Lesson6

PunctuationMarks
Punctuationsaremarksusedinwritingtoaidclarity.Therearevariousformsofpunctuationmarksu
sedindiversewaystofacilitateclarityinwriting.
Theyinclude:
Thefullstop,thecomma,apostrophe,questionmark,quotationmarkandthecolon.Therearemore
buttheclasswouldconcentrateontheseonesastheyaretheonesthatarecommonlyused.
Thefullstopisamarkthatiscommonlyusedattheendofsentences,statementsprecisely.Examples
:
- Practicemakesperfect.
I. Thefullstopcanalsobeusedforabbreviations,althoughthisisnolongeranecessity,example
s:Dr.,W.H.O.etc.
TheQuestionMarkisthatwhichisusedimmediatelyafterawrittenquestion.Examples:
- whatdoestheteachermean?
- areyouthere?
ExclamationMarkisamarkthatisusedafteranexpressionthatindicatesaperson’semotions,exam
ples:
-ohmyGod!
-hello!Whereareyougoing?
Capitallettersareusedforvariouspurposes,theyinclude:
a.Itisusedatthebeginningofeverysentence,example:
-Themanhascome
-Theboyiseating.
Notethatintheactualsense,acolon(:)isnotanendpunctuationthatiswhyitisnotfollowedbycapit
allettersinmostofthethingsthatIhavealreadywritten.Therearethreeendpunctuations.Theyare
:thefullstop,Questionmarkandtheexclamationmarks.Whenanyofthethreeiswritten,itisfollow
edbyacapitalletter.
b.Itisusedtostartpropernouns,examples:James,Ayo,Kano,etc.
c.Itisusedatthebeginningoftitles.Fortitlesofbooks,eachnounorverbistostartwithacapitalletter.
Example:
- Theconcubine,TheLionandTheJewel
-TheObiofOnitsha,Mr.,Dr.,etc.
d.ItisusedtobeginthenamesandtitlesofGod,examples:Almighty,Creator,He,etc.
e.Itisusedatthebeginningofeachwordinthesalutationandaddressbutinthecomplimentaryclose
,itisonlythefirstletterofthefirstwordthatiscapitalized.
Examples:
(Salutation)
DearSir/Madam,
DearGrace,
MydearGrace,
(notethatthisisdifferent.ThecapitallettersarethefirstwordandthepropernounGrace).
(Complimentaryclose)
Yourssincerely,
Babatunde.

(Address)
RoyalCrownAcademy,
P.O.Box428,
Dwei,
Du.
f.Itisusedforthefirstpersonsingularpronoun“I”.Examples.
-MyfriendandIwenttoseetheman.
g.Itisusedforabbreviations/titlesexample:B.A.Msc,Ph.D.,HouseofReps.Etc.
h.Itisusedforthefirstlettersofnamesofrivers,mountains,lakes,etc
RiverNile,MountEverest,LakeChadetc.
h.Itisusedatthebeginningofadirectspeech,especiallysomethingthatisquotedasacompletesent
ence.Example:
Hesaid,“Toerrishuman”.
Thecomma
Rolesofthecommainclude:
i. toseparatewordsenumeratedinaseries,example:thebed,thechair,thetableandallother
thingswerecounted.
ii. tomarkoffnounsinappositions,example:Mrs.White,theprincipalofkings’school,ismyfri
end.
iii. tomarkoffastatementfromadependentquestion,example:Idon’tthinkyoumeanwhatyo
usay,doyou?
iv. toseparateshortco-
ordinatedclauses,example:Icooked,ate,didsomeworkandwenthome.
v. toseparatesubordinateclausesiftherebemorethanone,example:Whenmynewmaidca
me,Iaskedherwhoshewas,whereshecamefrom,howlongshewouldstaywithmeandwhe
reshewouldlatermoveto.
vi. toseparateanintroductoryadverbialclause,phraseoradverbofemphasisfromthemaincl
ause,example:
- assoonastheholidaystarted,wetravelled.
- inthemorning,Johncamehere.
- unfortunately,Johnlefttheclass.
- definitely,itshallbedone.
vii. toindicateaparenthesis,example:Thecar,believedtohavebeenstolen,wasauctioned.
viii. toseparatethenameinanaddress,fromtheremainingpartoftheaddressexample:Tony,w
hereareyourbooks?
Youmustbeanaughtygirl,Bola.
Colonisasignusedforthesepurposes:
a.tointroducealistofitems,example:
-
Joy’suncleofferedherthechoiceofanyoftheseforherweddinggift:atickettotraveltoLondon,agia
ntrefrigerator,aweek’shoneymoonatNiconNogaHotelorafiftythousandnairagoldwristwatch.
b.toseparatetwosentenceswhenthesecondpartexplainsfullythemeaningofthefirst.Example:
-
Amina’sworkisunsatisfactory:heranswersaremeaningless,herwritingisbad,andherspellingsare
terrible.
QuotationMarksareusedtomarkoffthebeginningandtheendofaperson’sdirectspeechorwords.
Theteachergivestheseexamples:
-Themansaid,“Thishouseisnotforme.”
-Deborahasked,“Istheteacherintheclass?”
Apostropheisasignusedforthesepurposes:
a. toindicatepossessionusingthemarkwithan‘s’thatis,‘sors’.Example:
i. Inmyfather’shouse,therearemanyrooms.
Father’sintheabovesentenceindicatesthatthehouseisownedbythefather.Forpluralformsandw
ordsthatendwith‘s’,theapostrophecomesafterthe‘s’.Examples:
- ItisJames’bag.
- IamastudentofGirls’Highschool.etc.
Thesecondroleplayedbyanapostropheisitsusetoindicateanomissionofaletter(s)inwordsorjoint
words.Examples:IamasI’m,youareasyou’re,donotasdon’t,etc.
Assessment
Punctuatethesesentences
1. Sisterblessingwouldyoulifttheboxplease
2. Mariamexclaimedhowwonderful
3. ThedayIwillneverforgetis3rdMarch,1984
4. Shelosthergoattwohensandaduck
5. Myclassteacherhassomanygoodqualitiesheisdiligentcompassionateandtrustworthy.
6. mr.Aremuistoluandtosinsmum.
7. Busayoisapupilofeclactinternationalschool.
8. Itsawomanworldnotgirls.
9. Myfather-in-lawisagodfearingman.
10. thosewhoopposedthemformedanewpartycalledthepeopledemocratic party
11. ijebuanelectricianschildmadeamovingstatement
12.
13.
14. Thevisitoraskedher,areyouamemberofboysscout