Punctuation

Punctuation Marks

There are punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar. They are the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, parentheses, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Following their correct usage will make your writing easier to read and more appealing.

Sentence Endings

Three of the punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence endings. They are the period, question mark, and exclamation point.

The period (.)

The period (.) is placed at the end of declarative sentences, statements thought to be complete and after many abbreviations.

Examples:

• As a sentence ender: Jane and Jack went to the market.

• After an abbreviation: Her son, John Jones Jr., was born on Dec. 6, 2008.

Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence:

When did Jane leave for the market?

The exclamation point (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis:

• Within dialogue: "Holy cow!" screamed Jane.

• To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious!

Comma, Semicolon, and Colon

The comma, semicolon, and colon are often misused because they all can indicate a pause in a series.

The comma is used to show a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. Additionally, it is used in numbers, dates, and letter writing after the salutation and closing:

• Direct address: Thanks for all your help, John.

• Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies, and then we went out to lunch.

• Separating lists or elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black, green, and blue dress.

The semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show.

• John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.

A colon (:) has three main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.

• He was planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.

The second is between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a semicolon:

• I didn't have time to get changed: I was already late.

The third use of a colon is for emphasis:

• There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.

Dash

Two other common punctuation marks isthe dash.

A dash is used to separate words into statements.

• Twice as long as a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (–) that is used in writing or printing to indicate a range, connections or differentiations, such as 1880-1945 or Princeton-New York trains.

Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses

Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further explanation or are considered a group.

Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations or to clarify meaning. If you remove the information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.

He [Mr. Jones] was the last person seen at the house.

Braces ({})

are used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit. They are not commonplace in most writing but can be seen in computer programming to show what should be contained within the same lines. They can also be used in mathematical expressions.

For example, 2{1+[23-3]}=x.

Parentheses ( () )

are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks. However, parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing the meaning in most cases.

John and Jane (who were actually half brother and sister) both have red hair.

Apostrophe, Quotation Marks and Ellipsis

The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any form.

An apostrophe (') is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of lowercase letters. Examples of the apostrophe in use include:

• Omission of letters from a word: I've seen that movie several times. She wasn't the only one who knew the answer.

• Possessive case: Sara's dog bit the neighbor.

Quotations marks (" ") are a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word.

"Don't go outside," she said.

The ellipsis is most commonly by three periods (. . . )

The ellipsis is used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.

• Omission of words: She began to count, "One, two, three, four…" until she got to 10, then went to find him.

• Within a quotation: When Newton stated, "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion..." he developed the law of motion.