Tips on Punctuation

by Simón Gasc Latorre

and Juan Galleguillos
 What is Punctuation?

• Punctuation is the system of symbols that we use to separate written sentences

and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear; that is to say, for a
better cohesion and coherence.

• For example: Which of these do you think was the writer’s real intention?
- My interests include cooking animals and swimming.
- My interests include cooking, animals and swimming.
 The Basics Signs of
Punctuation
the comma ,
the full stop .
the exclamation mark !
the question mark ?
the semi-colon ;
the colon :
quotation marks
apostrophe ‘ “”
 The Comma

• Commas usually indicate a brief pause; they are not as final as periods, but sometimes it
is useful when the writer wishes to: pause before proceeding, add a phrase that does not
contain any subject, separate ítems on a list, use more than one adjective, etc.
• For example, in the following sentence the clause between the commas give us more
information behind the actions of the boy (subject):

• The boy, who knew his mother was about to arrive, ran quickly towards the opening door.
• (if we remove the phrase between commas, the sentence would still make sense although
there would be a loss of information)
The comma

- Use a comma to separate the elements in series, for example:

- He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base.

- My estate goes to my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and nephew.

When the last comma in a series comes before and or or (after “ran to first base” in the above example), it is
known as oxford comma. In many cases people think it is unnecessary; however, the omission of the oxford
comma can sometimes lead to misunderstandings.
The comma

Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the order of the adjectives is
interchangeable, for example:

Example: - He is a strong, healthy man.

We could also say healthy, strong man.
Example: - We stayed at an expensive summer resort.
We would not say summer expensive resort, so no comma.

Another way to determine if a comma is needed is to mentally put and between the two
adjectives. If the result still makes sense, add the comma. In the examples above, a
strong and healthy man makes sense, but an expensive and summer resort does not.
 The Full Stop
A full stop should always be used to end a sentence. The full stop indicates that a point
has been made and that you are about to move on to further explanations or a related
point.

Example: - The boy was happy… at the start of his summer holiday.”

A single full stop may also be used to indicate the abbreviation of commonly used words as in the
following examples:
•Telephone Number = Tel. No.
•September = Sept.
•Pages = pp.
 The Semicolon

• A semicolon can be used between two closely related independent clauses,

provided they are not already joined by a coordinating conjunction. Semicolons
can also be used in place of commas to separate items in a list, particularly when
the elements of that list contain commas

• Margaret has many friends. Her parents are very rich.

In this example, with a period between the two sentences, there is nothing to show whether the
two ideas are connected with each other. Now look at it with a semicolon:

• Margaret has many friends; her parents are very rich.

 The colon

A colon means "that is to say" or "here's what I mean." Colons and semicolons should never be used
interchangeably. A colon precedes an explanation or an enumeration, or list. It is also used with ratios,
titles and subtitles of books, city and publisher in bibliographies.

The colon is a stop and a curtain-raiser. It points toward something that follows. It says: “There is
something missing in this sentence and here it comes.” It is mainly used for two purposes: to introduce
direct quotations (as in the previous sentence) and to introduce listings of two or more things (as this
one).
 Exercises

1. Some people work best in the mornings others do better in the evenings

2. Mr. Creadys ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is I believe amazing

3. Mother had to go into hospital she had heart problems

4. Did you understand why I was upset

 Exercises

5. It is a fine idea let us hope that it is going to work

6. A textbook can be a wall between teacher and class

7. The girls father sat in a corner

8. In the words of Murphys Law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
 Answers

1. Some people work best in the mornings; others do better in the evenings.
2. Mr. Cready's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is, I believe, amazing.
3. Mother had to go into hospital: she had heart problems.
4. Did you understand why I was upset?
5. It is a fine idea; let us hope that it is going to work.
6. A textbook can be a ‘wall’ between teacher and class.
7. The girl’s father sat in a corner.
8. In the words of Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.
 Extra practice

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_55.htm

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/3/

http://www.timeforkids.com/homework-helper/grammar-wizard/punctuation-practice

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/puncsum.html

http://www.k12reader.com/subject/grammar/punctuation/