PUNCTUATION MARKS

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 PUNCTUATION MARKS
A System composed of conventional signs
(punctuation marks) and spaces is employed to organize
written and printed language in order to make it as
readable, clear, and logical as possible.
Standard punctuation marks and conventions include
the full stop (also known as period or point), commas,
colon, semicolon, exclamation mark (or exclamation point),
question mark, apostrophe, hyphen, and parenthesis
(which includes dashes, brackets, and the use of
parenthetical commas).

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 PUNCTUATION MARKS

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 Punct ua t io
n
Punctuation is a really important aspect in
writing. It helps you to make your writing
more understandable. It would be really hard
to read a text without capital letters, periods
or commas. Using punctuation marks
correctly can greatly enhance both the
clarity and the power of your writing.

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 The Fourteen Punctuation Marks In
English
Knowing where and when to use the fourteen punctuation marks can greatly
improve
your writing skills.
 The fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar are:
1. the period,
2. question mark,
3. exclamation point,
4. comma,
5. semicolon,
6. colon,
7. dash,
8. hyphen,
9. parentheses,
10. brackets,
11. braces,
12. apostrophe,
13. quotation marks, and
14.ellipses.
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 Sentence
SENTENCE ENDINGS : Endings
are the period, question mark, and exclamation point.
1. THE PERIOD (.) is, according to yourDictionary.com, “placed at the end of
declarative sentences and other statements thought to be complete, and
after many abbreviations.”
For example:
• As a sentence ender: Jane and Jack went to the market .
• After an abbreviation: Her Mar . birthday came and went.
2. THE QUESTION MARK (?) is used to indicate a direct question when placed
at the end of a sentence.
For example:
• When did Jane leave for the market ?
3. THE EXCLAMATION POINT/MARK (!) is used when a person wants to
express a sudden outcry or add emphasis.
•Within dialogue: “Holy cow!” screamed Jane.
•To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious !

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 THE COMMA, SEMICOLON AND COLON
THE COMMA, semicolon and colon are often misused because they all can
indicate a pause in a series. According to yourDictionary.com, the comma is “a
punctuation mark (,) used to indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the
structure of a sentence.” Additionally, it is used in letter writing after the salutation
1. and closing.
Separating elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black , green ,
and blue shoes.
2. Letter Salutations: Dear Uncle John ,
3. Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies , and we went
to the beach.
According to yourDictionary.com, THE SEMICOLON (;) is used to “ connect
independent clauses and indicating a closer relationship between the clauses than
a period does.” For example: John was hurt ; he knew she only said it to upset
him.
A COLON (:) has two main uses.
1. “ after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series
and often after the salutation of a business letter,” according to
yourDictionary.com. Colons have been used throughout this presentation to
indicate examples.
2. within time expressions. Within time, it is used to separate out the hour
and minute: 12 : 15 p.m.
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 The Dash And The Hyphen
Two kinds of dashes are used throughout written communications. They are: the en dash
and the em dash. The en dash, (–) is roughly the width of the letter n. It is shorter than
an em dash.

According to yourDictionary.com, an en dash is “A symbol (-) used in writing or printing to

connect continuing or inclusive numbers or to connect elements of a compound adjective
when either of the elements is an open compound, as 1880 - 1945 or Princeton - New York
trains. ” The en dash is used in ranges, such as 6–10 years, read as "six to ten years".
However, the em dash has more complicated grammatical use. The term em dash derives
from its defined width of one em. The symbol of - is used to indicate “ a break in
thought or
sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added for emphasis, definition, or explanation, or
to separate two clauses,” according to yourDictionary.com.
Use it in the following manner: We only wanted to get two birds but the clerk talked us into
four pregnant parakeets.
A hyphen (- ) is the same symbol as the en dash. However, it has slightly different usage
rules. Use a hyphen “between the parts of a compound word or name or between the
syllables of a word, especially when divided at the end of a line of text.” Examples of this in
use include:
1. Between a compound name: Mrs. Smith - Reynolds
2. Within a compound word: back - to - back
3. Between syllables of a word when text is on divided:
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The thought - ful girl brought cookies to her ailing neighbor.
 BRACKETS, BRACES, AND PARENTHESES
Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used
to contain words that are a further explanation or are
considered a group.
Parentheses (()) are curved notations used to contain further
thoughts or qualifying remarks, according to yourDictionary.
However, parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing
the meaning in most cases. For example:
John and Jane ( who were actually half brother and sister ) both
have red hair.

Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical
explanations. For example, yourDictionary.com uses them when
you look up word definitions. At the bottom of each definition page,
brackets surround a technical description of where the word
originated.

According to yourDictionary.com, braces ({}) are used to contain

“two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are
considered as a unit.” They are not commonplace in most writing,
but can be seen in computer programming to show what should be
contained within the same lines.

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 APOSTROPHE, QUOTATION MARKS, AND ELLIPSES

The apostrophe, quotation marks,

and ellipses are unlike the previously
mentioned punctuation marks as they
are not related to one another in any
form.

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 •An apostrophe (') is used to “indicate the omission
of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive
case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and
abbreviations.” Examples of the apostrophe in use
include:
1.Omission of letters from a word: An issue of nat ‘
l importance.
2.Possessive case: Sara ' s dog bites.
3. Plural for numbers: Sixteen people were born
on dates with 7 ' s in them.
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 The yourDictionary website defines quotations
marks ( “” ) as “ Either of a pair of punctuation
marks used primarily to mark the beginning and
end of a passage attributed to another and
repeated word for word, but also to indicate
meanings or glosses and to indicate the unusual
or dubious status of a word.”
For example, whenever this article has copied
direct definitions from yourDictionary, quotation
marks have been placed around the item.
Single quotation (‘') are used most frequently
for quotes within quotes.
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 The ellipses is generally represented by three periods
(.
. . ) although it is occasionally demonstrated with three
asterisks (***).
The ellipses should be used in “writing or printing to
indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.”
Ellipses are frequently used within quotations to jump
from one phrase to another, omitting unnecessary
words that do not interfere with the meaning.
Students writing research papers or newspapers
quoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipses to
avoid copying lengthy text that is not needed.

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 ASTERISK
An asterisk (*) (Latin "little star")isa
asteriscum
typographical symbol. It is called because
resembles a conventional image of a star.
so
The asterisk is five-pointed star.
it
* Arabic

The asterisk is used to call out a

footnote, when there is only one on the page.
especially
Asterisks are sometimes used instead of
typographical bullets to indicate items of a list.

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 In linguistics
In historical linguistics, an asterisk immediately before a word
indicates that the word is not directly attested, but has been
reconstructed on the basis of other linguistic material.
In the following example, the Proto-Germanic word ainlif is a
reconstructed form.
*ainlif → endleofan → eleven
In syntax, an asterisk in front of a word or phrase indicates that
the word or phrase is ungrammatical.
I'm not / *I amn't
An asterisk before a parenthesis indicates *(that the) lack of the
word or phrase inside is ungrammatical, while an asterisk after a
parenthesis indicates (*that the) existence of the word or phrase
inside is ungrammatical.
go *(to) the
station go (*to)
home 15

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 References:
•Punctuation Marks,
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/marks.htm
•yourDictionary.com, What Are the Fourteen Punctuation Marks in English Grammar?
http://www.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules/Fourteen-Punctuation-Marks.html
•Asterisk, Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterisk

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