PUNCTUATION RULES

Punctuation Rules

Punctuation marks are symbols: 1. Which organize the structure of written language.2. Indicate intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.

1. Full stop , or period (.)

• Used a full stop at the end of a sentence:

- She stood up and went away. She was furious.

• Used for abbreviations:

- Co. (Company) - M.P. (Member of Parliament)

2. Question marks (?)

• Question marks are used at the end of direct questions:

- Where do you live? - Are you crazy? - Did you do the homework?

• Use a question mark at the end of tag questions:

- You will help me, won't you? - He likes soccer, doesn't he?

3. Exclamation marks (!)

1. Used to indicate strong emotions:

- She's so beautiful!- What a nice girl! - How interesting!

2. Used after interjections: hey, oops, ouch, oh, ah, ooh, etc.

- Oh! It's awful. - Hi! What's up?

4. Commas (,)

• After the street address and city in an address:

- 34 Hassan II Street, Rabat, Morocco.

• Commas are used between items in a series or list. The last two items of the series usually do not need a comma between them. They are separated by "and", but you can put a comma if you want, there is no rule about it .

- I like spaghetti, fish, pizza and lasagna. - Why don't you go up stairs, take a shower, and get ready to leave? - We need to buy eggs and flour for the cake.

• Formal letters and emails: Salutation

- Dear sir, dear madam, (BrE) - Dear sir: dear madam: (AmE) Closing - Yours faithfully, yours sincerely,

Before or after direct speech: - He said,"I hate being treated like that." - "I'm sorry", she replied. Sentence adverbs: frankly, unfortunately, sadly, etc. - Unfortunately, he missed his flight. Connectors or linking words: However, therefore, for example, etc. - Her parents wanted her to be a doctor. However, she had other plans. - Her parents wanted her to be a doctor. She, however, had other plans. - Her parents wanted her to be a doctor. She had other plans, however. Before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) - He woke up late, so he had to drive to work.

5.Semicolons (;)

• Semicolons are used instead of a full stop or period to separate independent sentences:

- They woke up early; then they went jogging. - Her parents wanted her to be a doctor; however, she had other plans.

• Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when those items contain punctuation such as a comma:

- They visited the Eiffel Tower, Paris; Big Ben, London; and the statue of liberty, New York

6. Colons (:)

• Use a colon to introduce a list:

- He visited three cities last summer holiday: Madrid, Roma and Athens.

• To introduce an idea or an explanation:

- He had one idea in mind: to see her as soon as possible.

• To introduce direct speech or a quotation:

- The secretary whispered in his ear: "Your wife is on the phone. "

• To separate hours and minutes when writing out the time:

- We will meet at 7:30 am. at the office."

• greeting of a business letter

- Dear Mrs. Pipes: - To Whom It May Concern:

7. Apostrophes (')

• Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or letters in a contraction.

-I'm writing my stories to let them know about myself.

• Use an apostrophe plus the letter "s" to show possession.

- My brother's girlfriend is such a sweet girl. - It is my brother's birthday today.

8. Quotation marks ("")

Quotation marks are used to quote speech, sentences or someone's words.- She said, "I love you." - "Do you want to go for dinner tomorrow night?" Jhon asked. - "I'm going to Venice next month," Sarah said. Always capitalize the first word in a complete quotation.

Thanks!