Punctuation is: The act or practice of inserting standardized marks or signs in

written matter to clarify the meaning and separate structural units. So, in case
you forgot, those are: ! () ; : ‘ “”, . / ?

1. Apostrophe

The apostrophe has three main purposes: to replace missing letters, to

form contractions, or to show possession.
❖ Use the apostrophe to take the place of a letter or letters omitted
from contractions.
has not hasn’t
it is it’s
cannot can’t

❖ Use the apostrophe to take the place of a letter or number that has
been omitted.
He yelled, “I’m takin’ the ball and goin’ home.”
Do you remember the summer of ’99 when we went
tubing down the Fraser River?
❖ Use the apostrophe to show possession or ownership.
Singular nouns usually take an apostrophe and s.
my grandmother’s house
The student’s book

2. COLON
A colon is a piece of punctuation that has a number of functions.
❖ Use a colon after the greeting in a business letter.
 Dear Sir:
To Whom It May Concern:
❖ Use a colon to separate hours and minutes

They have recess at 10:15.

The plane departs at 14:10.

❖ Use a colon to express a ratio.
The study revealed that cats outnumbered dogs by 3:1.
❖ Use a colon to separate acts from scenes in a play.
Act III: Scene 2 is my favourite part of the play.
❖ Use a colon to set off dialogue for a play or other script.
Principal: Kajra, why were you late this morning?
Kajra: The power went off, so I slept in.
❖ Use a colon o separate a title from a subtitle.
My new book is called Hot Stuff: One Hundred Ways to Make
Chili.

3. COMMA

A comma is a piece of punctuation that has a variety of uses, but its purpose is
mainly to keep words and ideas clear.

❖ Use a comma to separate items in dates and places.

July 1, 1908 Prince George, British Columbia

❖ Use a comma in the openings of friendly letters and in the closings

of all letters.
Dear Grandmother, Yours truly,
❖ Use a comma to separate initials from surnames, and to separate
titles from surnames
Mitchell, W.O. James Brown, B.Sc.
❖ Use a comma between words or groups of words in a series.
My lunch contained sandwiches, an apple, cake, and one raw
carrot.
❖ Use a comma to separate adjectives before a noun.
Trilby bought a shiny, new, red, sports car.
They looked out on the choppy, grey sea.
❖ Use a comma before a coordinate conjunction in a compound
sentence.
Commas are used to separate independent clauses (clauses that
can stand by themselves) in a compound sentence.
Independent Clause Conjunction
Independent Clause The day felt chilly, but
we went to the pool. The dog licked my hand, and
I knew I had to take her home.
❖ Use a comma to set off introductory words and phrases.
Commas are used to set off introductory words or phrases that
cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Introductory Phrase Independent Clause

If I win the lottery, I will move to Fiji.
While waiting for the bus, I fell asleep.

❖ Use a comma to set off words that interrupt the main idea of a
sentence.
My boss, for example, donated thousands of dollars to charity last
year.
 It may not be my place, however, to say this.
Interrupters
by the way however still
incidentally
for example furthermore in fact of course
❖ Use a comma to set off appositives.
An appositive is a word or phrase that adds extra information about
the noun that appears before it in a sentence.

Noun Appositive

Leo, my youngest brother,

was born on Canada Day. The town of Kitchener, once
known as Berlin, is in Ontario.

4. PARENTHESES

Parentheses are a form of punctuation to be used around words in a

sentence to add or clarify information. Generally anything placed in
parentheses is considered to be less important than anything outside of it.
❖ Use parentheses to enclose an interrupting word or word group that
adds information, but does not change the meaning of a sentence.
There are two Vancouvers (in British Columbia and in Washington) in the
area sometimes called “Cascadia.”
Our teacher (a good-looking man in his 40s) introduced himself.
❖ Use parentheses to clarify an idea.
My favourite teacher, Ms. Chan (the Ms. Chan who teaches
science), lives down
 the street from us.
❖ Use parentheses to show equivalent measures or values.
The Weather Network was predicting fifteen centimetres (six
inches) of snow.

5. Quotation (“ ”)

Quotation marks are used to inform a reader either of something

that was spoken or something that is being directly copied from
another work. Quotes should also be placed around a word if it is
used in a specific context or otherwise bears special attention. In
informal applications, quotations can also be used to denote
something that is ironic.
Examples:
• Lydia said, “Is this my prom dress?”
• Dr. Shruti claims, “The use of violence against women in India is
on the rise.

6. Hyphen (-)

Not to be confused with a dash, a hyphen is used in compound

words when two or more words are connected. There are most
commonly used to pair compound words.
Examples: Throw-away, High-speed chase, Step-by-step,

7. Ellipsis (…)
An ellipsis is three periods used together to represent an omission of a
word or words. They are often used to jump from one sentence or phrase
to another while omitting unnecessary or obvious words. It’s also used
when quoting someone and unnecessary words are left out. If the
omission includes the end of a sentence, the glyph has four periods (….)
instead of three.
Example:
At midnight, she began to count down: “ten, nine, eight…” and then the
ball dropped.
When Martin Luther King said “I have a dream…” he was talking about
civil rights and an end to racism

8. Semicolon (;)

A semicolon can be used to join two related main clauses.

Examples:
James left a mess at his desk after he left work; Sarah had to clean it up.
Another way to employ a semicolon to join two related main clauses is to
include a conjunctive adverb such as: however, moreover, nevertheless,
furthermore, consequently, or thus. Conjunctive adverbs can also be used
with a comma.
Example:
James left a mess at his desk after he left work; consequently, Sarah had
to clean it up. One of the most common applications of semicolons is as a
substitute for commas in a list in which commas are required for the
things listed.
Example: It’s as easy as a, b, c; 1, 2, 3.
 9. Exclamation point (!)

An exclamation point or exclamation mark is also used at the end of a

sentence when that sentence express an intense emotion. The expression
can be a variety of things, from excitement, disgust, anger, joy, or
anything else. Exclamation points are meant to add emphasis to a
sentence.
Example:
“Look out behind you!” she yelled
I’m so excited to go to the park tomorrow!

10. Question mark (?)

A question mark also ends a sentence; however, it ends a sentence that is a

direct question. Typically, sentences that are questions begin with what,
how, when, where, why or who.
Example:
How do you like your eggs?

Why didn’t you like the movie last night?

Generally, a question mark also denotes a shift in tone in a sentence if it’s being
read out loud.

11. Period ( . )
The is called a period. The period actually serves two purposes in grammar.
When it appears at the end of a declarative sentence, it ends the sentence. The
period can also indicate that a word is an abbreviation.

Examples:

• As a sentence ender - Jane and Jack went to the market.

• After an abbreviation - John Jones Jr. was born on Dec. 6, 2008