PUNCTUATION

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PUNCTUATION

Extract from: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, Hornby, A.S., Oxfor University Press, 1986 Edition.

Full Stop (US = Period)

Used to mark the end of a sentence:

·         Edward walked briskly into the hotel. The receptionist looked at him coldly.

Also see Letters and Abbreviations below.

Question Mark

1.    Used at the end of a direct question:

·         Who was the first to arrive?

(Note. It is not used at the end of an indirect question: He asked who had been the first to arrive.)

2.    Used in parentheses to express doubt:

·         He was born in 1550(?) and died in 1613.

Exclamation Mark (US also Exclamation Point)

Used at the end of a sentence or remark expressing a high degree of anger, amazement or other strong emotion:

·         ‘What a wonderful surprise!' she cried.

·         Get out of here and never come back!

(Note. Beware of over-using exclamation marks, or including them where the emotion is only mild.)

Comma

1.    Used to separate the items in lists of words, phrases or clauses:

·         Red, pink, yellow and white roses filled the huge vases.

·         If you take your time, stay calm, concentrate and think ahead, you'll pass your driving test.

2.    Sometimes used after a subordinate adverbial clause or after a phrase which comes before the main clause. It is essential after longer clauses and phrases, and to avoid ambiguity:

·         When the sun is shining brightly above, the world seems a happier place.

·         In the summer of 1948, many trees died.

3.    Used after a non-finite or verbless clause at the beginning of a sentence:

·         To get there on time, she left half an hour early.

·         Happy and contented, the cat fell asleep.

4.    Used to separate an introductory or transitional word or phrase (e.g. therefore, however, by the way, for instance) from the rest of the sentence:

·         Yes, it certainly had been an eventful day.

·         In fact, I don’t even known her name.

·         Driving on icy roads can be dangerous and one should, therefore, be very careful.

5.    Used before and after any element (e.g. a dependent clause, a comment) which interrupts the sentence:

·         The fire, although it had been burning for several hours, was still blazing fiercely.

·         You should, indeed you must, report the matter to the police.

6.    Used before and after a non-defining relative clause, or a phrase in apposition, which gives more information about the noun it follows:

·         The Pennine Hills, which have been a favourite with hikers for many years, are situated between Lancashire and Yorkshire.

·         Queen Elizabeth II, a very popular monarch, celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1977.

(Note. No commas are used around a relative clause that defines the noun it follows:

The hills that separate Lancashire from Yorkshire are called The Pennines.)

7.    Sometimes used to separate main clauses linked by a conjunction (e.g. and, as, but, for, or) especially when the first clause is long:

·         We had been looking forward to meeting Sarah’s husband, but discovered that he was not as pleasant as we had hoped.

Also see ‘Conversation’ below

 : Colon

1.    (Formal) Used after a main clause where the following statement illustrates or explains the content of that clause. It may be replaced by a semicolon or a full stop:

·         The garden had been neglected for a long time: it was overgrown and full of weeds.

2.    Used before a long list, and often introduced by phrases such as:

such as: for example: for instance in the following examples: as follows:

·         Your first aid kit should include the following items: cotton wool, lint, antiseptic lotion, sticking plaster, bandages and safety pins.

Also see Quotations below.

 ; Semicolon

1.    (Formal) Used to separate main clauses, not (usually) joined by a conjunction, which are considered so closely connected as to belong to one sentence:   

·         The sun was setting now; the shadows were long.

·         He had never been to Russia before; however, it had always been one of his life-long ambitions.

2.    Used instead of a comma to separate from each other parts of a sentence that are already separated by commas:

·         There are two facts to consider: first, the weather; second, the expense.

 – Dash

1.    (Colloq) Used instead of a colon or a semicolon to make the writing more vivid or dramatic:

·         Sirens blared, men shouted, and people crowded in to witness the scene—it was chaos.

·         So you've been lying to me for years and years—how can I ever trust you again?

2.    (Colloq) Used singly or in pairs to separate extra information, an after-thought or a comment, in a vivid or dramatic way, from the rest of the sentence:

·         Schooldays are the happiest days of our lives—or so we are told.

·         Schooldays—or so we are told—are the happiest days of our lives.

(Note. In more formal usage, parentheses or commas replace dashes.)

Also see Conversation below.

