Punctuation is
the system of signs or symbols given to a reader to show how a sentence is
constructed and how it should be read.
Every sentence should include at least a
capital letter at the start and a full stop or exclamation mark or question
mark at the end. This basic system indicates that the sentence is complete.
The Basic Signs of Punctuation
The Basic Signs of Punctuation
Ø
the full stop.
Ø
the comma,
Ø
the exclamation mark!
Ø
the question mark?
Ø
the semi-colon ;
Ø
the colon :
Ø
the apostrophe '
Ø
quotation marks “
”
Ø
the hyphen -
A)
Use of Capital Letter
Capital Letter is used:
1)
To begin a sentence
2)
To begin each first line of
poetry.
3)
To begin all proper nouns and a proper adjective like Delhi, Ram, Sita, (Proper Nouns) French, Indian (Proper
Adjectives)
4)
To write the pronoun ‘I’.
5)
To begin the first word of direct
speech within inverted commas
Ram said,
“She is not obeying the rules.”
But when the quotation is continued, the first
word does not begin with a capital letter in later part as: “She is not obeying the rules”, said Ram, “and
she will be punished.”
6)
To begin with, all the nouns and
pronouns referring to God: The Almighty, His will etc.
7)
To begin people’s title: Mr
Gupta, Dr Ram, the Chairman, Prof.
8)
To begin with the names of months:
January, March, December etc.
9)
To begin with names of days Monday, Tuesday,
Sunday etc.
10) To begin with names public holidays: Dewali,
Republic Day, Christmas, Id etc.
11) To begin with the title of books: The Gita, The
Ramayana, Godan, Hamlet etc.
12) To begin with the historical events: Quit
India, the Reformation etc.
13) To begin
with names of political parties: The Congress, the Bhartiya Janta Party etc.
14) To begin
with names of communities /religions Hindu, Muslim, Sikh etc.
15) To begin with the names of stars/planet: Mars,
Jupiter etc.
B) Use of Full Stop
The full
stop, also known as a period, is used:
1)
To mark the end of a statement
sentence: This is
the most important function. Every statement sentence starts with a capital
letter and ends with a full stop. The full stop marks off a finished, independent
statement.
2)
To mark an abbreviation: Full stop is used to mark an abbreviation i.e.
Dec. for December, B.A. for Bachelor of Arts, M.L.A. M.P. etc. A full stop is not
generally used for contraction. (Contraction example Dr for doctor means the
first and last letter of word.) The full stop is also not used in acronyms like
AIDS, NASA, ISSRO, ATM, SIM, USA etc.
3) Less frequently, a series of three full stops (an
ellipsis) can be used to indicate where a section of a quotation has been
omitted when it is not relevant to the text, for example:
“The boy was happy… at
the start of his summer holiday.”
C)
Use of the Comma (,)
The comma is used in
a sentence:
Ø To mark pause before proceeding
Ø To add a phrase that does not contain any new
subject
Ø To separate items on a list
Ø To use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful)
For example, in the following sentence
the phrase or clause between the commas gives us more information behind the
actions of the boy, the subject of the sentence:
The boy, who knew that his mother had arrived,
ran quickly towards the opening door.
Ø Commas are also used to separate items in a list.
For example:
The shopping trolley was loaded high with bottles
of beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of milk.
Note that in a list, the final two items are linked
by the word ‘and’ rather than by a comma.
Ø Commas are used to separate adjectives.
For example:
The boy was happy, eager and full of anticipation
at the start of his summer holiday.
Ø Comma is used to mark off the beginning of direct
speech or quotation.
For Example:
Ram said, “I am playing football.”
It is pertinent to note that the presence or
absence of a comma can change –or even destroy the meaning of a sentence. For
example:
1 The textual questions, which are compulsory, must
be answered. (Means all the textual questions are compulsory)
2 The textual questions which are compulsory must
be answered. (Means some questions are compulsory)
It is also to be noted that comma separates while the conjunction
joins.
D)
The Exclamation
mark (!)
For Example: Alas!
Stop!
Oh no! etc.
E)
The Question
Mark (?)
The question mark is used to
mark the end of a question sentence.
For Example: Have you understood this?
Question Mark is not used at the end of indirect speech.
For Example, I asked if you had understood that.
For Example: Have you understood this?
Question Mark is not used at the end of indirect speech.
For Example, I asked if you had understood that.
F) The
Semicolon (;)
The semicolon is stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop (period). A full stop separates two independent clauses with
complete finality; a semicolon, on the other hand, signals a less final ending
and indicates that the following clause will convey an additional idea that is closely related to the
current one. Thus, the semicolon tells the reader to expect more information on
the same idea, whereas a period, signals a clear end to the idea just expressed.
