http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Proper-Punctuation Punctuation Mark ( . ) Period Use to... End a sentence: Dinner was delicious.

( ? ) Question End a sentence and denote inquir : What time is it? Mark ( ! E"clamation Point ( # ) $omma ) End a sentence and denote e"citement or emphasis: Watch out for that tree!

%enote a &reak within a sentence or direct address o' a person or (roup: Mary, listen to me. Separate an o' the 'ollowin(: - )wo or more ad*ecti+es: He is a charming, attentive listener. - ,tems in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour. - )he name o' a cit 'rom the name o' a state: live in !alt "ake #ity, $tah. - )wo independent clauses: %he waiter still hasn&t taken our order, and the 'lay starts in five minutes. - %irect quotations: (uoth the raven, )*evermore.+

( - ) Semicolon

Separate two related &ut independent clauses: com'uter- she has a knack for them.

asked ,nne to look at my

Separate a series o' items that alread contain commas: . /or our wedding colors, chose white, the color of innocence- red, the color of 'assion- and yellow, the color of lemons. . have lived in Detroit, Michigan- Paris, /rance- and !ydney, ,ustralia. ( : ) $olon ,ntroduce a list. /or #hristmas, would like the following 'resents0 a hula hoo', a hi''o'otamus, and my two front teeth. ,ntroduce a statement that e"pands upon the clause &e'ore the colon. ,nd so, my fellow ,mericans0 ask not what your country can do for you1ask what you can do for your country. ( - ) . phen /dd a pre'i": %rans.,tlantic flights are costly. $reate compound words: !'ider.Man is my favorite su'erhero. 0rite num&ers as words: have lived in this house for thirty.three years. (1 or 2) %ash Make a &rie' interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical phrase: 2ohnny

asked me1with a straight face, the weekend.

might add1if he could borrow the car for

( 3 ) %ou&le Enclose a direct quotation: ) f you 'ick u' a starving dog and make him Quotation 'ros'erous, he will not bite you. %his is the 'rinci'al difference between a dog and a man.+ ( 4 ) Sin(le %enote possession: believe that is ,llen&s 'en. Quotation %enote contraction: know it&s his because of the distinct monogram. %enote a quotation within a quotation: He told me 3ust last week, ) do en3oy this monogrammed 'en. My wife said, 4,llen, it isn&t like 'eo'le go around mistaking your 'ens for theirs all day.&+ ( ( ) Parentheses ) ,ndicate clari'ication: Please bring home some real butter 5as o''osed to margarine6. ,ndicate an a'terthou(ht or personal commentar : ,nyone can edit Wiki'edia 5not that there&s anything wrong with that6. Using Proper Punctuation 1. End your sentences with a period (full stop), question mark, or e clamation point (e clamation mark or shout mark). 5se the period ('ull stop) to denote a 'ull stop at the end o' a statement. )he period ( . ) is one o' the most commonl used punctuation marks. %he accessibility of the com'uter has increased tremendously over the 'ast several years. )he question mark ( ? )# used at the end o' a sentence# su((ests an interro(ator remark or inquir . What has humanity done about the growing concern of global warming? )he e"clamation point (e"clamation mark# shout mark)( ! ) su((ests e"citement or emphasis in a sentence. can7t believe how difficult the e8am was! !. Use the semicolon and colon properly. )he semicolon ( - ) has a 'ew uses. 5se a semicolon to separate two related &ut independent clauses. 6ote that# i' the two clauses are +er word or comple"# it is &etter to use a period ('ull stop) instead.

