PUNCTUATION
Punctuation is a system of marks that are used in writing to help us to communicate more clearly.
Punctuation is a very important aspect of written communication. Punctuation is used to help us make our meaning clear and avoid ambiguity . Ambiguity occurs when there is more than one possible interpretation of our meaning. For example, if we wrote the following sentence without punctuation it might look like this:
The doctor said the policeman is on his way.
There are two possible meanings for the above sentence. Depending on punctuation, the sentence could read either:
“The doctor,” said the policeman, “ is on his way”. or
The doctor said, “the policeman is on his way”.
In each case we rely on the punctuation to give us the correct meaning. Without punctuation the above sentence is ambiguous and therefore not clear in meaning . When you are writing you should try to avoid ambiguity at all times, and punctuation will help you do this.
NOTE: An important thing to remember is that the system of punctuation is a widely used and accepted convention. You may see slight variations in how different people use punctuation marks such as the comma, the dash or the semi-colon, but in general the conventions of punctuation are widely followed.
CAPITAL LETTERS
Capital letters should be used:
1. At the beginning of every sentence.
2. For the names of people, places, products, companies, organisations.
e. g. John Lennon; Aberdeen; Hovis; Texaco; the BBC; NATO
3. For the days of the week and the months of the year but not for the seasons .
e. g. Monday; Tuesday; October; December; but spring; autumn
There is a useful rule that capital letters are for the specific but not the general. So it would be correct to write:
“Buchanan Street Bus Station is one of several bus stations”.
There is only one Buchanan Street Bus Station. It is a specific bus station so it is given capital letters. However, when we write about “bus stations” we are referring to bus stations in general so there is no need for capital letters.
In the same way we could write:
I spoke to Doctor Thomson, one of many doctors at the Royal Infirmary.
4. For the title of specific courses but not general areas of study or knowledge.
e.g. I am studying Business Administration so that one day I can go into business for myself.
5. For the titles of books, plays, magazines, newspapers, television programmes, films etc.
e.g. Tender is the Night ; Death of a Salesman ; Vogue ; The Independent ; Neighbours ; Silence of the Lambs .
There are three conventions when we write the titles of such things as books, films and newspapers:
• We write titles in italics. (If you are writing by hand then you should underline titles.)
• We give capitals to the significant words only. Look at the examples above and you will see that the incidental words such as ‘the’, ‘of’, ‘is’, ‘in’, ‘a’ and so on, are not given capital letters unless they are at the beginning of the title.
• If the title of a newspaper, magazine, organisation etc. contains the word ‘the’, then this is written in italics along with the title. However, if the word ‘the’ is not part of the title then it is not written in italics.
e.g. The Sun , the Daily Mirror, the Daily Record
6. When an adjective is created from the name of a person, place, company etc.
(An adjective is a word used to describe something.) For instance, we could write about Victorian architecture. The word Victorian is an adjective (a descriptive word) formed from the name of Queen Victoria.
2 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 e. g. Italian pizza; Egyptian art; the Christian religion; Yorkshire pudding;
PUNCTUATION: THE FULL STOP
.
The full stop indicates a short pause. The full stop is used at the end of all sentences except when we ask a question or make an exclamation. The section on grammar will explain what a sentence is. Until then, all you have to remember is that (unless it is a question or an exclamation) a sentence always begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop .
There is another use for the full stop and that is for initials and abbreviations . For example we would write J. D. Salinger ; Margaret A. Brown ; Dr. S. White . We would also place a full stop after abbreviations such as etc. and e.g. (We will look more closely at these particular phrases in the section on Latin words.)
Nowadays, many people choose to write abbreviations without full stops. For example it is quite acceptable to write abbreviations such as BBC , AIDS , HIV, Dr , Mr , and MTV and so on without using full stops. However, a full stop generally comes after an initial in a person’s name.
PUNCTUATION: THE COMMA
,
The comma indicates a shorter pause than the full stop. There is no simple rule for the use of the comma and its use is often complicated. The modern trend is to use as few commas as possible. However, there are times when commas are essential to the meaning of the sentence. When you have worked through the section on grammar, you will have a better idea when to use a comma. For now, try to observe the following guidelines:
3 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09
• Use the meaning of the sentence as a guide to where to put the comma. Try to make sure that the comma encloses separate units of meaning.
• Use a comma to separate items in a list.
e.g. I’m going to buy apples, pears, bananas, fruit juice and biscuits.
There is no need to use a comma between the last two items because they are separated by the word ‘and’.
• Use a comma to mark off a phrase that gives additional information about someone or something.
For example, you should use a pair of commas around a phrase. We will be looking at phrases in the section on grammar. At this point, however, look at these examples:
The factory owner, a millionaire from Preston, could not be contacted.
The main statement of the sentence is that the factory owner could not be contacted. The additional information is that he is a millionaire from Preston. The additional information is a phrase and it is marked off by a comma.
