Punctuation:

Give meaning to a text

The teacher said,’ the student has failed.’
‘The teacher,’ said the student, ‘has failed.’
• CAPITALIZATION
• S------Full stop------- ?--------!
The package was lying by the front door.
She unlocked the door and went into apartment. It
was just getting dark.
Was it happening? A chill of horror came across
her.
If there would guilt, anxiety, whatever! You don’t
really think they would kill somebody, do you?!
• Proper Noun
• The titles of high-ranking government when used
with or before their names. Do not capitalize the
civil title if it is used instead of the name.
The president will address Congress. All senators
are expected to attend.
The governors, lieutenant, and attorneys general
called for a special task force.
Attorney General Dalloway, and Senators James and
John will attend.
• Capitalize any title when used as a direct address.
Will you take my temperature, Doctor?
• Capitalize points of the compass only when they
refer to specific regions.
We have had three relatives visit from the South.
Go south three blocks and then turn left.
We live in the southeast (adjective) section of
town.
• State/Federal official use
The State Board of Equalization collects sales tax.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been
subject to much scrutiny and criticism lately.
General use= No capitalization
The state has evidence to contrary. Her
business must comply with all country, state, and
federal laws.
• Do not capitalize names of seasons
I love autumn colors and spring flowers
• Capitalize word derived from proper nouns
I must take English and math.
English=England math does not come from
mathland.
• Capitalize the names of specific course titles
I must take history and Algebra 2.
• After a sentence ending with a colon, do not
capitalize the first word if it begins a list.
 These are my favourite foods: chocolate cake,
spaghetti, and artichokes.
• Do not capitalize when only one sentence follows a
sentence ending with a colon.
I love Jane’s writing: her book, A Thousand Acres,
was beautiful.
• Capitalize when two or more sentences follow a
sentence ending with a colon.
I love Jane’s writing: Her book, A Thousand Acres,
was beautiful. Also, Moo was clever.
• Contracted nouns
Dr. Mrs. Etc
• I, O
• Allah’s Names
For heaven’s sake (3-1) for Heaven’s sake (7-2)
for Lord’s sake (10-2) Almighty Allah (13-1)
• Dishes to Mom (Indefinite Mother, Father,)
4 relations= Mother, Father, Aunt, Auntie,
Grandfather
O, Dady (Vocative comma)