Peo'le continue to worry about the future- our failure to conserve resources has 'ut the world at risk. 5se a semicolon to separate a comple" series o' items# especiall commas. )he colon ( : ) has multiple uses. 5se the colon to introduce a list. 7e care'ul not to use a colon when denotin( a re(ular series. 5suall # the word 'ollowin( su((ests the use o' a colon. 5se onl a'ter a 'ull sentence which ends in a noun. %he 'rofessor has given me three o'tions0 to retake the e8am, to acce't the e8tra credit assignment, or to fail the class. ,6$899E$) - %he 9aster basket contained0 9aster eggs, chocolate rabbits, and other candy. ". Understand the differences #etween a hyphen and a dash. )he h phen ( - ) was once a common punctuation mark on t pewriters# when a lon( word mi(ht ha+e &een split &etween two lines. )he h phen is still used in a num&er o' other areas: 5se a h phen when addin( a pre'i" to some words. )he purpose o' this h phen is to make the word easier to read. ,' ou were to lea+e the h phen out o' a word like re-e"amine# it would &e ree"amine# which would &e harder to read. 5nderstand that some words do not require a h phen to separate the pre'i" 'rom the word# such as restate# pretest# and undo. :et a dictionar &e our (uide 'or when to use the h phen a'ter a pre'i". 0hen ou use a h phen# the two words ha+e to rel on each other. E"ample: re-arran(e. #ara is his e8.girlfriend. 5se h phens when creatin( compound words 'rom separate words. %he u'.to.date news'a'er re'orters were :uick to 3um' on the latest scandal. 5se a h phen when writin( num&ers out as words. Separate the two words o' an num&er under one hundred with a h phen. %here are fifty.two 'laying cards in a deck. (;)he amount is one hundred and ei(ht ; is a common error in the 5S and $anada# where the ;and; is usuall omitted. Elsewhere in the En(lish-speakin( world# howe+er# the ;and; is usuall included.) 7e care'ul with spellin( out num&ers a&o+e one hundred 2 i' the num&er is used as an ad*ecti+e# it is completel h phenated# since all compound ad*ecti+es are h phenated ( %his is the one.hundredth e'isode.). 8therwise# a h phen should onl occur i' a num&er (reater than <== occurs within the lar(er num&er# e.(.# He lived to be one hundred twenty.one. )he dash ( -- or 2 ) should &e used when makin( a &rie' interruption within a statement# a sudden chan(e o' thou(ht# an additional comment# or a dramatic quali'ication. ,t can also &e used to add a parenthetical statement# such as 'or 'urther clari'ication# &ut should still &e rele+ant to the sentence. 8therwise# use parentheses. >eep in mind that the rest o' the sentence should still 'low naturall . )r to remo+e the statement within the dash 'rom the sentence- i' the sentence appears dis*ointed or does not make sense# then ou ma need to re+ise. )here should &e spaces &e'ore and a'ter the dash in 7ritish En(lish. those that contain

went to the show with 2ake, my close friend- his friend, 2ane- and her best friend, 2enna.

,n introductory clause is a brief 'hrase that comes 1 yes, you guessed it 1 at the beginning of a sentence. %his is the end of our sentence 1 or so we thought. $. Use the dou#le quotation mark and single quotation mark%apostrophe for different purposes. )he dou&le quotation ( ; ) encloses a direct quotation# whether made & a person or taken 'rom a piece o' literature. ; can7t wait to see him 'erform!; 2ohn e8claimed. ,ccording to the article, the value of the dollar in develo'ing nations is ;strongly influenced by its aesthetic value, rather than its face value.; )he sin(le quotation mark or apostrophe ( ? ) has a +ariet o' uses. 5se the apostrophe to(ether with the letter s to indicate possession. 7e aware o' the di''erence in usin( an apostrophe with sin(ular or plural nouns. / sin(ular noun will use 7s, whereas the plural +ersion o' that sin(ular noun will use s7. /lso# &e mind'ul o' nouns that are alwa s considered to &e plural# such as children and people 2 here# ou should use 7s. 7e aware o' pronouns that are alread possessi+e and do not require apostrophes# such as hers and its (it?s is used onl 'or the contractions o' it is and it has). %heir is possessi+e without apostrophe or s# e"cept as a predicate ad*ecti+e# where it &ecomes theirs. %he hamster7s water tube needs to be refilled. n the 'et store, the hamsters7 bedding needed to be changed. %hese children7s test scores are the highest in the nation. /riends of hers e8'lained it7s her idea, not theirs, to refill the hamster7s water tube and change its bedding. / sin(ular noun with possession. / plurali@ed sin(ular noun with possession. / plural noun with possession.

Possessi+e pronouns (hers, theirs, its)# contraction o' it is# and a sin(ular noun with possession. 5se the apostrophe to com&ine two words to make a contraction. Aor e"ample# cannot &ecomes can?t# ou are &ecomes ou?re# and the ha+e &ecomes the ?+e. 7e sure to use correctl possessi+e pronoun your and contraction you7re 2 it is one o' the most common mistakes to con'use them! 5se the sin(le quotation mark within a re(ular quotation to indicate a quotation within a quotation. ,li said, ;,nna told me, 7 wasn7t sure if you wanted to come!7; 6ote that an apostrophe is not used with s to make a plural noun 'rom a sin(ular. )his is a +er common mistake and should &e a+oided.

