Punctuation is used to disambiguate a sentence by using spacing, conventional signs, and certain typographical devices
Punctuation introduces appropriate pauses in sentences, and elicits appropriate responses from the reader.
Observe the difference in the following
Woman, without her man, is nothing – (Importance of men)
Woman: without her, man is nothing – (Importance of women)
Common Punctuation Marks:
•Full stop or Period (.)
•Comma (,)
•Semicolon (;)
•Colon (:)
•Quotation marks (“ __”, ‘__’)
•Question mark (?)
•Exclamation mark (!)
•Brackets ( ) [ ] {}
•Apostrophe (’)
•Hyphen (-)
•Dash (–) (—)
•Slash (/)
•Ellipsis (. . . )
Full Stop or Period:
The Full Stop (.) are used:
1.To mark the end of a sentence that is a complete statement e.g. My name’s Mark.
2.In some abbreviations, for example etc., Dec., or p.m.
If the abbreviation ends the sentence, no additional full stop is required e.g. I am going to settle in Washington, D.C.If the abbreviation appears at the end of a question, a question mark must be followed,e.g. Are you going to settle in D.C.?Comma
The Comma (,) is utilized to check a slight break between various parts of a sentence
1.In arrangements of nouns, verbs, adjectives, phrases and so on – for example My morning meal is eggs, bacon, and porridge.
2.In direct speech – for example She said to me, " I love you."
3.To separate statements – for example I realize what I need, and what they need.
4.To separate certain parts of a sentence – for example Mary, wife, is a craftsman.
5.To present a participial expression – for example Strolling not far off, I saw a child crying
6.To present label questions – for example She will come here, won't she?
The Oxford Comma or The Serial Comma
It is the comma used before the conjunction ‘and’When is it necessary and when it is not:I want three fruits: an apple, a pear and an orange – (The comma is not needed before ‘and’)
However,
I want the following: a beer, some crisps, pork and vegetable pies – (Is it pork, and vegetable pies?)
A book dedication: “To my parents, Cindy Crawford and God – (Whose child are you?)
SemicolonThe Semicolon (;) is used to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but not as final as a full stop.
For example:
1.To separate the closely related independent clauses
E.g. The railway line runs through a beautiful, wooded valley; the river follows it.2.To organise an exceptionally descriptive list
e.g. We invited the following members: Ron Howard, Professor of English; David Abbott, Professor of Physics; Jenny McCarthy, Professor of History; Sue Lynn, Professor of Psychology
Semicolon and Conjunctions
The Semicolon is utilized before all conjunctions in English aside from FANBOYSFor, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
FANBOYS are constantly gone before by the comma, and not the semicolon.
I am absent in the room, however, my strategies are. – (Incorrect)
I am absent in the room; however, my strategies are. – (Correct)
I am absent in the room; but my strategies are. – (Incorrect)
I am absent in the room, but my techniques are. – (Correct – 'But' is a FANBOYS combination)
Colon
The Colon (:) is used in the following ways:1.Between two main clauses in cases where the second clause explains or follows from the first
e.g. It wasn’t easy: to begin with, I had to find the right paper.2. To introduce a list
e.g. The kit includes the following: a pen, a notepad, and an apple.3.Before a quotation, and sometimes before direct speech:
He shouted: “The next time I stand up here, I will have answers to these questions.”
Quotation Marks
Quotation Marks are of 2 types:A.Double quotation marks (“__”)
B.Single Quotation marks (‘___’)
1.Double Quotation marks indicate the beginning and end of direct speech
e.g. “Is that all?”, he asked.2.Single Quotation marks are used to mark off a word or phrase that’s being discussed, or that’s being directly quoted from somewhere else
e.g. She calls it ‘the memory of trees.’ Question mark
The Question mark (?) is used to introduce the following:
1.The end of a question e.g. Have you seen the film yet?
2.To introduce tag questions e.g. He is here, isn’t he?
DO NOT use question marks before indirect questions
For example:
Where was he? – (Correct – A Direct question)
I wondered where he was? – (Incorrect – An Indirect question)
I wondered where he was. (Correct – An indirect question ends with a full stop)
Previous Year Questions on Punctuation Marks
Q1. What Punctuation Does the following Sentence Require?
Part of Australia is known to the natives as The Outback.
Hyphen
Comma
Semicolon
Inverted commas
(SNAP 2009)
Q2. What Punctuation Does the following Sentence Require?
I know that you want to learn to drive Rima but you are too young
Semicolon
Hyphen
Inverted commas
Comma
(SNAP 2009)
Q3. Identify the Grammatically Correct and Appropriate Sentence(s) – CAT 2007
A. When I returned to home, I began to read
B. everything I could get my hand on about Israel.
C. That same year Israel’s Jewish Agency sent
D. a Shaliach a sort of recruiter to Minneapolis.
E. I became one of his most active devotees.
(1) C & E
(2) C only
(3) E only
(4) B, C & E
(5) C, D & E
Q4. Choose the one which is correctly punctuated? – XAT 2007
1. Last Sunday, we went canoeing on the Brahmaputra river. You could see eagles high in the trees above us.
2. While we were canoeing last Sunday on the Brahmaputra river, high in the trees above us, you could see eagles.
3. We went canoeing last Sunday on the Brahmaputra river, and high in the trees above us, we could see eagles.
4. High in the trees above, the eagles were looking down at you, as we canoed on the Brahmaputra river last Sunday.
5. High above in the trees, eagles were looking at us, as we canoed on the Brahmaputra river last Sunday.
Launch your Graphy