Ending a Sentence
Three punctuation marks are appropriate as sentence endings: the period, question mark, and exclamation point.
1. The period (.) is placed at the end of declarative sentences.
2. Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.
3. The exclamation point (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis.
Indicating Pauses in a Sentences
Three punctuation marks as appropriate to indicate a pause in a sentence: the comma, semicolon, and colon 1. The comma is used to show a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. Additionally, it is used in numbers, dates, and letter writing after the salutation and closing. Whether to add a final comma before the conjunction in a list is a matter of debate, known as an Oxford or serial comma, usually comes down to a style choice by the writer. 2. The semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show. 3. A colon (:) has three main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series. The second is between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a semicolon. The third use of a colon is for emphasis. A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.
The Dash and Hyphen
These marks are often confused with each other due to their appearance but they are very different. 1. A dash is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes: en dash and em dash.
En dash: Twice as long as a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (–) that is used in writing or printing to indicate a range, connections or differentiations, such as 1880-1945 or Princeton-New York trains.
Em dash: Longer than the en dash, the em dash can be used in place of a comma, parenthesis, or colon to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence. For example, She gave him her answer — No! Whether you put spaces around the em dash or not is a style choice. Just be consistent.
2. A hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.
Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses
Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further explanation or are considered a group. 1. Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations or to clarify meaning. If you remove the information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.
2. 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. They can also be used in mathematical expressions. For example, 2{1+[23-3]}=x. 3. Parentheses ( () ) are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks. However, parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing the meaning in most cases.
Apostrophe, Quotation Marks and Ellipsis
The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any form. 1. An apostrophe (') is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of lowercase letters.
It should be noted that, according to Purdue University, some teachers and editors enlarge the scope of the use of apostrophes, and prefer their use on symbols (&'s), numbers (7's) and capitalized letters (Q&A's), even though they are not necessary.
2. Quotations marks (" ") are a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word. They are also used to indicate meanings and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word. Single quotation marks (' ') are used for quotes within quotes.
3. The ellipsis is most commonly represented by three periods (. . . ) although it is occasionally demonstrated with three asterisks (***). The ellipsis is 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 ellipsis to avoid copying lengthy text that is not needed.