Sometimes a pair of commas is used to give emphasis to a group of words. Look at the following example:
Opening a restaurant in this location would not be a good idea.
If we mark the phrase off with a pair of commas the meaning is changed slightly.
Opening a restaurant, in this location, would not be a good idea.
The commas give special importance to the words marked off. They are emphasised . This emphasis gives roughly the same effect as raising your voice slightly while speaking. The location of the restaurant is seen as being of more importance in the second example.
4 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 PUNCTUATION: THE SEMI-COLON
;
The semi-colon is a rather advanced punctuation mark and it represents a pause that is slightly longer than that of a comma but less than that of a full stop.
In simple terms, the semi-colon is used when a comma is too weak and a full stop is too strong. There should be a close connection between the words and phrases joined by the semi-colon.
When you are more confident in your written English you may want to incorporate the semi-colon into your writing. It can be a useful punctuation mark. Once you have read the section on grammar you will be more aware of when to use the semi-colon.
NOTE: You should skip this particular section on the semi-colon until you have read and understood the section on grammar.
The main uses of the semi-colon are: a) To separate parallel items or statements in a list , when those items are made up of clauses or phrases. The section on grammar will explain what clauses and phrases are, but for now look at the example below:
Jane has learned many tasks during her work placement: she delivered the internal mail; carried out routine photocopying and faxing tasks; worked on the switchboard with minimal supervision; and represented the company at several charity events.
Hopefully, you can see that the semi-colon is used to give a pause between the various items so as to help the reader absorb the separate pieces of information. b) Before the expressions: as, namely, viz., i.e., e.g., when they are used to introduce a statement that contains a verb. The section on grammar will explain what a verb is, until then look at the following example:
He had always had one ambition; namely, to play for Scotland in the World Cup.
5 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 c) Between parts of a compound sentence when no conjunction is used.
The police were first on the scene; the ambulance arrived soon after.
Here the semi-colon is used in place of the conjunction (joining word) ‘and’.
d) Before words such as however, nevertheless, for, conversely, also, thus, consequently, and therefore when they are used between clauses in a compound sentence.
The letter arrived that morning; however, he had not read it.
PUNCTUATION: THE COLON
:
The colon is a very useful punctuation mark. It represents a fairly long pause while speaking. It is quite easy to learn how to use and it can help improve your writing considerably.
The colon is used:
1. To introduce a long quotation:
Martin Luther King once said: “The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men”.
2. To introduce a list of items:
There were four teams involved in the fundraising event: Rangers, Celtic, Dundee and Kilmarnock.
3. Between two groups of words when the first group ‘points forward’ to the second group.
This could be, for instance, a book title.
Drugs: Their Uses and Effects.
Or it could be a statement:
6 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 There is one major area of public spending that must be supported: education.
NOTE: It is sometimes useful to imagine that the colon represents the words ‘that is to say’. If you can substitute these words there is a good chance that the colon is being used correctly. So, for example, we could say:
There is one major area of public spending that must be supported, that is to say, education.
PUNCTUATION: THE QUESTION MARK
?
The question mark is very simple to use. The question mark is used at the end of a direct question. The question mark is equivalent to a full stop and should be followed by a capital letter.
The question mark is not used at the end of a courtesy question. A courtesy question is really a command disguised as a question for the sake of politeness. For example, you might say:
‘Could you close that door.’
This is an example of a courtesy question. You are really asking the person to shut the door . Because it is a disguised command, there is no need for a question mark.
PUNCTUATION: EXCLAMATION MARK
!
The exclamation mark is used to express surprise, strong emotion or to give emphasis.
7 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 The barman asked me for proof of my age!
The exclamation mark is used very sparingly in formal writing. It is best to give emphasis or express surprise by the use of language.
I was shocked when the barman asked me for proof of my age.
The exclamation mark has the same function as a full stop and it is followed by a capital letter.
PUNCTUATION: QUOTATION MARKS
“ ” Or ‘ ’
Quotation marks are used to enclose a quotation.
They are placed on either side of the words quoted:
Woody Allen once said: “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons”.
If the quote is interrupted then the quotation marks go round each of the parts quoted.
“Money is better than poverty,” Woody Allen once said, “ if only for financial reasons”.
The full stop is placed outside the quotation marks when it applies to both the quote and any other words. If we were to simply write a quote on its own that was a complete sentence, then we would put the full stop inside the quotation marks.
“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”
Single quotation marks are sometimes used around a word when the meaning of the word is disputed or when the word is used in an unusual way. The informal term for quotation marks used in this way is ‘scare quotes’. They are used to alert the reader that a word is being used in a way that is not its accepted meaning. For example, a writer might refer to a homeless person’s sleeping bag in a doorway as a ‘bed’. It is in one sense a bed because the homeless person sleeps there, but it is not what we commonly would call a bed. So the writer uses quotation marks to draw attention to the fact that he is not using the word in its accepted meaning.
