HOW TO ADD CORRECT PUNCTUATION MARKS IN ENGLISH SENTENCES

                    PUNCTUATION MARKS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Punctuation (derived from the Latin punctum, a point) means the right use of putting in points or stops in writing.

The following are the principal stops :

1) Full Stop or period ( . )

2) The comma (,)

3)Semicolon(;)

4) Colon  (  : )

5) Question Mark (? )

6) Exclamation Mark ( ! )

Other marks in common use are the

Dash       ( _ )

Parentheses  ( )

Inverted Commas and Quotation Marks ".

1. Full Stop or period  ( . )

The full stop represents the greatest pause and separation. It is used to mark the end of a declarative or an Imperative sentence; as,

 For Example :

Dear, patient, gentle, noble, Nell was dead.

The full stop can be used in abbreviations,  but they are often omitted in modern style.

M.P or MP

U.N.O or UNO

M.A or MA

Note that in current English Mr and Mrs occur without a full stop, as these have come to be regarded as the full spellings.

2.  The comma (,)

The comma represents the shortest pause, and is used:-

 1) To separate a series of words in the same construction; as,

 England, France and Italy formed an alliance.

He lost lands, money, reputation and friends.

It was a long, dull and wearisome journey.

He wrote his exercise neatly, quickly and correctly.

Note - A Comma is generally not placed before the word preceded by and.

2) To separate each pair of words connected by and; as

      We should be devout and humble,  cheerful and serene.

       High and low, rich and poor, wise and foolish,  must all die.

3) After a Nominative Absolute; as,

    This done, she returned to the old man with a lovely smile on her face.

    The wind being favourable, the squadron sailed.

    The genius making me no answer, I returned about to address myself to him a second time.

4) To mark off a Noun or Phrase in Apposition; as,

Paul, the apostle, was beheaded in the reign of Nero.

Milton, the great English poet, was blind.

Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India died in 1964.

5) To mark off words used in addressing people

Come into the garden, Maud.

How are you, Mohan?

But when the words  are emphatic, we ought to use the note of Exclamation;  as,  

Monster! By thee, my child's devoured!

6)  To mark off two or more adverbs or adverbial phrases coming together; as,

Then, at length, tardy justice was done to the memory of Oliver.

7) Before and after a participial phrase,  provided that the phrase might be expanded into a sentence, and is not used in a merely qualifying sense; as,

Caesar, having conquered his enemies, returned to Rome.

8) Before and afterwards phrases or clauses, let into the body of a sentence; as,

it is mind, after all, which does the work of the world.

His behaviour, to say the least, was very rude.

He didn't, however, gain his object.

9) To indicate the omission of a word, especially a verb ; as,

He will succeed; you, never.

He was a Brahmin; She, a Rajput.

10) To separate short co-ordinate clause of a compound sentence; as,

I came, I saw, I conquered.

When there is conjunction  the comma is sometimes omitted; as,

He came and saw me.

3.Semicolon(;)

The semicolon represents a pause of greater importance than that shown by the comma. It is used:-

(1)    To separate the clauses of Compound sentences , when they contain a comma; as,

          He was a brave, large-hearted man; and we all honoured him.

(2)    To separate a series of loosely related clauses ; as,

Her court was pure; her life serene;

God gave her peace; her land reposed.

4. Colon  (  : )

The colon marks a still more complete pause than that expressed by the semi-colon. It is used  (Something with a dash after it)

1) To introduce a quotation; as,

Bacon says: "Reading makes a full man, writing an exact man, speaking a ready man."

2) Before enumeration, example, etc; as,

The principal parts of a verb in English are the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle.

3) Between sentences grammatically independent but closely connected in sense; as,

Study to acquire a habit of thinking: no the study is more important.

5. Question Mark  ( ? )

The Question mark is used, instead of the full stop, after a direct question; as,

Have you written your exercise?

 If you prick us, do we not bleed?

 And if you wrong us, shall we not have revenge?

 If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

But Question Mark is not used after an indirect question ; as,

 He asked me whether I had written my exercise.

6. Exclamation Mark  ( ! )

The Exclamation mark is used after interjection and after phrases and sentences expressing sudden emotion or wish; as,

 Alas! Oh dear!

 What a terrible fire this is!

 O, what a fall was there, my countryman! Long live the king!

When the interjection O is placed before the Nominative of Address, the Exclamation Mark, if employed at all, comes after the noun; or it may be placed at the end of the sentence; as,

 O father! I hear the sound of guns.

O Hamlet, speak no more!

7. Inverted Commas  ( " " )

Inverted commas are used to enclose the exact words of a speaker,  or a quotation; as,

" I would rather die, " he exclaimed, "then join the oppressors of my country. "

Babar is said by Elphinstone to have been " the most admirable prince that ever reigned in Asia."

If a quotation occurs within a quotation, it is marked by single inverted Commas; as,

" You might as well say," added the March Hare, "that 'I like what I get is the same thing as I get what I like."

8.  Hyphen

The Hyphen - a shorter line than the Dash - is used to connect the parts of a compound word; as

Passer-by

 man-of-war

 Jack-of-all-trades.

It is also used to connect parts of a word divided at the end of a line.

9. Dash ( _ )

The Dash is used:

1) To indicate an abrupt stop or change of thought; as,

 If my husband were alive_but why lament the past?

2) To resume a scattered subject; as,

 Friends,  Companions, relatives_all deserted him.

10. Parentheses (  )

Parentheses or Double Dashes are used to separate from the main parts of the sentence a phrase or clause which doesn't grammatically belong to it; as,

 He gained from Heaven (it was all he wished) a friend.

11.  Apostrophe (  ' )

The Apostrophe is used:

1) To show the omission of a letter or letters; as,

Don't,  e'er , I've.

2) In the Genitive Case of Nouns.

3) To form the plural of letters and figures.

 Dot your I's and cross your t's.

 Add two 5's and four 2's.