Quotation Mark
• Pronoun 1,2 / Present/future ‘........’ 3rd
person/ past tense .........
• Reporting speech, ‘Reported speech.’
She said, ‘I love you.’
‘Reported speech,?!-‘ reporting speech
‘Monetarily?’ she challenged.
‘It could prove very valuable,’ he told her.
‘Reported speech,’ reporting speech,
‘reported speech.’
‘The point is,’ she broke in, ‘if it’s
someone..’
‘Reported speech,’ reporting speech.
‘Reported Speech’
‘Nevertheless, that’s proposition,’ Mr. Steward
said. ‘Would you like me to return the button
unit?’
‘Reported’ ------ general comment ------- ‘speech’
‘I think you felt--- she gestured again---- ‘that I
was thinking of myself.’
‘Reported speech,’ reporting speech,
‘reported speech ‘Dialogue’.’
‘His last words,’ said Albert ‘were
‘Close that bloody window’.’
Apostrophe
Contraction
Is=’s are=’re am=’m was=’s
were=’re has=’s have=’ve
Had=’d will=’ll shall=’ll would,
should, could=’d
Aux+not
Is+not=isn’t are+not=aren’t
am+not=amn’t
Apostrophes +Nouns
Man’s shirt boy’s shirt boss’s shirt men’s
shirts children’s shirts
Boys’ shirts Chips’s (more formal and
preferred) Chips’(less formal)
Mother-in-law’s mothers-in-law’s
Use the apostrophe and s after the second name
if only two people possess the same item.
Cesar and Maribel’s home is constructed of
redwood. (Joint ownership)
Cesar’s and Maribel’s job contracts will be
renewed next year. (indicate separate
ownership)
Never use apostrophe possessive pronouns they
already show possession
This book is hers not yours. Sincerely
your’s=incorrect
The plurals for capital letters and numbers used
as nouns are not formed with apostrophes
Difference
She consulted with three M.D.s. but
She went to three M.D.s’ offices.
Comma
• Separate words
My $10 million estate is to be split among my
husband, daughter, son, and cousin.
Omitting the comma after son would indicate
that the son and nephew would have to split
one-third of the estate.
• Use commas before or surrounding the name
or title of a person directly addressed.
Will you, Aisha, do that assignment for me?
Yes, Doctor, I will. (capitalize a title when
directly addressing someone)
Usages of date(s) and address(s)
Kathleen met her husband on December 5,
2003, in California.
They met in December 2003 in California. (if
any part of the date is omitted, leave out the
comma)
I lived in San Francisco, California, for twenty
years. Or
I lived in San Francisco, California for twenty
years.
• Use commas to surround degrees or titles
used with names. Commas are no longer
required around Jr. And Sr. Commas never set
off 11,111, and so forth.
Al Mooney, M.D., knew Sam Sunny Jr. and
Charles Starr 111.
• Non-essential ,interruption, and conditional
clauses
If he works, he will pass. He will pass if he
works
I’m, as you have probably noticed, very
nervous about this.
• Use a comma after phrases of more than three
words that begin a sentence. If the phrase has
fewer than three words, the comma is
optional.
To apply for this job, you must have previous
experience.
0n February 14 many couples give each other
candy or flowers.
0n February 14, many couples give each other
candy or flowers.
• Use a comma to separate two strong clauses
joined by FANBOYS. You can omit the comma
if the clauses are both short.
I have painted the entire house, but he is still
working on sanding the doors.
I paint and he writes.
• To avoid confusion
I chose the colors red and green, and blue was
his first choice.
• Time flies when we are having fun, we are
always having fun. (Comma Splice)
 Time flies when we are having fun we are
always having fun. (Run-on sentence)
Replacement etc (;, and, .)
• Use a comma to separate a statement and
separate contrasting parts of sentence.
I can go, can’t I? That is my money, not
yours.
• Further usages
Yes,/well, /now, I need this.
Phrases: (Prepositional, participle, to infinitive)
Colon
• A colon usually introduces as explanation or
further details.
We decided not to go to Mexico: we had too
little money.
There was a problem with the car: it was
losing oil.
• Use the colon after a complete sentence to
introduce a complete list of items when
introductory words such as namely, for
example etc don’t appear.
You may be required to bring many items:
sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing.
I want an assistant who can do the
following: (1) input data, (2) write reports,
and (3) complete tax forms.
• A colon should not precede a list unless it
follows a complete sentence; however, the
colon is a style choice that simple
publications allow.
If a waitress wants to make a good
impression on her customers and boss, she
should (a) dress appropriately, (b) calculate
the bill carefully, and (c) be courteous to
customers.
There are three ways a waitress can make a
good impression on her boss and her
customers:
• Dress appropriately
• Calculate the bill carefully
• Be courteous to customers
I want an assistant who can (1) input
data, (2) write reports, and (3) complete
tax forms.
Semicolon
• Use a semicolon in place of a period to
separate two sentences
Call me tomorrow; I will give you the answer
then.
• Both structures are possible
You will want to bring many backpacking
items; for example, sleeping bags, pans,
and warm clothing.
 You will want to bring many backpacking
items, for example, sleeping bags, pans,
and warm clothing.
• Use the semicolon between two sentences
that are joined by conjunction but already
have one or more commas within the first
sentence.
When I finish here, I will be glad to help you;
and that is a promise I will keep.
• Semicolons can also be used to separate
items in a list particularly when these are
grammatically complex
You may use the sports facilities on
condition that your subscription is paid
regularly; that you arrange for all necessary
cleaning to be carried out; that you
undertake to make good any danger.
Full stop, question marks and
Exclamation marks(to show emphasis or
surprise, strong feelings, anger, short
command) are used to close sentences.
We don’t use question marks after indirect
questions.
I asked her what time it was.
Hyphen
• Compound words
My mother-in-law
• Prefix
Co-owner
En Dash
A little longer than a hyphen. It’s used for
periods of time when you might otherwise use
to. The years 2001_2003
Em dash
It may replace commas, semicolons, colons.
Interruption or abrupt changes etc
You are the friend __ the only friend__ who
offered to help me.