8 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 If you are ever quoting a quote within a quote (this may happen if you are writing essays) you should use double and then single or vice versa.
NOTE: The convention regarding the use of quotation marks seems to be shifting in favour of single quotation marks, although the use of double quotation marks is still seen as correct.
PUNCTUATION: APOSTROPHE
’
More than any other punctuation mark, the apostrophe causes untold problems. Yet the correct use of the apostrophe only takes a few minutes to learn.
The apostrophe shows omission or possession.
THE APOSTROPHE TO SHOW OMISSION
This means that the apostrophe shows when letters are missing ( omission ) e.g.
can’t = can not won’t = will not I’m = I am it’s = it is didn’t = did not I’ve = I have
In each case the apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters.
CONTRACTIONS
When words are shortened like this they are called contractions. Contractions are very common in informal speech because they save time. The more formal a piece of writing or speech is, the less likely it is to use contractions. For example, a BBC newsreader or an MP speaking to Parliament is much less likely to use contractions than a chatty piece of writing in a women’s magazine or a DJ talking on the radio.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using contractions, but if you want your writing to look more formal then you should try to avoid using contractions. It
9 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 is a good idea to avoid contractions altogether when you are writing such things as essays and reports.
THE APOSTROPHE TO SHOW POSSESSION
The apostrophe is also used to show when something belongs to something else ( possession ) e.g.
the coat belonging to John = John’s coat the highway of the Queen = the Queen’s highway the rules of boxing = boxing’s rules the car belonging to Mary = Mary’s car the exhaust of the car = the car’s exhaust the tail of the dog = the dog’s tail
In each case the above examples show possession by placing apostrophe s after the word. In all these cases the subject is singular ; that is, the subject refers to one person or thing (John, Mary, the Government, boxing, the dog).
If the subject is singular but ends in s, then we still add apostrophe s to show possession e.g.
the book belonging to Charles = Charles’s book.
When the subject is plural ; that is, referring to more than one person or thing, it is still followed by apostrophe s, for example:
the bookshop of the women = the women’s bookshop the teacher of the children = the children’s teacher
The exception to the rule of adding apostrophe s, is when the word is a plural (referring to more than one thing or person) and already ends in s. (Most plurals in English end in the letter s.) If this happens we simply add an apostrophe, for example:
the parents of the boys = the boys’ parents the regiment of the soldiers = the soldiers’ regiment
The above rules might look complicated but they can be summarised as follows:
To show possession:
use an apostrophe followed by the letter s except where the word is a plural that already ends in the letter s.
10 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 Look at the following examples:
a) the coat belonging to John = John’s coat b) the book belonging to Charles = Charles’s book. c) the teacher of the children = the children’s teacher d) the regiment of the soldiers = the soldiers’ regiment
In every case the word (John, Charles, children) is given an apostrophe s to show possession except in the last example (soldiers) where it is simply given an apostrophe.
COMMON ERRORS: The misused apostrophe
It is a fairly common error for some writers to place an apostrophe before every letter s whether or not it shows possession or omission. For example someone might write:
The cat’s were howling in the alleyway’s because the boy’s were pelting them with stone’s.
The writer here is trying to make a good impression by using an apostrophe, but there is no need for any apostrophes in the above example because there is no possession or omission .
NOTE: The apostrophe is also used in dates to show that some figures are missing, e.g.
The ’70s were the best period for disco music.
Here the apostrophe is used instead of the figure 19, as in ‘the 1970s’.
PUNCTUATION: DASH
—
The dash is used to indicate an abrupt change of thought: e. g. People can have the Model T in any colour — so long as it’s black.
11 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 The dash is also used to mark off a statement where the change of idea is greater than could be marked off by round brackets: e. g. The canal — and Manchester is full of them — was decaying and muddy.
The dash is also used before a repeated word:
e. g. His behaviour was seen as unacceptable — unacceptable in any circumstance.
PUNCTUATION: ROUND BRACKETS (Parentheses)
( )
Round brackets are used to mark off supplementary or explanatory material.
In other words, round brackets are placed around words that give explanation or extra information directly related to what has just been said: e. g. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 –1940) was born in St Paul, Minnesota .
Round brackets should be used to give explanation of abbreviations or acronyms *:
e. g. The annual OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) conference took place in Geneva.
*An acronym is a pronounceable name formed from the initial letters of a group of words.
This habit is especially helpful to your reader if the abbreviation or acronym is an unusual one. If the abbreviation is a common one, such as the BBC, there is no need to give an explanation in round brackets.
12 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 PUNCTUATION: SQUARE BRACKETS
[ ]
Square brackets are used to insert editorial material into quoted material.
