Punctuation
Function and use of the different punctuation marks.
Please refer to red and yellow handbook/Grammar Basics for explanations on the following:
❏ Capital letters
❏ Full stop
❏ Exclamations
NB: YOU MUST LOOK AT THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE PUNCTUATION MARK HAS
BEEN USED!!
Commas:
1. Are used to separate (½) items/words/adjectives/nouns in a list (½). OR
2. A PAIR of commas (or brackets OR a PAIR of dashes) is used to separate/mark off
(½) additional information/an explanation/comment..(½)
3. To indicate (½) where one clause or phrase ends and another begins (½). OR
4. To separate (½) introductory words or phrases (½) from the rest of the sentence.
The hyphen: (-)
1. To join 2 words to form/create/make (½) a compound word (½).
e.g. well-deserved; high-heeled; Sally-Ann; six-year-old brother
2. A hyphen links prefixes to words e.g. anti-dandruff; pre-school.
3. Words that cannot be completed on one line are linked to the next line with a
hyphen. Note: the word can only be broken after a syllable.
To show that the word continues on the next line.
4. Hyphens can be used to differentiate meaning. e.g. She had to re-make the
garment VS The remake of Riverdale is most awful.
The dash/dashes (longer than a hyphen!):
(REMEMBER DA DASH IS IN DA SENTENCE!)
1. To introduce (½) an afterthought/comment/explanation/additional information
(½) (you will have to assess in the context of the sentence).
OR
2. A PAIR of dashes is used to mark off/separate (½) additional
information/comment/explanation/afterthought) (½) from the rest of the sentence
(can be replaced with brackets or a pair of commas)
The colon: :
1. To introduce (½) a list/explanation/direct speech/a quote/additional information (½)
(look at the context).
Apostrophes:
Apostrophes have only two functions:
1. To indicate/show (1/2) omission (1/2) of a letter/s. (a letter/s is/are missing)
e.g. don’t, can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, didn’t, it’s
2. To indicate/show (1/2) possession (1/2) (ownership)
e.g. The cat’s tail – one cat’s tail (singular possession)
The cats’ tails – many cats tails (plural possession)
Inverted Commas: “Help!”
1. To indicate/show (½) direct speech (½).
e.g. Mrs Thomas said, “We will all go and watch a movie on Saturday evening.”
2. To indicate/show (½) a quote (½).
E.g. A famous quote from Nelson Mandela is: “Education is the most powerful
weapon which you can use to change the world.”
e.g. you must use inverted commas whenever you are asked to quote to support
your answer
3. To show (½) the title (½) of a book/play/magazine/newspaper/film etc
4. To convey (½) irony/sarcasm (½) e.g. I’m the “baby” of the family (can also be
called to show metaphorical meaning)
5. To excuse/show (½) slang or foreign language (½) e.g. “aweh”; “Haibo”; “Howzit”
Semi-colons: ;
1. To balance/show (½) two equally important/related/parallel ideas (½). OR
2. To separate items in a list when commas have been used within those items
(i.e. a list within a list) e.g. Our journey took us to Italy, where we discovered Roman
civilization; Egypt, which introduced us to the wonders of pre-history; and Greece,
where we explored the roots of Hellenism. OR
3. To link (½) two independent clauses (½) (could therefore be replaced by a
conjunction)
Brackets:
To mark off/separate (½) additional information/an explanation/a comment…(½)
(and they can be swapped with a PAIR of commas or a PAIR of dashes)
Ellipsis: ...
1. To show (½) omission (½) [leaving out] of information.
2. To create tension/suspense.
3. (To show the information will be continued)
Titles:
Can be punctuated by underlining them or placing them in inverted commas.
“The Greatest Showman” OR The Greatest Showman
(Italics may be used for titles in printed text: The Greatest Showman)
To show (½) the title (½) of a book/play/magazine/newspaper/film etc
