Punctuation
The Comma (,)
it is a pause which makes listening
or reading easier, but sometimes is
crucial to meaning.
Use Commas with
Coordinate conjunctions
Introductory words
Items in a series
Words that interrupt the flow of a
sentence
A number of adjectives that modify a
noun
Separate a person’s name and title -
appositives
Use commas
To set off nouns used as direct address
To separate the numbers in a date
To separate the city from the state
Following the salutation of a friendly letter
and the closing in any letter
In numbers to set off groups of three
digits
To set off exact words spoken in a dialog
Before or after adverbial clauses
No comma if
Only two items are mentioned
The day of the month is not specified
or if the day is given before the
month
The number is a date, page, year,
and street
Joining grammatically separate
sentences
The apostrophe ( ‘ )
can stand for missing numbers
I graduated with the class of ’98.
is used with an ‘s to form the plural
of letters, numbers symbols
abbreviations etc.
How many s’s are in the word
embarrass?
Apostrophe (‘)
To show possession
my sister’s car
For special use of time
For contractions
Quotation Marks (“ “)
To indicate a person’s exact words
I asked Ana, “ Will you join me
for lunch tomorrow?”
To indicate titles of short works: the
titles of magazine and newspaper
articles, essays, short stories, short
poems, songs and book chapters.
When a reporting verb is used to
introduce the quotation, use a
comma.
He said, “ I don’t like living with you.”
When the quotation is integrated
into the structure of the sentence,
no punctuation is needed.
The administration maintains that “no
raise should be given in this fiscal year”
Semicolons (;)
Separate main clauses which could
be written as independent sentences
but are very closely related in
meaning.
With conjunctive adverbs
With items in a series if the items are
long and already contain commas
Colons (:)
To add extra information after a
clause.
To introduce a list
Can be used before an explanation to
introduce material that explains or
gives an example of something
mentioned in the first clause.
To introduce a quotation
The Hyphen ( - )
Joins two words to make them one
To link compound nouns and verbs – son-
in-law, best-seller
To connect words that function as
adjectives – a two-year-old boy, a well-
known actor
Use with some prefixes and suffixes self-
esteem
With fractions and numbers – fifty-five
Parentheses ()
Toenclose material that is not
important, material that is used as a
side comment
Dashes (- -)
Tosignal a long pause for emphasis
or dramatic effect
The Exclamation point ( ! )
Foremphasis, usually to show
surprise or some strong emotion.
The end!