This is often done for the purpose of making something clear. For example, the following quote by Harold Wilson (a Labour Prime Minister) might not be clear without the material inserted in the square brackets:
“This party [the Labour Party] is a moral crusade or it is nothing.”
To give the full meaning of this sentence, you would need to show to which party Harold Wilson was referring. You help the reader to understand the quotation by inserting the appropriate information.
Round brackets would not be suitable here because then it could look as if they are placed around the actual words spoken.
“This party (the Labour Party) is a moral crusade or it is nothing.”
You are unlikely to use square brackets in ‘everyday’ written communication, but they are of great benefit in such things as essays, reports, newspaper articles and any written material that incorporates quoted material.
NOTE : Square, round, and curly brackets have quite a different meaning in other areas such as mathematics and algebra. You will learn the appropriate conventions when you study these subjects.
13 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 PUNCTUATION: OMISSION MARKS
…
These marks are used to indicate that some words are missing from quoted material. You might want to put a quotation in your writing, whether it is an essay, a report or a letter. You would simply write down the quote and replace the missing words with the three dots (or ellipses as they are called). For example, if we took a quote from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck:
“ His hands, large and lean, were as delicate in their action as those of a temple dancer.”
We could shorten this by removing some of the words.
“ His hands . . . were as delicate . . . as those of a temple dancer.”
This allows you to quote only the significant parts of a quotation. In each case the three dots represent the missing words.
PUNCTUATION: HYPHEN
- a) One of the main functions of the hyphen is to avoid ambiguity. For example, look at the next sentence.
There were three year old babies in the nursery.
Read it carefully. It could mean either: that there were three babies who were all one year old, or it could mean that there were an unspecified number of babies who were three years old.
There is no right answer. The sentence is ambiguous because we can’t tell from the punctuation which meaning is correct. In spoken language you could simply ask the person to give the correct meaning, but in written language this is not an easy option.
14 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 If we used hyphens in the example above, we could make the meaning clear. We could write:
i. There were three year-old babies in the nursery. ii. There were three-year-old babies in the nursery.
Similarly if we write the words ‘a heavy truck driver’ we don’t know if the driver is heavy or the trucks that he drives are heavy. The hyphen would make this clear:
a. A heavy truck-driver b. A heavy-truck driver
Example (a) refers to a truck driver who is heavy and example (b) refers to a driver who drives heavy trucks. b) The hyphen is also used to create compound words. A compound word is one word formed out of more than one other word, e.g.
Brother-in-law; sister-in-law; mother-in-law; booking-clerk. c) The hyphen is used to create compound adjectives. (An adjective is a word that describes a noun. A noun is the name of a person or thing.)
water-cooled engine; nineteenth-century architecture; third-floor flat; test-tube baby
Here, the hyphenated word is being treated as one descriptive word. d) The hyphen is used before a double letter or to avoid a word being misread.
re-erect; pre-existing; pre-empt; taxi-ing. e) The hyphen is used before single letters that are joined to another word.
H-bomb; X-ray; B-movie; f) The hyphen is used to join numbers when they are written in words and used to describe a noun.
A two-pound-forty cup of coffee; a quarter-pound cheeseburger; a ten- pound note g) The hyphen is used before prefixes such as pro- ex- vice- co- sub- anti- etc., but this is not always the case. You will need to refer to a dictionary to find the correct usage if you are unsure.
Sub-committee; vice-chairman; but excommunicate; subordinate
15 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09 WRITING NUMBERS
There is a useful convention when writing numbers, and that is:
Write all numbers from one to nine in words.
From 10 upward write all numbers as figures.
Obviously, some professions or areas of knowledge or business, such as mathematics or accountancy, for example, will not follow this convention.
The following exceptions are worth noting:
• Write numbers in words when they begin a sentence. One reason for this is that it prevents sentences appearing as if they are numbered items in a list. Better still, try to rephrase the sentence so that it doesn’t begin with a number at all. For example instead of writing:
Seventy three thousand two hundred and forty three people attended the Cup Final.
You could write: There were 73, 243 people at the Cup Final.
• If some of the numbers are greater than ten and some are less than ten, then write all the numbers as figures. This makes it easier to read and make calculations; for example:
There were 200 guest at the wedding, of which 22 were children and 8 were vegetarian.
• If there are numbers placed side by side, then write out the smaller number; for example:
There were four 20-ton trucks blockading the road and six 50- seater coaches were delayed for three days.
If we didn’t do this, the sentence might look like this:
There were 4 20-ton trucks blockading the road and 6 50- seater coaches were delayed for 3 days.
Hopefully, you can see that the second sentence could cause confusion.
• If you are writing sums of money, you should write them in figures. Except in legal documents where they are usually written in numbers and figures.
• Measurements, quantities and prices should always be written in figures.
16 PUNCTUATION: Alex Macpherson Nov 09