You might be surprised by the topic of today’s blog! This is something which we will need in every writing work. Irrespective of the importance of the document, we need to be careful about each comma, full-stop, exclamation, semicolon, colon, dash, a hyphen, parenthesis, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation mark, and ellipsis. The English Grammar comprises of 14 major punctuation marks. We will be discussing the significance of each punctuation and help you understand how each of them can be applied to the sentences. With proper punctuation marks, your sentences will sound perfect and grammatically correct.
Let’s begin by following the correct usage of each of the punctuation mark that will make your writing easier and more appealing.
How to End a Sentence?
English Grammar has three of the fourteen punctuation marks that are appropriate while ending a sentence – the period, question mark, and exclamation point.
The period (.)
It is also considered as the full stop. The period is placed at the end of a declarative sentence. It is used when the sentences are a statement thought to be complete. It can also be used when you use an abbreviation in a sentence.
- Use of Period as a sentence ender: Jane and Jack went to the market.
- Use of Period as an abbreviation ender: His son, John Jones Jr., was born on Dec. 6, 2008.
Question mark (?)
A question mark is used in the sentence to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence. For example,
- When did Shane Watson leave for the market?
Exclamation point (!)
An exclamation mark should be used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis. For example,
- See the use of exclamation mark within dialogue: “Holy cow!” screamed Shane.
- When you are emphasizing a point: My mother-in-law’s rants make me furious!
Comma, Semicolon, and Colon
It is reported by many authors and editors that they find it difficult to use a comma, semicolon, and colon. They often end up misusing it at wrong places. The confusion arises due to the fact that they are used to indicate a pause in the series.
Generally, a comma is used to indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. Additionally, it can be used in numbers, dates, and letter writing after the salutation and closing.
- When a comma is used in a direct address: Thanks for all your help, John.
- When a comma is used to separate off two complete sentences: They went to the movies, and then they went out to lunch.
- When you will be separating the lists or elements within a sentence: Suzi wanted the black, green, and blue dress.
You must be very careful while checking whether to add a final comma before the conjunction in a list or not.
Now, let’s see how a semicolon can be used in the independent clause. With a semicolon, you can easily justify a relationship between a clause and a period. For example,
- John Snow was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.
You can see how we used a semicolon. Similarly, a colon (:) has three main uses. With the first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.
- We were planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
- He didn’t have time to get changed: I was already late.
- There was only one thing he loved more than any other: his dog.
Working With Dash and the Hyphen
English Grammar also has two other common punctuation marks: dash and hyphen. You might get confused with the usage of Dash and Hyphen. They might look similar but they are very different. See the difference as a dash is used to separate words into statements.
Whereas a hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.
Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses
With this post, you will see that brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used in English Grammar to contain words that need a further explanation or are considered a group.
Apostrophe, Quotation Marks and Ellipsis
These punctuations are generally used in English Grammar but they are not related to anyone.
Basically, an apostrophe (‘) is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of lowercase letters. For examples, check out the sentences given below:
- In case, of omission of letters from a word: We’ve seen that movie several times. He wasn’t the only one who knew the answer.
- For Possessive case: Maya’s dog bit the neighbor.
- In case of the plural for lowercase letters: Six people were told to mind their p’s and q’s.
As you know, Quotations marks (” “) are a pair of punctuation marks used to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word. They can also be used to indicate meanings and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word.
Ellipsis is not used these days. (they have been depreciated). Ellipsis is represented by a set of three periods (…). It is mostly used when you need to write or print omission for a letter of the word.
Table of 14 Punctuation Marks & Their Usage
| Punctuation Mark | Definition |
| apostrophe | An apostrophe is used as a substitute for a missing letter or letters in a word (as in the contraction cannot = can’t), to show the possessive case (Jane’s room), and in the plural of letters, some numbers and abbreviations. Note: groups of years no longer require an apostrophe (for example, the 1950s or the 90s). |
| colon | A colon is used before a list or quote. A colon is used to separate hours and minutes. A colon is used to separate elements of a mathematical ratio. |
| comma | A comma is used to separate phrases or items in a list. |
| dash | A dash is used to separate parts of a sentence. |
| ellipsis | An ellipsis (three dots) indicates that part of the text has been intentionally been left out. |
| exclamation point | An exclamation point is used to show excitement or emphasis. |
| hyphen | A hyphen is used between parts of a compound word or name. It is also used to split a word by syllables to fit on a line of text. |
| parentheses | Parentheses are curved lines used to separate explanations or qualifying statements within a sentence (each one of the curved lines is called a parenthesis). The part in the parentheses is called a parenthetical remark. |
| period | A period is used to note the end of a declarative sentence. |
| question mark | A question mark is used at the end of a question. |
| quotation mark | Quotation marks are used at the beginning and end of a phrase to show that it is being written exactly as it was originally said or written. |
| semicolon | A semicolon separates two independent clauses in a compound sentence. A semicolon is also used to separate items in a series (where commas are already in use). |
Conclusion:
This post gave everyone a brief of the various grammar symbols that can be used commonly while framing sentences. We will be back with some more insights into English Grammar and its application.
You can use the following image as a quick reference guide:
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