Generally, a semicolon is used as:
Ø To separate
clauses
Ø To create
variety
Ø To emphasize
relatedness
Ø To separate
items in a complex list
Semicolons Separate Clauses:
Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they
separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but could
stand on their own as sentences if you wanted them to.
For example, I have a big test tomorrow; I can't
go out tonight.
Semicolons Create Variety:
One reason you might choose to use a semicolon instead of a period is if you wanted to add variety to your sentence structure.
Semicolons Emphasize Relatedness:
Another reason to use a semicolon is to draw
attention to how related your two clauses are. The semicolon in our example
sentence highlights the reason you can't go out tonight
is that you have a big test tomorrow.
Semicolons Can Separate Items in a Complex List
It can be used with coordinating conjunction also occurs when we have an
excess of commas: it's when we need to separate list elements that contained commas themselves.
For example:
This week's winners are Ram,
Mohan and Joy from Delhi; Sohan, Shyam and Ravi from Karnal; Shiv, Hari and Parkash from Jind.
G) The Colon (:)
The colon is used in
following ways:
Ø To
introduce a list
For Example, We will discuss: voice, narration, punctuation
and phrasal verbs.
Ø To
introduce quotation
Keats said: “A thing
of beauty is a joy forever.”
Ø To
mark a dramatic break between two main clauses.
They cannot win: we
will not lose.
Ø To
separate hours from minutes
At 10:30 a.m.
H)
The Apostrophe (')
The apostrophe is used in two ways:
a)
To mark the genitive case (the case expressing
ownership) of a noun.
Boy’s table
Ram’s chair
But when the word ends with s we do not put (‘) without
(s) in the end
Keats’ poetry
Fairies’ tale
When two or more proper nouns share the ownership
we mark (‘s) nearest to the possessed noun.
Salim and Javed’s story.
b) To
mark the omission of a letter or letters
They can’t play. (Can’t=
cannot)
He’ll write a
letter. (He’ll= He will)
I)
Quotation Marks “
” or Inverted Commas
Quotation marks are
used to indicate the words actually spoken indirect speech
Ravi said, “I can
do this exercise.”
But when there is a quotation within quotation we use this in the following manner
The policeman asked, ‘Did
you say, “I have heard the cry?” ’
Single inverted
commas are used to indicate film, play, poem, essay or story.
For example, ‘The Blind Dog’ ‘Sholey’ ‘Choosing Our Universe’ etc.
J)
The Hyphen (-)
The
hyphen is used to join up two or more words to make a compound word.
For
Example, mother-in-law, twenty-two etc.
There is a difference between Dash and Hyphen.
Dash is used as a pause or to show a range.
They sold all – furniture, books and pictures.
Monday
– Friday
Punctuate the following sentences
1. we had a great time in france the kids really
enjoyed it
2. Some people work best in the mornings others do better in the evenings
3. What are you doing next weekend
4. Mother had to go into hospital she had heart problems
5. Did you understand why I was upset
6. It is a fine idea let us hope that it is going to work
7. We will be arriving on Monday morning at least I think so
8. A textbook can be a wall between teacher and class
9. The girls father sat in a corner
10. In the words of Murphys Law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
11. He is not really nice looking and yet he has enormous
charm
12. When I was a child I could watch TV whenever I wanted
to
13. It is a fine idea let us hope that it is going to
work
14. Mrs solomon who was sitting behind the desk gave me a
big smile
15. we were believe it or not in love with each other
16. I don’t like this one bit said Julia
17. have you met our handsome new financial director
18. If you are ever in London come and see you
19. michael in the Ferrari was cornering superbly
20. Looking straight at her he said I cant help you
Answers
Answers
1. We had a great time in France – the kids really
enjoyed it.
2. Some people work best in the mornings; others do better in the evenings.
3. What are you doing next weekend?
4. Mother had to go into hospital: she had heart problems.
5. Did you understand why I was upset?
6. It is a fine idea; let us hope that it is going to work.
7. We will be arriving on Monday morning – at least, I think so.
8. A textbook can be a ‘wall’ between teacher and class.
9. The girl’s father sat in a corner.
10. In the words of Murphy’s Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."
11. He is not really nice-looking, and yet he has
enormous charm.
12. When I was a child, I could watch TV whenever I
wanted to.
13. It is a fine idea; let us hope that it is going to
work.
14. Mrs Solomon, who was sitting behind the desk, gave me
a big smile.
15. We were, believe it or not, in love with each other.
16. "I don’t like this one bit," said Julia.
17. Have you met our handsome new financial director?
18. If you are ever in London, come and see you.
19. Michael, in the Ferrari, was cornering superbly.
110. Looking straight at her, he said, "I can’t help
you."
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