Punctuation

Full Stop/ Period

● Full stops are used to mark the end of sentences which
aren't questions or exclamations
● They are also used to indicate the absence of letters
while writing an abbreviation, for example: i.e., etc.
● Indirect questions that are declarative sentences use
full stop instead of a question mark
● Example: Shreya asked if I liked coffee.
● In case of direct questions, however, we use question
mark.
● Example: Shreya asked, “Do you like coffee?”
Comma
● We use commas to separate a ● When a subordinate clause comes
list of similar words or before the main clause, we
phrases commonly use a comma to
● Oxford comma – used before separate the clauses.
‘and’ ○ Because I was tired, I went to
○ Necessity : I dedicate this bed early.
award to my parents, Jane ● We use commas to separate words
Austen and Albert Einstein or phrases that mark where the
voice would pause slightly
○ You see, I am being most
understanding about your
shortcomings.
Commas
● We use commas to show that ● We use commas to mark
direct speech is following or non-defining clauses. Such
has just occurred clauses normally add extra,
○ She said, “....” non-essential information about
● When the direct speech is the noun or noun phrase.
first, we use a comma before ○ My sister, who lives nearby, is
the closing of the quotation a bridesmaid for the wedding.
mark ● We commonly separate tags and
○ “Do you reckon it might rain yes-no responses with commas
today?”, he asked. ○ I need a fulfilling social
life, don’t I?
Colon
● We use colons to introduce lists
○ I need to buy these items: milk, bread, and eggs.
● We also use colons to indicate a subtitle or to indicate
a subdivision of a topic
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● We commonly use a colon between sentences when the second
sentence explains or justifies the first sentence
○ I do not like him: he is a rather rude individual. (not widely used)
● Colons are used to separate units of time and ratios.
● A colon can be used to separate a movie, book, or another
piece of work’s title from its subtitle.
Semi Colons
● We use semicolons instead of full stops to separate two
main clauses. In such cases, the clauses are related in
meaning but are separated grammatically
○ I am going home; I intend to stay there for the rest of the day.
● Use semicolons to divide items in a list if the items are
long or contain internal punctuation.
○ The team included Frieren, the mage; Himmel, the hero; Eisen, the
warrior and Heiter, the priest.
● A semicolon should be followed by a capitalized word only
if the word is a proper noun, an acronym, or another type
of word that typically requires capitalization.
Quotation Marks
● In direct speech, we enclose what is said within a pair of
single or double quotation marks.
● When we use direct speech inside direct speech, we use either
single quotation marks inside double quotation marks, or
double quotation marks inside single quotation marks.
○ “He said, ‘I don’t care about your dog’! The nerve of him!”, Shaggy
complained.
● We also use single quotation marks to draw attention to a
word.
● We sometimes use quotation marks to refer to the titles of
books, newspapers, magazines, films, songs, poems, videos,
CDs, etc
Dashes
● Dashes are more common in informal writing. They can be
used in similar ways to commas or semicolons.
● The en dash shows a relationship between words and
numbers.
○ She was an employee from 2018-2022.
● In contrast, the em dash emphasizes or separates parts of
a sentence, indicating breaks or interruptions in
thought.
○ She was tired — exhausted, honestly — after that day’s shift.
Hyphen
● A hyphen (-) is shorter than a dash
● It is primarily used to join words or parts of words,
such as in compound terms or prefixes.
○ Five-year old
○ Well-known
○ Sister-in-law
Brackets
● Brackets have a similar function to dashes. They often
add extra, non-essential information
○ King Henry VIII (succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I) was
well known for his obsession with siring a male heir.
● We use brackets around dates and page numbers in academic
writing.
Ellipses
● An ellipses is a punctuation mark consisting of three
dots (...) used when omitting a word, phrase, line,
paragraph, or when taking a pause in speech or thought.
○ “I… I don’t know what to say. Your stupidity astounds me.”
○ “Are you excited?”

“...not really”
Question Mark
● A question mark can be used at the end of interrogative
sentences/direct questions
○ You’re coming?
○ Are you coming?
○ You’re coming, right?
● A question mark can be used with sentences containing
question tags
○ Example: You liked the shirt, didn’t you?
Exclamation Mark
● Exclamation marks are used at the end of exclamatory
sentences that express a strong emotion, such as anger,
surprise, or joy.
● Exclamation marks are also used with sentence fragments
or sudden interjections that indicate strong emotions
○ Example: Wow! Your work is amazing.
Apostrophe
● The apostrophe(’) is primarily used to indicate
possession (Ritu’s car)and contraction ( it’s)
● When used to show possession or ownership, is placed
immediately after the noun or pronoun which is the owner
of the mentioned object, followed by an ‘s’.
● If the noun or pronoun already has ‘s’ as its last
letter, the apostrophe comes after the letter ‘s’
(parents’ house)
Identify the missing punctuations in the following sentences and rewrite the
sentences with correctly placed punctuations
1. Several organisation contributed to the earthquake relief fund
Australian Red Cross UN Emergency Fund Global Giving among others
2. Whoever has initiated the discussion Anisha Rahul or Rishita deserves
applause for bringing the relevant concerns to the forefront, said Rama
the class instructor
3. The house was clean the table set and the porch light on everything was
ready for the guests arrival
4. Prof Amorn Pimarnmas president of the Structural Engineers Association
of Thailand said that while there were regulations in 43 provinces on
earthquake proofing buildings less than 10% of buildings are estimated
to be quake resistant
5. If you listen to her advice you might find a way to deal with this
situation
Rewrite the given paragraph with the missing punctuation marks

Animal play can seem trivial even laughable. Often

defined as an intrinsically rewarding activity yet
offering no immediate survival benefits, its very
existence is puzzling. While it has long been
hypothesised that play serves as a rehearsal for adult
behaviours some studies suggest that it might not be
crucial to their development. Similarly although some
scholars propose that play allows animals to expend
surplus resources time, energy, neural activity which
could explain play’s prominence in pets this does not
account for its widespread occurrence in wild species
play challenges us with its apparent lack of biological
necessity
Answers
Identify the missing punctuations in the following sentences and rewrite the
sentences with correctly placed punctuations

1. Several organisation contributed to the earthquake relief fund:

Australian Red Cross, UN Emergency Fund, Global Giving, among others.
2. “Whoever has initiated the discussion — Anisha, Rahul, or Rishita —
deserves applause for bringing the relevant concerns to the
forefront,” said Rama, the class instructor.
3. The house was clean, the table set, and the porch light on;
everything was ready for the guests’ arrival.
4. Prof Amorn Pimarnmas, president of the Structural Engineers
Association of Thailand, said that while there were regulations in 43
provinces on earthquake-proofing buildings, less than 10% of
buildings are estimated to be quake-resistant.
5. If you listen to her advice, you might find a way to deal with this
situation.
Animal play can seem trivial, even laughable. Often defined
as an intrinsically rewarding activity, yet offering no
immediate survival benefits, its very existence is puzzling.
While it has long been hypothesised that play serves as a
rehearsal for adult behaviours, some studies suggest that it
might not be crucial to their development. Similarly,
although some scholars propose that play allows animals to
expend surplus resources (time, energy, neural activity) –
which could explain play’s prominence in pets – this does not
account for its widespread occurrence in wild species. Play
challenges us with its apparent lack of biological necessity.

Source:
https://aeon.co/essays/how-evolution-favoured-costly-and-friv
olous-animal-play