Punctuation

Front

What is punctuation?

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Punctuation refers to the marks used in writing that help clarify meaning and separate linguistic units. Examples include periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points.

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What is a comma used for?

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A comma is used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence, to separate items in a list, or to set off clauses.

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What does an ellipsis (...) indicate?

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An ellipsis indicates that part of the text has been intentionally left out or that there is a pause in thought.

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What is a semicolon used for?

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A semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses that are closely related in thought.

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What is an apostrophe used for?

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An apostrophe is used to indicate possession (e.g., Mary's book) or to form contractions (e.g., it's for it is).

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What is the purpose of quotation marks?

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Quotation marks are used to indicate direct speech, quotations, or titles of short works.

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What is a period?

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A period is a punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a declarative sentence.

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What is a hyphen used for?

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A hyphen is used to join words or parts of words, such as in compound adjectives (e.g., well-known) or to break a word at the end of a line.

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What is the difference between 'there', 'their', and 'they're'?

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'There' refers to a place, 'their' indicates possession, and 'they're' is a contraction for 'they are'.

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What is a parenthesis?

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A parenthesis is a punctuation mark used to enclose additional information or an aside in a sentence.