$899E$) - a''le < a''les ,6$899E$) - a''le < a''le7s &. 'ndicate a #reak or pause within a sentence with the comma ( , ). (his is another commonly used punctuation mark. (here are se)eral instances where you might use a comma. 5se the comma when denotin( an appositi+e# or a &reak within a sentence that supplements and adds in'ormation to the su&*ect. 7ill =ates, #9> of Microsoft, is the develo'er of the o'erating system known as Windows. 5se the comma when denotin( a series. )his is a set o' three or more ;list; items within a sentence. Man writers omit the last comma as ;and; is also a connecti+e (; %he basket contained a''les, bananas and oranges.;6. %he fruit basket contained a''les, bananas, and oranges. %he com'uter store was filled with video games, com'uter hardware and other electronic 'ara'hernalia. 5se a comma i' our su&*ect has two or more ad*ecti+es descri&in( it. )his is somewhat similar to a series# e"cept that it is incorrect to place a comma a'ter the 'inal ad*ecti+e. $899E$) - %he 'owerful, resonating sound caught our attention. ,6$899E$) - %he 'owerful, resonating, sound caught our attention. 5se a comma when re'errin( to a cit and state. ,t is also necessar separate the cit and state 'rom the rest o' the sentence. am originally from ?entnor, *2. "os ,ngeles, #,, is one of the largest cities in the $nited !tates. 5se a comma to separate an introductor phrase (which is usuall one or more prepositional phrases) 'rom the rest o' the sentence. /n introductor phrase &rie'l introduces the sentence# &ut is not part o' the sentence?s su&*ect or predicate# and it there'ore should &e separated 'rom the main clause & a comma. ,fter the show, 2ohn and went out to dinner. >n the back of my couch, my cat7s claws have slowly been carving a large hole. 5se the comma to separate two independent clauses. .a+in( two independent clauses in a sentence simpl means that ou can split the sentence into two. ,' our sentence contains two independent clauses that are separated & a con*unction (such as and, as, but, for, nor, so, or yet)# place a comma &e'ore the con*unction. @yan went to the beach yesterday, but he forgot his sunscreen. Water bills usually rise during the summer, as 'eo'le are thirstier during hot and humid days. 5se a comma when makin( a direct address. 0hen callin( one?s attention & name# separate the person?s name and the rest o' the statement with a comma. 6ote that this kind o' comma is used rarel in writin(# &ecause this is somethin( that we do normall while speakin(. ,mber, could you come here for a moment? to use a comma to

5se a comma to separate direct quotations. / comma should come a'ter the last word &e'ore a quotation that is &ein( introduced. ,t is not necessar to use a comma in an indirect quote. / comma is usuall not necessar i' ou are not quotin( an entire statement. While was at his house, 2ohn asked me if wanted anything to eat. While was at his house, 2ohn asked, ;Do you want anything to eat?; ,ccording to the client, the lawyer was ;laAy and incom'etent.; /n indirect quotation that does not require a comma. / direct quotation. / partial direct quotation that does not require a comma. *. Understand the difference #etween parentheses, #rackets, and #races. 5se parentheses ( ( ) ) to clari' # to place an a'terthou(ht# or to add a personal comment. 7e sure to include the period a'ter the closin( parenthesis# e"cept in the case that the entire sentence is within parentheses. !teve #ase 5,>"7s former #9>6 resigned from the %ime.Warner board of directors in BCCD. 5sed 'or clari'ication. .ere# commas can replace the parentheses. Eou will need a flashlight for the cam'ing tri' 5don7t forget the batteries!6. /n a'terthou(ht. 6ote that the period ('ull stop) 'ollows the last parentheses 2 not &e'ore the 'irst. /lso note that replacin( the parentheses with a comma ma not &e entirel suita&le here# and is &etter o'' with a period or a semicolon. Most grammarians believe that 'arentheses and commas are always interchangeable 5 disagree6. / personal comment. 5se &rackets ( B C ) to si(ni' an editor?s note in a re(ular piece o' writin(. Dou can also use &rackets to clari' or to re+ise a direct quote so that it appeals to our own writin(. 7rackets are o'ten used to encompass the word ;sic; (:atin 'or thus)# su((estin( that the pre+ious word or phrase was written ;as is;# with the error intended to &e displa ed. ;F%he blastG was absolutely devastating,; said !usan !mith, a local bystander at the scene of the incident. ; t was absolutely devastating!; 1 the actual quote & Susan Smith. 7races ( E F ) are most widel used in denotin( a numeric set in mathematics. )hou(h (enerall uncommon# &races can also &e used in re(ular writin( to indicate a set o' equal# independent choices. E <# G# H# <=# G= F #hoose your favorite utensil H fork, knife, s'oon I and bring it to me.

