Punctuation Marks

Punctuation Marks

1. Full stop (.)

   • it is using in
     • Quotation marks
       • The period is placed inside the quotations.
       • Manolo's father said: "be careful."
     • Parenthesis
       • If the sentence ends with a parenthetical the period must be placed outside of the parenthesis. If the senteces that is in parentheses convey a complete idea the period is placed outside.
       • My mom cooked my favorite food. (It was delicious.)
         • They wanted to purchase a car (a sport one).
     • Complete ideas
       • Hernan is going to visit his grandpa.

2. Comma (,)

   • They indicate a pause and serve to separate
     • Words
       • Carolina likes coffee, tea, wine and beers
     • Ideas
       • Sophia has broken Franklin's cellphone, so she will have to buy one.
     • Phrases
       • Because of you cheated, you will get a bad grade.

3. Colon (:)

   • It often preceedes
     • An explanation
       • We have two options: stay and fight or run like the wind.
     • A list
       • She bought the following: milk, beans, rice and peppers.
     • A quoted sentence
       • My dad always said to me: "believe in yoursel and never give up"

4. Brackets []

   • We use them in direct quoted
     • They Provide more context
       • "We went [to the zoologic] and had a wonderful time."

5. Apostrophe (')

   • These are used to
     • Make words shorter
       • They didn't want to eat out because they weren't hungry.
         • It seems to me that they're clever, that's why they always get good grades.
     • Show possesion
       • My neighbor's dog is really annoying; he has to do something to calm it down.
         • Melvin's and Steven's computeres are very expensive.

6. Semicolon (;)

   • Uses
     • It joins two independent clauses
       • The flight was frightening; passengers were scared.
     • It divides items
       • Carmen knows a lot of people who are from; German, Italy and Mexico.
     • Conjuntive adverbs
       • They did not submit the homework; therefore, they will not get any grade.

7. Ellipsis (...)

   • It is used to
     • Show an omission
       • After working all day, which was boring, I came home. After working all day...I came home.
     • make a pause
       • He turned off the light...and ran to his room.

8. Exclamation mark (!)

   • They are used after interjections or exclamation and indicate
     • Strong feelings
       • Hey! Stop jumping on the bed; you'll fall down.

9. Question mark (?)

   • Uses
     • After a direct question.
       • What will you do after finishing clases?
       • As tag question
         • You look tired, don't you?
   • Incorrect uses
     • Why wouldn't I do for you? Wrong Why wouldn't I do for you. Correct
       • She wonders where the bank is? Wrong She wonders where the bank is. Correct

10. Dash (-)

    • Some usages
      • To join independent clauses
        • I feel better– You can pick me up.
      • To add extra information
        • Most of the dairy products– cheese, milk, and yogurt are out of existence.
      • To emphasize
        • Sure, I will lend you money– as long as you pay me back.

11. Parentheses ()

    • They are used to
      • Include extra information
        • Oliver responsed (after taking some minutes to think) that verbals cannot be conjugated
      • Cite authors
        • Digital media enhances creativity (Craner 308-11).
      • Introduce abbreviations
        • English as Secong Language (ESL) is based on acquisition.