PUNCTUATION MARKS

Punctuation marks are symbols that are used to aid the clarity and comprehension of written
language.
EXAMPLES OF PUNCTUATION MARK
1. Period (.) – used to indicate the end of a sentence, or to follow an abbreviation.
Example:
As a sentence ender: The students of KCNHS are very participative.
After an abbreviation: His son, Mr. Juan Cruz, was born on Jan. 1, 1987.
2. Question mark (?) – indicates a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.
Example: Why are you crying?
3. Exclamation point (!) – added at the end of the sentence to show emphasis depending on the
emotion of the sentence (anger, happiness, excitement, or any other strong emotion).
Example: Wow! The city is very beautiful.
4. Comma (,) – used to separate different ideas or elements in a sentence, and also used in numbers,
dates, and letter writing after the salutation and closing.
Example:
Direct address: Thank you very much, John.
Separation of two complete sentences: There are many ways, but some ways are not effective.
Separation of lists of elements: My favorite colors are green, pink, and purple.
5. Semicolon (;) – used to create a pause between two independent clauses that are closely related to
each other.
Example: I love cats; they are good companions.
6. Colon (:) – used to introduce an example, a list, an explanation, or a quotation.
Example:
Introducing an example/list: He was planning to study the following: politics, philosophy,
sociology, and economics.
Quotation or explanation: John said, “I wish you a Merry Christmas. Best wishes to you and your
family.”
7. Dash (-/–) – two different dashes are en dash and em dash.
En dash (-) – shorter than em dash, and used to indicate a range, connections or differentiations.
Example: 1980-1998, 1-10, January-March.
Em dash (–) – longer than en dash, and can be used in place of a comma or parenthesis.
Example: She is afraid of two things – spiders and dolls.
8. Hyphen (-) – Even though it looks very similar to a dash, a hyphen has different use which is to
create compound words.
Example: close-up, high-speed, in-depth
9. Parenthesis () – are curve notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks.
Example: I went to the cinema to meet James (my eldest brother).
10. Apostrophe (‘) – can be used in contraction in place in omitted letters and show possession.
Example:
Contraction: They aren’t coming now so let’s go home.
For possession: The learner’s jerseys were brand new.
11. Quotation marks (“”) – used to mark the beginning and end of a passage, also used to indicate
meanings and unusual words.
Example:
John said, “I really hate when it’s hot outside.”
Literature came from the Latin word “litera” which means “letters”.
The essay “True Colors” is an interesting piece of John Lang.
12. Ellipsis (…) – indicates an omission of unnecessary words to jump from one phrase to another.
Example: What a beautiful garden it was… such a wonderful place.
ACTIVITY 1
Direction: Apply the correct punctuation marks in the sentences.
1. The grade 9 students are very participative
2. Why is the temperature high
3. She has four dogs namely Bubbles Bingo Bruno and Bella.
4. Lori said go and find your peace.
5. I cant eat it, but its good.
6. I love Jenna her eyes are gold.
7. Atty Jeric Lu was born on Feb 14 1993.
8. WOW Its very delicious.
9. I miss you so much Linz.
10. What am I going to do now.

ACTIVITY 2
Direction: Apply the correct punctuation marks in the paragraph. Write it on a ½ sheet of paper.

My family is very important to me We spend a lot of time together Every evening we gather around the
dinner table and share stories about our day. My parents always support me in everything I do and my
siblings are my best friends. My siblings are Perry Nico and Nina. We love to do the following jogging at
morning cooking our favorite food and doing karaoke. Sometimes we argue, but we always make up
quickly. Our Mom said You are my greatest treasure. I cherish the moments we spend laughing and
enjoying each others company

ACTIVITY 3
Direction: Write five sentences with a correct punctuation mark.