- Punctuation marks are conventional signs to read, write and speak a sentence clearly or without any ambiguity.
Following are some punctuation marks:
1. Period / Full Stop (.)
2. Exclamation Mark (!)
3. Question Mark (?)
4. Comma (,)
5. Semicolon (;)
6. Colon (:)
7. Apostrophe ( ’ )
8. Double Inverted Comma (“ ”)
9. Single inverted Comma (‘ ’)
10. Parentheses ( )
11. Bracket [ ] (Square brackets)
12. Braces { } (Curly brackets)
13. Hyphen (-)
14. Dash (–)
15. Ellipsis (….)
16. Swung dash (~)
17. at (@)
18. Backslash (\)
19. Forward Slash (/)
A. Terminal Punctuation Marks: These are used to end the sentence.
1. Period / Full Stop (.) – It is used at the end of the Declarative Sentences and the Imperative Sentences. Ex: You live here. We had four friends. They don’t know him. Ex: Please don’t beat around the bush. Let me do it.
2. Exclamation Mark (!)- It is used to convey strong emotion.
Ex: I know you very well. I know you very well! (Sarcasm)
Ex: I am happy to see you. I am happy to see you! (Excitement)
Ex: Ouch! You stepped on my foot! (Pain)
Ex: Bravo! You won the game! (Weldone)
Ex: Listen! Come on time otherwise you will be fired! (Anger)
3. Question Mark (?) – It is used at the end of the interrogative sentences.
Ex: Do you know him?
Ex: If he comes today, will you go with him?
Ex: Where do you live?
B. Pauses: It is used to stop briefly while reading and then continue reading.
4. Comma (,) –
– Separate items in a list:
Ex: I went supermarket to buy chocolates, milk, sugar, and tamarind
Ex: Why don’t you go on your work, meet some people, and follow your dreams to overcome this boredom?
-Separate words (unfortunately, sadly, fortunately, Finally) that are not part of the sentence.
Ex: Fortunately, I qualified in the test in my first attempt.
Ex: Sadly, I could not meet her.
-Separate linking words (in fact, however, so, therefore, eventually)
Ex: She has been preparing for the exam since 2020. Eventually, She could make it happen.
Ex: This is a great book. In fact, it is one of the best I have ever read.
Ex: I told her to join us in the gym. She, however, has some different plans.
-To join clauses:
Ex: When I came home, she was busy with her toys. (Dependent – Independent Clause
Ex: I was so happy when I participated in the event. (Independent – Dependent Clause)
Ex: They invited him for the party, but(we can use FANBOYS here) he didn’t go. (Independent – independent clauses)
5. Semicolon (;) –
-To join two independent clauses in place of comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS- For, And, Nor, But, Or, yet, So). It must give clear meaning of the sentence.
Ex: However they were planning to go Mumbai, (; – wrong) but they could not make it possible.
-Use a semicolon to replace a full stop between related sentences when the second sentence starts with either a conjunctive adverb or a transitional expression ( accordingly, otherwise, thus, besides, for instance, however, furthermore, therefore)
Ex: Shikha is a good student; moreover, she also plays cricket.
Ex: Navi works all day; nevertheless, she gives time to her family.
-Semicolon is used to replace comma when items in series are long:
Ex: My friend is intelligent, studious, and helpful; but we rarely meet.
6. Colon (:)- Colon is used to make a list.
Ex: Grocery items: Vegetables, Mustard Oil, Rice, Flour, Sugar.
Ex: Our business deals in: making new products, launching them, and making profits.
Ex: Let me tell you one thing: if you don’t come for the party, I will never meet you again.
7. Apostrophe (’): Apostrophe has three uses:
-To form possessive nouns.
Ex: We rode by my friend’s car. Children’s habit makes them vibrant.
Ex: Boys’ behavior matters the most in making a culture. Girls’ attitude helps her to resist any mishap with her.
-To show omission of letters.
Ex: Does not = Don’t Will not = Won’t I am = I’m You are = You’re
-To form plurals of letters, numbers, and symbols
Ex:
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| A | Two A’s= A A | 5 | Two 5’s = 5 5 |
| * | Five *’s= ***** | P | Two P’s = P P |
8. Double Inverted Comma (“ ”)
-It is used to indicate direct speech.
Ex: Sonam Said, “I am fine.” I said, “Sit down on the chair.”
9. Use of Single Inverted Comma (‘ ’)
-For emphasis a word or a phrase, either to show clarity or sometimes confusion.
Ex: They sell ‘fresh and seasonal’ fruits.
-It is also used for indicating beginning and ending of a direct speech.
Ex: They told, ‘It is better to stay there.’
-To show irony, inaccuracy or skepticism.
Ex: She is intelligent but ‘snobbish.’
-To show a title of something.
Ex: Her book ‘The Five Senses’ sold with high demand.
10. Parenthesis ()- To show information
Ex: When I was going there, I found my school, colleagues (new) and institutions.
11. Bracket []-
-Use brackets to insert the words of own.
Ex: He said, “Sally [My friend] is coming today.”
-To insert stage direction into a play.
Ex: [Macbeth enters]
[Romeo weeps over Juliet’s body]
-To insert explanation, corrections, clarifications or comments
12. Braces {} –
-Braces are used to group items.
A= {a,b,c,d…}
Grocery = {Potatoes, Tomatoes, Chilly, ….}
13. Hyphen (-) – Hyphen is used to join two words.
Ex:- Root-word, Self-employed, Short-term, old-fashioned
14. Dash (–) – longer than hyphen and it is used to introduce a list and to show that words or letters are missing.
Ex: Planet’s name – Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus
Ex: I will take care —— my friend. (of, off)
15. Ellipsis (…….) — It is used to show the incomplete words or parts of the statement.
16. Swung Dash (~) — It is used to omit a word that has already been used.
17. at ( @ ) — It is used to show that something is happening at a certain rate or time.
18. Back Slash ( \ ) — It is used for coding in computer programming.
19. Forward Slash ( / ) — It is used to represent ‘OR’ and ‘Per’ and Fraction
Ex: Dear Madam / Sir — Madam or Sir
Ex: Price — 67 / Kg
Ex: 2/7, 6/8, 9/2