophe)

is a contraction of it is.

Example:

The dog is expecting its


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dinner.

In the above two

examples, the first

sentence is correct.

For other examples of

Contractions with an

apostrophe, Click Here !

In the case of this mark,

you have to ensure that

you do not misuse the

words.

A Dash ( - ) allows a

writer to introduce
http://www.english-for-students.com/Contractions.htmlhttp://www.english-for-students.com/Contractions.html


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informality in writing or to

add emphasis, by allowing

a sudden change in

thought or tone.

For example:

Let us go to the market

and do some shopping.

Ive run out of hankiesand could do with a set of

new-oops! I just recalled-

today is Monday and the

markets this side of thetown are closed.

This sign indicates to

readers that the speakers


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train of thought has been

suddenly interrupted by

something important that

hes just recalled.

In published writing, thereare two kinds: the shorter

one is called en-dash. And

the longer one is called

em-dash. Most word-processing programmes

can distinguish between

the two lengths. But in

day-to-day writing nosuch distinction is made.

Even many DTP (desk top

publishing) houses and

editorial persons do not


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know the difference.

In printing, the en-dash

has certain specific uses

(e.g., to indicate a range

of numbers or dates, as in1935037), whereas the

em-dash is the one that is

generally used to serve

the purpose of regulation.

A pair of dashes is used to

indicate asides and

parentheses, whichindicates a more distinct

break than would be

possible with commas:


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He was an excellent

writer-although he had

never gone to school-and

had learnt the three Rs at

home.

As a general rule, when

the em-dash is used (as in

the above example) there

is no space between thedash and the words.

However, if an en-dash is

used, a single character

space is left on either side.For instance, the same

sentence would appear

this way with en-dash.


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He was an excellent

writer - although he had

never gone to school - and

had learnt the three Rs athome.

Although in many cases a

colon could be used topunctuate a sentence and

achieve the same effect, in

general it is better to

reserve the colon forformal writing.


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The Brackets that are

almost always used in

writing are the round

Brackets or Parentheses

().

Round Brackets are used

when the writer wants to

indicate explanations and

additional information orcommends.

Hamish was upset with

Deepak and felt like givinghim a piece of his mind (to

cut him down to size) in

the presence of the

others. However, he


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refrained from doing so

(he did not wish to

precipitate matters).

Or they are used to show

optional words that implydoubt or caution:

There are many (hidden)

dangers on the roadahead, and he knew this

for sure.

The round brackets arealso used to give

statistical information or

reference.


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The Second World War

(1939-1945) was the

bloodiest conflict in

human history.

Square brackets [] areused very rarely. The

usage is restricted to

occasions when some

additional information hasbeen provided, often by

some one other than the

writer (usually an editor)

of the original text, toclarify an obscure point or

to add extra information

that facilitates better

understanding or ease of


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reading.

Anil Ambani claims that

Ambani brothers are not

inheritors [of Dhirubhai

Ambanis legacy] butpartners.

Parentheses are used to

separate from main part ofthe sentence, a phrase or

a clause which does not

grammatically belong to it.

Examples:

He gained from heaven

(it was all he wished) a


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friend.

He gave me his book

(Born to win) two days

back.

These are the most

common Punctuation

signs that new English

readers would encounteron the highway to

mastering English. Once

you master the usage of

these Punctuation marks,the written words would

the word punctuation

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