Interpunction

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 1

The Comma (,)

The comma is useful in a sentence when the writer wishes to:

pause before proceeding

add a phrase that does not contain any new subject

separate items on a list

use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful)

Full Stop (.)

A full stop should always be used to end a sentence. The full stop indicates that a point has been made and that you are about to move on to further explanations or a related point.

Ellipsis ...

Less frequently, a series of three full stops (an ellipsis) can be used to indicate where a section of a quotation has been omitted when it is not relevant to the text, 

for example:

“The boy was happy… at the start of his summer holiday.”

Exclamation Mark (!)

An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling within a sentence, such as fear, anger or love. It is also used to accentuate feeling within the written spoken word.

For example:“Help! I love you!”

In this way, it can also be used to indicate a sharp instruction

“Stop! Police!”

or to indicate humour

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” 

Question Mark (?)

The question mark simply indicates that a sentence is asking a question. It always comes at the end of a sentence:

For example:

Are we at the end?

Note that the question mark also serves as a full stop.

Semi-colon (;)

The semi-colon is perhaps the most difficult sign of punctuation to use accurately. If in doubt, avoid using it and convert the added material into a new sentence.

As a general rule, the semi-colon is used in the following ways:

When joining two connected sentences.

For example:

We set out at dawn; the weather looked promising.

Colon (:)

The colon within a sentence makes a very pointed pause between two phrases. There are two main uses of the colon:

It is most commonly used when listing.

For example: She placed the following items into the trolley: beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of milk.

Or it can be used within a heading, or descriptive title.

For example: Human Resource Management: Guidelines for Telephone Advisers

Apostrophe (’)

The apostrophe, sometimes called an inverted comma has two main uses.

The apostrophe indicates possession or ownership.

For example: The girl's hat was green, (girl is in the singular).

This shows the reader that the hat belongs to the girl.

The girls' hats were green, (girls in this instance are plural, i.e. more than one girl, more than one hat).

This indicates that the hats belong to the girls.

Apostrophe(') II

Another use of the apostrophe is to indicate where a letter is omitted: For example:

We're going to do this course. (We are going to do this course.)

Isn’t this a fine example of punctuation? (Is not this a fine example of punctuation?)

The time is now 7 o’ clock. (The time is now 7 of the clock)

Note that a common mistake is to confuse its with it’s.

It’s indicates to the reader that a letter has been omitted.

For example:

It’s a lovely day is an abbreviated way of saying: It is a lovely day.

Apostrophe(') III

It’s indicates to the reader that a letter has been omitted.

For example:

It’s a lovely day is an abbreviated way of saying: It is a lovely day.

Note that in most formal writing, the practice of using abbreviated words is inappropriate.

Quotation or Speech Marks (“….”)

Used to mark out speech when quoting someone else's speech.

For example:

My grandpa said, "Share your chocolates with your friends."

"George, don't do that!"

"Will you get your books out please?” said Mrs Jones, the teacher, “and quieten down!"

Hyphen (-)

The hyphen is used to link words together.

sub-part

eighteenth-century people

week-end

second-class post

gender-neutral

non-verbal

Hypen (-) II

The hyphen is also used when a word is split between two lines. The hyphen should be placed between syllables at the end of the upper line and indicates to the reader that the word will be completed on the next line.

Brackets ( )

Brackets always come in pairs ( ) and are used to make an aside, or a point which is not part of the main flow of a sentence. If you remove the words between the brackets, the sentence should still make sense.

For example:

“The strategy (or strategies) chosen to meet the objectives may need to change as the intervention continues.”

Add interpunction in the following sentences

How much do those apples cost

The news however came as a shock

The text that she sent had lots of emojis

perhaps you dont always need to use commas periods colons etc to make sentences clear

when i am in a hurry tired cold lazy or angry i sometimes leave out punctuation marks

grammar is stupid i can write without it and dont need it my uncle Harry once said

he was not very clever and i never understood a word he wrote to me i think ill learn some punctuation not too much enough to write to Uncle Harry

Which is correct?

1. Let's eat grandma.
2. Let's eat, grandma.

Which is correct?

1. I love stranger things it's the best.
2. I love stranger things, it's the best.

Which is correct?

1. Pass the rolls: I'm really hungry
2. Pass the rolls. I'm really hungry

Which is correct?

1. I'm running late, I'll be there soon.
2. I'm running late; I'll be there soon.
3. I'm running late I'll be there soon.
4. Im running late i'll be there soon.