+. ,now how to use the slash ( % ). 5se the slash to separate and and or# when appropriate. )he phrase andJor su((ests that a series o' options are not mutuall e"clusi+e. %o register, you will need your driver7s license andJor your birth certificate. )he slash is used when quotin( l rics and poetr to denote a line &reak. 7e sure to add spaces &etween our slashes here. @ow, row, row your boat J =ently down the stream. J Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, J "ife is but a dream. )he slash can replace the word and to *oin two nouns. 7 replacin( and with a slash# ou su((est that there is equal importance to &oth characteristics. 5se these replacements in moderation to place (reater emphasis where and ma not do so 2 as well as not to con'use the reader. Dou can also do the same 'or or# as in hisJher. .owe+er# ou should not use the slash to separate independent clauses# as shown &elow. $899E$) ;%he student and 'art.time em'loyee has very little free time.; < ;%he studentJ'art.time em'loyee has very little free time.; ,6$899E$) ;Do you want to go to the grocery store, or would you 'refer to go to the mall?; < ;Do you want to go to the grocery store J would you 'refer to go to the mall?; (ips ,' ou decide a(ainst the serial comma in our work# make sure that the meanin( o' the sentence can stand without its use. )hink a&out the classic e"ample o' a sentence in which the serial comma is needed: ;M heroes are m parents# Mother )eresa and the Pope.; /lthou(h dashes and parentheses ha+e similar uses# remem&er that parentheses indicate a stron(er ;side notion; than dashes. %ashes are usuall considered to &e in'ormal. Dou mi(ht want to replace the use o' a dash with a set o' parentheses# or e+en commas. Similarl # limit the 'requenc o' dash use in our writin(- the should &e reser+ed to emphasi@e a couple o' important points. ,n 'ormal writin(# tr to a+oid e"cessi+e use o' question marks and e"clamation points. Most o' our sentences should &e declarati+e statements. ,' ou 'ind that a sentence seems to dra( on# 'ind a wa to add a comma or two# so that it is easier on the reader?s e es. ,' a sentence &ecomes too lon(# then consider splittin( it into two or more sentences. ,' ou write in a pro'essional capacit # &e sure to 'ollow an (uidelines or st le (uides pro+ided & our emplo er. ,n some cases# their rules can &e at odds with what ou read here or elsewhere# &ut their rules alwa s take precedence. Aor e"ample# some companies use serial commas (a# &# and c) and others do not (a# & and c). )here are e"ceptions to the h phen-dash rule. ,n makin( compound words# when one o' the words is itsel' composed o' two words# use an en dash ( 1 ) rather than a h phen# as in# ;.e

took the Paris16ew Dork route.; En dashes are also used &etween num&ers# as in pa(e num&ers or ears# to denote a ran(e. (;/ discussion on personal 'inance is 'ound in pa(es IH1 JG.;) 6e+er &e a'raid to ha+e short sentences in our writin( & splittin( up lon( sentences that contain se+eral points. Dour reader will appreciate writin( that is clear and concise with &rie'er statements# as opposed to a one-pa(e para(raph with twent words per sentence. Man (rammar e"perts &elie+e that parentheses and commas are o'ten interchan(ea&le when settin( o'' in'ormation. 0hile this is sometimes true# there are some cases where a set o' parentheses mi(ht &e more suita&le# such as in indicatin( one?s personal thou(ht. Some +er eas thin(s to do are think like ou?re talkin( 'or real# i' someone sa s ;, want to do somethin( let?s (o ri(ht now; ou would put an e"clamation mark at the end o' the sentence# &ecause ou?re enthused. /nd put a comma (#) at the end o' ;somethin(; and &e'ore ;:et?s (o; so that proper would &e ;, want to do somethin(# let?s (o!; See? Eas !