HOMEWORK
Look for information about punctuation rules, include the following:
Definition and Importance (Short explanation).
Main rules or when to use: full stop, commas, colon, semicolon, ellipsis,
quotation marks, etc. Include an example.
NOTE: Do this research in a word document, try to add at least 3 or 4 main sources
where you get the information.
Upload your homework as a PDF.
Definition and Importance
Definition: Punctuation is the set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their
meanings, mainly by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses. The word comes
from the Latin word punctuare meaning "making a point."
Marks of punctuation include ampersands, apostrophes, asterisks, brackets, bullets,
colons, commas, dashes, diacritic marks, ellipsis, exclamation points, hyphens, paragraph
breaks, parentheses, periods, question marks, quotation marks, semicolons, slashes,
spacing, and strike-throughs.
Importance: Using, punctuation in your writing helps the reader to clearly understand
the message that is being conveyed. A wrongly used punctuation or a missing punctuation
can change the meaning of a sentence.
Punctuation primarily helps to indicate the pauses and the emphasis on certain ideas or
thoughts that are discussed in the text.
Full stops. –
Full stops mark the end of a sentence that is not a question or an exclamation.
Following the same rule, use full stops at the end of the last item in a list that’s made up of
sentence fragments.
EXAMPLE
The committee met yesterday. It discussed:
office space
working hours
managers’ salaries.
Commas. -
Rule 1: Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or
more items.
Rule 2: Use a comma to show a pause after an introductory word.
Rule 3: Use a comma after two or more prepositional phrases at the beginning of a
sentence.
Rule 4: Use commas to set off words that interrupt the flow of though sentence.
Rule 5: Use commas to set off names use in direct address.
Rule 6: Use a comma before and or, or, but, when it joins simples sentences into a
compound sentence.
EXAMPLES
The snow started to fall heavily, so all the schools and universities closed early.
I went to the store to buy milk, eggs, and bread.
Before the important business meeting, she had to make her own coffee
Colon. –
Rule 1: Use a colon to introduce a list of items that ends a sentence. Use a phrase such as these,
the following, or as follows before the list.
Rule 2: Use a colon to separate the hour from the minute when you write the time of day.
EXAMPLES
She kept repeating: “I really want that car!”
He was going to buy three things: chairs, tables, and utensils
Semicolons. –
Rule 1: Use a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence when a conjunction such as and,
but, or, or is not used. Remember that compound sentence has two or more simple sentences that
are joined by a conjunction.
EXAMPLES
Mary drives a Mercedes; Joanne drives a Chevrolet.
We had too many fumbles; we lost the game
Ellipsis. -
Rule 1: Use an ellipsis to omit information at the beginning and end of quotes
Rule 2: Use an ellipsis to omit whole sentences in quotations
Rule 3: Use an ellipsis in a dialogue
EXAMPLES
The dark, clammy evening foretold stormy weather, unless… could it be?...
Kimha asked, “Will we leave at daybreak?... What type of gear should I take?
Michael reminded us, “The school day at all schools… beings at 8:30 a.m.”
Quotation marks. -
Rule 1: Use quotation marks before and after a direct quotation.
Rule 2: Use quotation marks around each part of an interrupted quotation.
Rule 3: Place a period inside closing quotation marks.
Rule 4: Use a comma or commas to separate a phrase such as he said from the quotation itself.
Place the comma outside opening quotation marks but inside closing quotation marks.
EXAMPLES
Alex said, “I’m very tired”
I wrote “Mein Kampf”
“Mistakes” is not a word I use
MAIN SOURCES: https://www.grammarbook.com
