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Accurate punctuation

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Notas de aula

Sentence boundaries

  • Every sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
  • A comma splice joins two main clauses with only a comma ("It was late, we went home"). Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a conjunction ("It was late, so we went home").

Repair the comma splice

Repair the comma spliceChoiceCorrected sentenceFull stopIt was late. We went home.SemicolonIt was late; we went home.ConjunctionIt was late, so we went home.

Commas

  • Commas separate list items and may mark introductory adverbials where they aid clarity. A short introduction such as “Today we leave” may not require a comma.
  • Enclose supplementary information with paired commas: “My brother, who is ten, plays chess.” A defining clause identifies its noun and is not set off in the same way: “The brother who lives nearby plays chess.”
  • A comma before a coordinating conjunction often helps separate two independent clauses; short unambiguous clauses may not need it. Never place a comma between a subject and its verb merely because you pause there.

Apostrophes

  • Contraction: shows missing letters ("don't", "it's" = it is).
  • Possession: singular owner adds 's ("the dog's bone"); plural ending in s adds only an apostrophe ("the girls' coats"); irregular plurals add 's ("the children's toys").
  • Possessive “its” has no apostrophe; “it’s” means “it is” or “it has”. Ordinary plurals take no apostrophe: “apples”, not “apple’s”.

Apostrophes change meaning

Apostrophes change meaningExpressionMeaningthe dog’s bowlOne dog owns the bowlthe dogs’ bowlsSeveral dogs own bowlsthe children’s gameIrregular plural possessionits tail / it’s coldPossession / it is

Direct speech

  • Use inverted commas around the spoken words, with punctuation inside, and start a new line for a new speaker: "Come here," she said.

Other punctuation

  • A colon can introduce a list or explanation after a complete clause. A semicolon can link related independent clauses or separate complex list items. Paired dashes and brackets can enclose an aside. An ellipsis may mark trailing speech, hesitation or omitted quoted material.

Use a complete opening clause

Use a complete opening clauseMarkOriginal exampleColonBring three items: pens, paper and aruler.SemicolonThe rain stopped; we went outside.PaireddashesThe result — a surprise — was announced.

Slides

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Questões de prática

Prévia grátis — 8 de 34 perguntas. Cadastre-se para ver todas.
  1. 1.Which punctuation usually closes a neutral declarative sentence?

    Easy
    • Aa full stop
    • Ba comma
    • Ca colon
    • Da dash
  2. 2.Which mark normally closes a direct question?

    Easy
    • Aa full stop
    • Ba comma
    • Can apostrophe
    • Da question mark
  3. 3.Which sentence uses commas correctly in a list?

    Easy
    • AWe bought apples pears, and plums.
    • BWe, bought apples, pears.
    • CWe bought apples, pears and plums.
    • DWe bought, apples pears and plums.
  4. 4.What does the apostrophe show in 'don't'?

    Easy
    • Aa question
    • Bmissing letters
    • Cpossession
    • Da plural
  5. 5.What does the apostrophe show in 'the dog's bone'?

    Easy
    • Apossession
    • Ba contraction
    • Ca plural
    • Dspeech
  6. 6.Which sentence correctly shows that the coats belong to several girls?

    Easy
    • AThe girl's coats were wet (many girls).
    • BThe girls coat's were wet.
    • CThe girls's coats were wet.
    • DThe girls' coats were wet.
  7. 7.Which is correct?

    Easy
    • AThe childrens toys were tidy.
    • BThe children toys were tidy.
    • CThe children's toys were tidy.
    • DThe childrens' toys were tidy.
  8. 8.Which is a comma splice?

    Easy
    • AIt was cold; we put on coats.
    • BIt was cold, we put on coats.
    • CIt was cold, so we put on coats.
    • DIt was cold. We put on coats.

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