(xxx) Parentheses (GB also Brackets)

1.    Used to separate extra information, an after-thought or a comment from the rest of the sentence:

·         Schooldays (so we are told) are the happiest days of our lives.

·         He said he'd never seen the sea before (but I think he was joking).

·          

2.    Used to enclose cross-references:

·         The abacus (see the picture on page 1) is used for teaching numbers to children.

‘ ’ Quotation Marks (GB also Inverted Commas)

(Note: In GB usage they are usually single: ‘Fire!’ In US usage they are usually double: “Fire!’)

1.    Used around a slang or technical term when it is in a context in which it is not usually found. or around a word to which the writer wishes to draw particular attention:

·         Next, the clay pot had to be 'fired'.

·         He called himself a 'gentleman', but you would never have thought so from the way he behaved.

Hyphen

(Note: It must not be confused with the dash, which separates parts of a sentence. The hyphen is half the length of the dash.)

1.    Sometimes used to form a compound word from two other words:

·         hard-hearted;

·         radio-telescope;

·         fork-lift truck.

2.    Used to form a compound word from a prefix and a proper name:

·         pre-Raphaelite;

·         pro-Soviet;

·         anti-Nazi.

3.    Used to form a compound word from two other words which are separated by a preposition:

·         mother-in-law;

·         mother-to-be;

·         mother-of-pearl;

·         out-of-date.

4.    (Esp GB) Sometimes used to separate a prefix ending in a vowel from a word beginning with that same vowel:

·         co-ordination;

·         re-elect;

·         pre-eminent.

 ̓ Apostrophe

1.    Used with ‘s’ to indicate the possessive:

Singular noun: the dog’s bone.

Singular noun ending in ‘s’: the princess's smile.

Singular proper noun ending in ‘s’ (two possible forms): King Charles's crown > King Charles’ crown.

Plural noun: students' books.

Irregular plural: men’s jackets.

Abbreviations

1.    A full stop may end an abbreviation or a person’s initials, although this is becoming less common, especially in GB usage:

·         Mr. R. S. H. Smith or Mr RS H Smith.

2.    When the abbreviation consists of capitals, it is common GB usage to omit the full stops:

·         UN

·         WHO

·         BBC

3.    The omission of full stops in a lower case abbreviation is less common:

·         i.e.  - p.m.  - e.g.  

or

·         ie pm eg

4.    If the abbreviation includes the last letter of the word, it is usual in GB usage to omit the full stop:

·         Mr  -  Dr  -  St  -   Rd

5.    To form the plural of capital letter abbreviations, add a lower case 's or s:

·         MP's or MPs - TV's or 7’Ks

Conversation

1.    A new indented paragraph is begun with each new speaker.

2.    Quotations marks enclose all words and punctuation in indirect speech:

·         ‘What on earth did you do that for?’ he asked.

‘I’ve no idea. But see the indentation.

3.    Introductory words (eg he said, she cried, they answered) are separated from the actual words spoken by commas if no other punctuation mark (eg question mark, exclamation mark) is used:

·         John said, ‘That's all / know.’ -  'That's all I know,' said John. -  'That,' said John, ‘is all I known.'

·         ' Why?’ asked John.

4.    A comma separates a question tag from the rest of the sentence:

·         ^‘You knew he’d come, didn’t you?’

5.    A mild interjection or the direct use of a name is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma:

·         'Oh, so that's what he wanted.’ (Cf ‘Oh no! I don’t believe you!’)

·         ' Well, Peter, / did my best.' (Cf ‘Peter! Look out!’)

6.    Hesitant or interrupted speech can be indicated by dashes:

·         ‘Can /—I mean, would you mind if / came too?

·         ‘ You'll find it in—' were his dying words.

7.    Speech within speech is shown by (GB usage) double quotation marks inside single marks, or (US usage) single quotation marks within double marks:

·         ‘When the judge said, “Not guilty,'' I could have hugged him.' (GB)

·         “ When the judge said, 'Not guilty,' I could have hugged him." (US)

Quotations

1.    The quotation is separated from its introduction by a colon and is enclosed by quotation marks:

·         It was Disraeli who said: ‘Little things affect little minds.'

2.    If a word or phrase is omitted from the quotation, this is indicated by a row of three dots (...):

·         ‘The condition of man ... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.' (Thomas Hobbes)

Also see ‘Conversation’ above.