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Basic Punctuation

 

Punctuation

OK so basic punctuation should be common knowledge for most people over the ages of 10 but you would be surprised to find out how little people actually know about how to form a sentence properly. In this thread i will describe the four types of sentences and some of the simple punctuation marks that you should know to write basic letters.

Period (.)– Use a period to end a complete sentence. A sentence is classified as a string of words including a subject and predicate. In British English a period is called a 'full stop'. There are two types of sentences that end with periods. The first is a declarative sentence which is classified as a sentence that is just stating something (e.g., "it's cold out"). Imperative sentences are sentences that are used to demand something from the person being talked to (e.g., "get me the keys").

Example: "He went to Las Vegas yesterday."

Comma (,)– There are many ways to use commas:
*Separate a list of items. This is one of the most common uses of a comma. Notice that a comma is included before the conjunction 'and' which comes before the final element of a list. 
Example: "It took two trains, a ferry, a bus and a 3 hour car ride to get here."

*Separate phrases (clauses). This is especially true after a beginning dependent clause or a long prepositional phrase.
Example: "Even though he wanted to come, his mother wouldn't let him"

*Separate two independent clauses that are connected by a conjunction such as 'but'
Example: "I'd really enjoy seeing a film this evening, and I'd like to go out for a drink."

*Separate appositives (a noun, or noun phrase) or non-defining relative clauses. In other words it is like using parenthesis in the middle of a sentence.
Example: "My dog, who is 13 years old, loves to play fetch."
Question Mark (?)– The question mark is used at the end of a question. A sentence with a question mark in it is also known as an interrogative sentence. 

Example: "What are you wearing?"

Exclamation Point (!)– The exclamation point is used at the end of a sentence to indicate great surprise. It is also used for emphasis when making a point. Be careful not to use an exclamation point too often. A sentence with an exclamation point at the end is also known as an exclamatory sentence.

Colon ( : )– There are two ways to use a colon:
*To provide additional details and explanation. 
Example: "He had too many pets: cats, dogs, birds, frogs and snakes"

*To introduce a direct quote (a comma can also be used in this situation). 
Example: "He said to his mother: "you're a dirty whore."

Quotation Marks (")– From what i've seen in people's writing, this is by far the most problematic of all basic punctuation marks. Quotation marks are used to enclose words that are borrowed or to set off dialog from narrative. They always come in pairs: open quotation marks and close quotation marks.
*A direct quote may be mixed into a sentence already in progress (see Example A) or it may be used in its entirety, either within or part of a sentence (see Example B).
Example A: In a live interview, Mayor Candor admitted that "our city's police force is failing to meet the citizens' needs."

Example B: Dr. Striker, chief of surgery at Middleton Hospital, announced today, "Our hospital will no longer be able to offer services to people who have no health insurance."

With quotations you always want to put your period, exclamation mark or question mark within the quotation marks. The only exception to this rule is if you are writing in MLA format. Also unless you are using a colon before the quotation you will need to put a comma in front of you opening quotation marks (e.g., I said, "how are you feeling today?")

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