PUNCTUATION

The Period

• Use a period at the end of a declarative and most imperative sentences.

Ex. The next clue is hidden under that rock.

Look under that rock for a clue.

• Use a period after an abbreviation.

Ex. U.S.A. St. lb. oz. R.R.

** some special abbreviations are written without periods**

Ex. FM USAF PBS

• Use a period after an initial.

Ex. J.C. Penney J.F.K.

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Question Mark�Exclamation Point

• Use a question mark at the end of an interrogative sentence.

Ex. Where are we? When do the geese migrate?

• Use an exclamation point at the end of an exclamatory sentence and some imperative sentences. An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that expresses strong feelings.

Ex. Judge struck out! The Jets win!

• Use an exclamation point at the end of an imperative sentence that shows emotion.

Ex. Look out! Sit down!

• Use an exclamation point after an interjection. An interjection is a word or group of words used to express strong feeling.

Ex. Oh! How beautiful!

Wow! What an ending!

The Comma

• Use commas to separate the items in the series (3 or more words)

Ex. The pet store sells birds, snakes, dogs, and cats.

• If yes, no, or well begin a sentence, use a comma after them.

Ex. Yes, I’m a Yankees fan. Well, they win everyday.

• When you use and, but, or or to combine two sentences, put a comma before these words.

Ex. We ran fast. We nearly missed the bus.

We ran fast, but we nearly missed the bus.

• Use commas to set off the name of a person spoken to.

Ex. Peter, what is your favorite color? I think, Jim, you should stop.

• Use commas to set off an appositive. An appositive follows a noun and renames the noun; it gives the reader more information.

Ex. Mr. Lopez, our swim coach, retired last week.

Our swim coach, Mr. Lopez, retired last week.

Other Uses for Commas

• Use a comma to set off the explanatory words of a direct quotation.

Ex. Courtney announced, “The movie is starting.”

“I want to go home,“ moaned Lisa.

“One of the people in this room,” the detective said, “is the murderer.”

• Use a comma after the greeting of a friendly letter and after the closing.

Ex. Dear Agnes, Sincerely yours,

• Use a comma whenever the reader might be confused.

Ex. Going up the elevator lost power.

Going up, the elevator lost power.

In the grocery bags were in demand.

In the grocery, bags were in demand.

Apostrophe Rules

• Use an apostrophe to show possession.

1. For singular nouns, add an apostrophe and s

Ex. City + ‘s = city’s Carlos + ‘s = Carlos’s

2. For possessive plurals not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.

Ex. Gentlemen + ‘s = gentlemen’s geese’s

3. For possessive plurals ending in s, just add an apostrophe

Ex. Birds + ‘ = birds’ cities + ‘ = cities’

4. Use an apostrophe in a contraction.

Ex. Can + not = can’t we + are = we’re

you + will = you’ll

Hyphen

• Use a hyphen after the first part of a word at the end of a line. Put the hyphen at the end of a syllable but NEVER divide words with one syllable or write a single letter at the beginning or end of a line.

Ex. Before you choose a career, inves-

tigate many fields.

• Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine

Colon and Semicolon

• Use a colon after the greeting in a business letter.

Ex. Dear Mrs. Winter: Dear Sir:

• Use a colon between the numerals that tell hours and minutes.

Ex. 8:30 A.M. 3:30 P.M.

Quotation Marks

• Direct quotations require quotation marks.

Ex. Steven whispered, “I’m hiding.”

• Indirect quotations DO NOT use quotation marks.

Ex. Steven whispered that he was hiding.

• Put quotation marks before and after the words of a direct quotation. Separate the words of a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence with a comma or end mark in addition to quotation marks.

Ex. Julie exclaimed, “The band is marching! ”

“The band is marching!” Julie exclaimed.

• Place question marks and exclamation points inside quotation marks if they belong to the quotation itself.

Ex. Michael asked, “Did the bird’s wing heal?”

“It’s perfect!” answered Marianne.

• Place question marks and exclamation points outside quotation marks if they do not belong to the quotation.

Ex. Did Dad say, “Come home at seven o’clock” ?

I was shocked to hear her say, “I’ll go” !

Divided Quotations

• Sometimes a quote is divided. Explanatory words, like she said or he asked, are in the middle of the quotation.

Ex. “My favorite movie,” Lewis said, “Gladiator.”

• Notice that two sets of quotation marks are used and the explanatory words are followed by a comma.

Ex. “We wrote that,” said the students. “It is a group poem.”

• Notice that a period was used after the explanatory words because the second part of the quotation is a separate sentence. The second part also begins with a capital letter because it is a new sentence.

Punctuating Titles

• Put quotation marks around titles of stories, poems, reports, articles, chapters of books, and songs.

Ex. “Spring Song” (poem) “Fighter” (song)

• Underline the title of a book, magazine, play, movie, or television series. When these titles are printed, they are in italics.

Ex. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

• Titles of paintings and names of ships are also underlined.