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1.] AMPERSAND – is the name of the symbol “&,” meaning “and.” It is also
spelled “amperzand” and called “the short and.” It is a contraction of
“and per se and.”
A. USES OF AMPERSAND
1. The ampersand is used in the names of companies. (American
Telephone & Telegraph Co.)
2. The ampersand may be used in abbreviations in general
correspondence. (Please contact the S & L [Savings and Loans]
associations in your area).
3. The ampersand is also used in bibliographies, indexes, listings,
and documentation. (Blair & Robertson, 1920).
AMPERSAND (cont.)
A. USES OF APOSTROPHE
Note: the use of just the apostrophe without the “s” avoids the
awkwardness of too many “s” sound.
2. To form Plurals – use the apostrophe and “s” or just the apostrophe:
A. USES OF BRACKET
1. To Enclose:
1.1 – corrections in quoted matters. “Max Dela Rosa [Da Rosa] was the
editor.”)
1.2 – the word “sic” in quoted errors. “Juan is of Chinese decent [sic].”
1.3 – the phrase “to be continued on p._” and “continued from p._” in
newspapers and magazines.
1.4 – insertions that supply missing letters or words. “The law was
[en]acted last year.”
Do not use a bracket to set off criticism or other views of the quoted
materials. Transfer such commentary to separate sentences.
Note: Brackets are also used to enclose materials inserted by one in
somebody else’s writing while parentheses are used by someone to write
his own writing.
A. USES OF COLON
• The alternative is obvious: You either finish the job or you face a
damage suit.
3.2 The hour and minutes in noting the time marked by clocks and
watches (6:10 a.m.).
3.5 The title from its sub-title and the subject of a book (The Wide
World: A High School Geography).
3.6 Number references to the volumes and pages of books (Vol. 118:
11-16).
3. In By-line.
A. USES OF COMMA
1.3 An adverb with more than one syllable (e.g., however, moreover,
furthermore) that is found at the beginning of the sentence.
2.2 Adjectives.
2.4 Adverbs. – two or more adverbs that modify the same word or
phrase.
1.1 The words “that that”(He sacrifice his life that that freedom might
prevail.)
1.2 The vocative “O.” However, a comma is used after the exclamation
“Oh.” (O God please help me.)
2.2 The word “that” and “which,” when said words signal a limiting
junction and restricts the preceding word or phrase (The judge read the
memorandums that were well written.)
3.1 The word “page” and the numbers following it (page 115).
e.g., Wrong: It is nearly half past five, we cannot read in the dark.
6.2 Two adjectives, when the first adjective modifies the combination
of the second adjective and the noun following it (e.g., dirty old man,
illegal drug traffic, cold spring water).
6.3 Short and simple clauses that are closely related in meaning and
are clearly understood (The sun was shining and the birds were singing.)
6.6 The postal number of the house and the street name in an address
e.g., 24 Nihtingale, Green Meadows
A. USES OFDASH
4. To set off:
6. To soften a statement that could give offense (We cannot accept your
explanation-that is, without further verification).
A three-em dash indicates that an entire word has been left out or
missing.
2.1) A very forceful question. In this case it may replace the question
mark because the emphatic tone is more intense than the question e.g.,
You did what!
Never use an exclamation point when another mark will serve adequately
or properly. Except when an exclamation point appears in a quoted
material, it should not be used in legal writing.
NOTE: The exclamation point in quoted passages falls inside the quotation
marks.
8.] ELLIPSES – consist of three dots and each point is actually a period.
They are used to indicate an intentional omission from a quoted word,
phrase, clause, paragraph or passage.
A. USES OF ELLIPSES
2.1) An interruption
A. USES OF HYPHEN
• 200-odd people (meaning “about 200 people”) and 200 odd people
(meaning 200 people)
• re-cover (meaning to cover again) and recover (meaning to become
well again)
2. To combine:
2.1) Two simple adjectives preceding the noun they modify (ten-foot
ceiling).
2.2) An adjective and a past participle when used before a noun (rosy-
cheeked girl).
3. To divide the word at the end of a line when a part of the word is to be
carried over to the next line. The division should be made after a vowel,
unless the resulting break changes the pronunciation (e.g., cri-ti-cism,
liga-ture, physi-cal).
5. To indicate:
1.To separate prefixes and suffixes from their main words (anteroom,
antenuptia, misinformed, dishonorable).
A. USES OF PARENTHESES
1. To enclose:
1.2) The names of a city or province that is inserted into a proper noun
for identification e.g., The Ateneo University (Naga, Cam. Sur).
1.3) Question marks to express doubt or if the accuracy of the
information is uncertain e.g., He was born on April 24 (?), 1950.
1.4) Examples when these are necessary but not important enough to
be defined separately e.g., Crimes against persons (murder, homicide,
physical injuries) are usually considered more serious than crimes aginst
property.
11.] PERIOD – next to the comma, the period is the next most used
punctuation. It is one of the three end marks of full stops, the others
being the question mark and the exclamation point. It ends all sentences
that are not questions or exclamations.
A. USES OF PERIOD
4. After items in a tabulated list if one or more of the items are not
complete sentences
1. The introduction
2. When to use a period
3. When not to use a period
5. After sentences that are included within another sentence and enclosed
in parentheses.
2.1) A direct question or interrogation e.g., Who is the one who did
this?
3.1) The definition when a word and its definition appears in the same
sentence e.g., The word “caprice” comes from the Latin word “caper.”
3.2) The names of ships, trains and airplanes e.g., The cargo was
loaded on the “SS Travel Star.”
6. Do not enclose in quotation marks the words “yes” and “no,” except in
direct discourses.
A. USES OF SEMICOLON
• Modern husbands are slaves of the wives; for example, they now
babysit and bottlefeed their wives.
• The Bible reading for the day includes Genesis 2:4-6; Judges 2:3;
Romans 2:1-4.
A. USES OF SLASH
1. To indicate alternatives. It may show that either the two woords may be
used in interpreting the sense of expression e.g., yours/mine