Punctuation

Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences. You use Punctuation marks to structure, clarify and organize your writing. Capital letters are also used to help us organise meaning and to structure the sense of our writing.
1-The 'Period'(American English), 'Full Stop'(British) or 'Point'
1. Use a full stop at the end of a sentence. eg. The man arrived. He sat down.
2. Use full stops with abbreviations (in an abbreviation the last letter of the word and of the abbreviation are not the same):
• Co. (Company)
• etc. (et cetera)
• M.P. (Member of Parliament)
3. Do not use full stops with contractions (in a contraction the last letter of the word and of the contraction are the same):
• Ltd (Limited)
• Dr (Doctor)
• St (Saint)
4. Use full stop at the end of a command. Eg. leave the building immediately.
2- The Colon
1) Before a list: I could only find three of the ingredients: sugar, flour and coconut.
2) Before a summary: To summarise: we found the camp, set up our tent and then the bears attacked.
3) Before a quote: As Jane Austen wrote: it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
3- The Comma
1-When you write a sentence containing a list of items, you will need to use a comma to separate the items. For example: He brought coffee, sandwiches, cheese and soda. (nouns)
I like the old, brown, wooden table. (adjectives)
He ran quickly, quietly and effortlessly. (adverbs)
Tony ran towards me, fell, yelled, and fainted (verbs)

2- When you join two clauses together with a coordinating conjunction (such as and, but, so, and or), a comma is usually placed before the conjunction: For example: It was raining, so I took my umbrella.

3- In 'tag questions'. For example: She lives in Paris, doesn't she?
-To mark off interjections like 'please', 'thank you', 'yes', and 'no'. For example: Yes, I will stay a little longer, thank you.

4-Use commas for parenthetical elements. A "parenthetical element" is any part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the real meaning of the sentence, eg. The objective, to find peace in both countries, is hard to reach.

5- Use a comma after an introductory element. A comma is optional for short, simple introductory elements. Eg. Rushing to catch the flight, he forgot to take his phone.
6-Use a comma for numbers over 999, eg.1,000 (one thousand)- $73,050.75.
7- Use a comma for addresses, some dates, and titles following a name. For instance:
• 911 Avenue Mansion, Petchburi Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
• Los Angeles, California
• November 4, 1948 (but 4 November 1948)
• Fred Ling, Professor of English
4-The Semicolon
The semicolon is somewhere between a weak full stop and a strong comma and used to join phrases and sentences without having to use a conjunction (and, but etc.) where the phrases or sentences are thematically linked but independent, eg. Josef likes coffee; Mary likes tea.
5-The Question Mark
Use the question mark at the end of all direct questions, eg. What is your name?
6- The Exclamation Mark
1. Use an exclamation mark to indicate strong feelings or a raised voice in speech:
• She shouted at him, "Go away! I hate you!"
• He exclaimed: "What a fantastic house you have!"
• "Good heavens!" he said, "Is that true?"
• "Help!" -"Shut up!" -"Stop!"
2. Many interjections need an exclamation mark:
"Hi! What's new?" -"Oh! When are you going?" -"Ouch! That hurts."
3. A non-question sentence beginning with "what" or "how" is often an exclamation and requires an exclamation mark:
What idiots we are! (We are such idiots.)
How pretty she looked in that dress! (She looked very pretty in that dress.)
7-Hyphens and Dashes
A hyphen joins two or more words together (e.g. x-ray, door-to-door, twenty-one) while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements ,e.g. She was trapped – no escape was possible. The hyphen is shorter than the dash.
Use a hyphen to show that a word has been broken at the end of a line (hyphenation):
The directors requested that a more conven-
ient time be arranged.
Dashes can be used to add parenthetical statements in much the same way as you would use brackets. In formal writing you should use the bracket rather than the dash as a dash is considered less formal in most cases. However, they should not be overused nor used to replace commas although they can be used to create emphasis in a sentence. e.g. you may think she is a liar - she isn't.
8- The Apostrophe
The apostrophe has two very different (and very important) uses in English.

1. to show possession and ownership - e.g. Jack's car. Mary's father.
2. to indicate a contraction - e.g. he's (he is), we're (we are), they're (they are)
-You can use an apostrophe to show the plural of letters and numbers:
• You should dot your i's and cross your t's.
• Do you like music from the 1950's?
9-Brackets and Parentheses
Generally, parentheses refers to round brackets ( ) and brackets to square brackets [ ]. However, we are more and more used to hearing these refered to simply as 'round brackets' or 'square brackets'.
Usually we use square brackets - [ ] - for special purposes such as in technical manuals. Round brackets - ( ) -, or 'parentheses' are used in a similar way to commas when we want to add further explanation, an afterthought, or comment that is to do with our main line of thought but distinct from it.
Many grammarians feel that the parentheses can, in fact, be replaced by commas in nearly all cases.
10-Quotation Marks, Quotes or "Inverted commas"
They show (or mark) the beginning and end of a word or phrase that is somehow special or comes from outside the text that we are writing, eg. In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English Language, David Crystal argues that Punctuation "plays a critical role in the modern writing system".
If the quoted words end with a full stop, then the full stop goes inside the quotation marks. If the quoted words do not end with a full stop, then the full stop goes outside the quotation marks:
• He said: "I need you."
• She has read "War and Peace".
If we want to use quotation marks inside quotation marks, then we use single inside double, or double inside single.
• He said to her: "I thought 'Titanic' was a good film."
• He said to her: 'I thought "Titanic" was a good film.'

11-Ellipses: "three dots…"
Ellipsis (plural ellipses) refers to a mark or series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word or a phrase from the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence, eg. The regulation states, "All agencies must document overtime..."
12- Slash
The slash (/) is also known as: forward slash, stroke, oblique. You should use the slash with care in formal writing.
1. A slash is often used to indicate "or", eg. Dear Sir/Madam (Sir or Madam)
Do not over-use the slash to indicate "or". It can suggest laziness on the part of the writer. The "and/or" construction is widely considered to be very bad form.
2. Use a slash for fractions. Eg. 2/3 (two thirds), 9/10 (nine tenths)
3. Use a slash to indicate "per" in measurements of speed, prices etc. Eg. He can type at 75 w/m. (words per minute)
4. People often use a slash in certain abbreviations:
• This is my a/c number. (account)
• John Brown, c/o Jane Green (care of)
• n/a (not applicable, not available)
• w/o (without)
5. A slash is often used in dates to separate day, month and year. Eg. He was born on 30/11/2007.
Capital Letters:
You use capital letters:
1. At the start of a sentence: e.g. Bali is an Indonesian Island.

2. with proper nouns (particular persons, places and things):
a. Her name is Mary.
b. She lives in Spain.
c. She was born on Tuesday the sixth of June, 1998. She lives at 10 Greenstoke Avenue, Newbay, Bristol.
3. with adjectives that come from proper nouns:
a. They live in a Georgian house.
b. He loved Japanese films.
4. for the first and all of the main words in titles: a. The Great Gatsby b. The Queen of England
5. For the pronoun 'I': In the future I hope that I will be able to visit Turkey