PUNCTUATION MARKS AND THEIR COMMON
FUNCTIONS
1.
Period
( . )
-To indicate the end of a declarative
sentence. Example : this is books.
-To indicate that letters are used as
abbreviations. Example : Dr. Robert K. William
-To indicate decimal fractions. Example
: 16.34. Three Periods--Ellipses (…)
-To indicate that a portion of quoted
matter is omitted. Example: “To receive, obey, and pass on…”
2.
Comma
( , )
-To separate independent clauses joined
by a conjuction. Example: This is the street, but I don’t know the number of
the house.\
-remember that no comma is used unless
each statement is independent. Example: You will police the area and maintain a
fire watch.
-To separate parts of a series. Example:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
-To separate coordinate or “equal”
adjectives in a series. Example: a loud, sharp blast
-Note: Unless the adjectives modify the
same noun in the same way, they are not in series and no comma is used. To
test, check if the adjectives can be reversed.
If not, no comma. Example: heavy woolen clothing
-To separate introductory statements
beginning with such words as when, while, since, if, because, until, although,
and whenever (or other subordinate conjunctions) Example: When the rain was falling, there was
very little wind.
-To set off introductory prepositional
phrases (starting with on, in, at, to, by, for, of, through, etc.) Example: By
the time she crawled into bed, she was too exhausted to sleep. Note: Short
prepositional phrases (3 words or less) are not always followed by commas.
Example: In Japan he served as platoon commander.
-To separate non-essential elements from
the rest of the sentence. A non-essential element is a word or group of words
that gives additional identifying information about someone or something
already identified; it’s non-essential because the sentence is still clear
without it. Examples: The President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces, rates a salute. I visited Albany, the capital of the state of New York.
Note: Commas are NOT placed around essential elements—those that limit meaning
or give identifying information about someone or something not already
identified. Example: The procedure that you are required to follow is explained
in TM 5-250.
-To set off introductory phrases
beginning with verb participles ending in –ing, -ed, -en, etc. Example: Having
turned off the lathe, I stopped the motor.
-To set off such expressions as you, no,
well, on the other hand, you might say, and of course, (such expressions are
called interrupters) Example: He was, of course, the first person I saw.
-To set off such expressions as he said
from direct quotations. Example: “That decision,” he explained, “must be your
own.” Note: No comma is used to separate such expressions from the rest of the
sentence if the sentence is an indirect quotation (often introduced with the
word that). Example: He explained that the decision must be my own.
-To separate contrasting elements. Example:
The wall is gray, not blue.
-To prevent misreading. Example:
Undressing, the child ran into the bathroom.
-To set off the name of a person
addressed. Example: Frank, may I borrow your skill saw?
3.
Semicolon
( ; )
-To separate independent statements that
are not joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet,
so) Example: Black is a mixture of all
colors; white is the complete opposite.
Note:
If the independent statements are short, a comma may be used. Example: Horses
sweat, men perspire.
-To separate independent statements when
the second statement begins with such conjunctive adverbs or phrases like
therefore, however, thus, otherwise, on the other hand, for example, in fact,
that is, etc. Example: I submitted a request six months in advance; still, I
did not receive a permit in time for the departure. –
-To separate independent statements
joined by conjunctions if such statements are long or they contain internal
punctuation. Example: Classic science fiction sagas include Star Trek, with Mr.
Spock and his large pointed ears; Battlestar Galactica, with its Cylon Raiders;
and Star Wars, with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader.
4.
Apostrophe
( ’ )
-To show possession (if the word does
not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.). Example: The doctor’s advice, the
housewife’s choice, man’s clothing, Martin’s house
Note:
If the word is singular and ends in s or an s sound, use apostrophe. Example:
Mr. Schultz’s car
- Unless pronunciation is awkward:Example:
Miss Simmons’ coat
- To indicate the omission of letters in
contractions. Examples: can’t, won’t, doesn’t, haven’t, it’s and etc.
- To form the plural of letters, words,
and symbols that do not have logical plurals. Example: three 2’s, too many
&’s, and seven c’s.
5.
Dash
( — )
- To indicate a sudden, abrupt break of
an unfinished word or sentence. Example: “She will take charge of this post and
– Wait a minute. Who are you?”
- To set off a summary of a preceding
series. Example: Food, clothing, shelter, and a sense of humor – those are the
things a man needs to survive.
6. Hyphen ( - )
-To join two or more words serving as a
single adjective before a noun. Example: a one-way street, chocolate-covered
peanuts
-Use a hyphen with compound numbers. Example:
forty-six, sixty-three, Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
-To avoid confusion or an awkward
combination of letters. Example: re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job),
semi-independent (but semiconscious), shell-like (but childlike)
-Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex-
(meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a
capitalized word; and with figures or letters. Example: ex-husband,
self-assured
-To divide words at the end of a line if
necessary, or show a break between syllables. Example: pre-fer-ence, sell-ing
-
7.
Quotation
Marks (“__” and ‘__’)
-To set off quoted matter (including
punctuation marks, usually. See a handbook for details.) Example: “I saw it,” he replied.
Note:
Indirect quotes are not set off by quotations. Example: He said that the
decision must be my own.
-To indicate a quotation within a quotation
(single quotation marks). Example: I replied, “When I asked him if he had ever
heard of the American Revolution, he said, ‘I saw it.’”
-To enclose titles of short stories,
poems, magazine articles, portions of books, and individual television show
episodes. Example: Good diagrams can be found in the chapter entitled “Engine
Constructions” in Dean Austin’s book Automotive Mechanics.
8.
Parentheses
( )
-To set off digressions or elements which
provide extra information. Example: The progress report (Form #78) is submitted
each week. I told him (Travers) exactly what to do.
-To enclose numbers and letters
enumerating parts Example: The principal parts are (1) the present tense, (2)
the past tense, and (3) the past participle.
9.
Brackets
[ ]
-To set off material inserted in a
direct quotation. Example: Audubon reports that “if there are not enough young
to balance deaths, the end of the species [California condor] is inevitable.”
10. Colon ( : )
-
Used after an independent clause
(complete sentence) to direct attention to a list, an appositive, or a
quotation. Example: He laid down three rules: no smoking, no idle talk, and no
sleeping. Other example: A rainbow consists of the following colors: red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Different example such: The speaker
quoted a popular saying: “We grow too soon old and too late smart.”
To separate two independent clauses (complete sentences) when the second
one summarizes or explains the first. Example: Faith is like love: it can
