Punctuation Types

punctuation

https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/

Punctuation types

• Terminal points

• Pausing points

• Hyphens and dashes

• Quotations

• Other

Terminal Points

• Period .

• Question mark ?

• Exclamation point !

• 
  

• 
  

Periods

• Sentences should always end with a terminal point.

• Periods are the most often used terminal point.

• Example: Let's get started.

Question marks

• indicate a question

• Example: Is it cold outside?

Exclamation points

• show strong emotion, good and bad

• Example: I'm so excited for summer break!

• Example: I can't believe I failed!

• Example: What?!

Multiple Choice

Choose the best terminal point: Is it raining

• .

• ?

• !

Multiple Choice

Choose the best terminal point: Oh no

• .

• ?

• !

Multiple Choice

Choose the best terminal point: You can borrow my pencil

• .

• ?

• !

Pausing Points

• Comma ,

• Semicolon ;

• Colon :

Commas

• lists (bread, milk, and ice cream)

• numbers (100,000)

• dates (January 8, 2020)

• geographical locations (Knoxville, TN)

Commas (continued)

• direct address (John, please read page 10.)

• multiple adjectives (large, red ballon)

• nonessential information (John, a senior, works at Chick-fil-A.)

• introductions (Yes, I like that.)

• compound and complex sentence structures (I will go to the store, and you pick up our daughter. Because of the snow, school will be delayed.)

• 
  

• 
  

Semicolons

• join independent clauses without coordinating conjunction

• Example: I will go to the store; you will pick up our daughter.

• lists with internal commas

• Example: The new store will have groceries on the lower level; luggage, housewares, and electronics on the ground floor; men’s and women’s clothing on the second floor; and books, music, and stationery on the third floor.

• 
  

Colons

• introduce lists

• Example: The bookstore specializes in three types of rare books: art, history, and first editions.

• emphasis

• Example: The jury delivered their verdict: guilty.

Colons continued

• ratio

• Example: The odds are 3:1.

• time

• Example: Class stars at 9:40.

• 
  

• 
  

• 
  

Multiple Choice

Select the best pausing point to punctuate the sentence: I like strawberry ice cream __ he likes chocolate.

• comma

• semicolon

• colon

Multiple Choice

Select the best pausing point to punctuate the sentence: There are 8__760 hours in one year.

• comma

• semicolon

• colon

Multiple Choice

Select the best pausing point to punctuate the sentence: I need to get a few things from the grocery store __ milk, ice cream, and bread.

• comma

• semicolon

• colon

Hyphens and Dashes

• Hyphen -

• En dash -

• Em dash --

Use hyphens for compound terms

• What time is check-in?

• I'm tired of this good-for-nothing phone.

• A 70-year-old man beat off his attacker.

Use en dashes for numbers and connections

• The Vikings won 111--87.

• Office hours are 8:00--9:30.

• He lived from 1947--2021.

• The Atlanta--Sao Paulo--Forteleza flight is delayed.

Use em dashes to replace

• commas: When the car was finally delivered--3 months after it was ordered--she decided she no longer wanted it.

• parentheses: Upon discovering the errors--all 112 of them--they quickly fixed them.

• colons: After months of deliberation, the jury provided a verdict--guilty.

• names: Mr. J-- testified against his former employer.

Multiple Choice

To indicate the years of a person's life, which would you use?

• hyphen

• en dash

• em dash

Multiple Choice

For a compound term, which would you use?

• hyphen

• en dash

• em dash

Multiple Choice

Which would you use to keep a person's name confidential?

• hyphen

• en dash

• em dash

Quotations

• Quotation marks " "

• Ellipses ...

• Brackets [ ]

Quotation marks

• Indicate someone's exact words.

• Ex. He said, "I don't like football."

• 
  

Ellipses

• indicate a pause or trailing off of a thought

• indicate not all material/words were included; use ellipses where words were omitted

• Example: Thoreau believes that “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, . . . he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.”

Brackets

• allow insertion of material/information in order to clarify

• Example: The media mogul was overheard saying, “I would never do a deal with [Acme Corporation's CEO,] Wile E. Coyote.”

• 
  

Multiple Choice

Which would you use to indicate the omission of information?

• quotation marks

• ellipses

• brackets

Multiple Choice

Which would you use to indicate added information?

• quotation marks

• ellipses

• brackets

Multiple Choice

Which would you use to show a person's exact words?

• quotation marks

• ellipses

• brackets

Other Punctuation

• Parentheses ( ) provide additional information.

• Example: The president (and his assistant) traveled by private jet.

• Slash / is used in shorthand to replace words such as per, and, or

• Example: The salary for this job is $800/week.

• Apostrophes ' are used for contractions, plurals, and possessives.

• Examples: can't, all A's, Emily's class

Multiple Choice

Which is an apostrophe used for?

• to show possession

• to replace the word "and"

• to provide additional information

Multiple Choice

Which area parentheses used for?

• to replace the word "and"

• to provide additional information

• to show possession

Multiple Choice

Which is a slash used for?

• to show possession

• to replace the word "and"

• to provide additional information