CHAPTER 11 PUNCTUATION

LESSON 1 PERIODS AND OTHER END MARKS

Periods, question marks, and exclamation points are known as end marks because they are used to indicate the end of a sentence. Periods have other uses as well.

Periods Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence. A declarative sentence makes a statement.

Periods Example: The key is carefully kept secret.

Periods Use a period at the end of almost every imperative sentence. An imperative sentence gives a command.

Periods Some imperative sentences express excitement or emotion and therefore end with exclamation points.

Periods Example: Do not ask me to reveal our code. Stop! Do not ask me to reveal our code!

Periods Use a period at the end of an indirect question. An indirect question reports what a person asked without using the person’s exact words.

Periods Indirect question: The coach asked if our team code had been broken. Direct question: The coach asked, “Has our team code been broken?”

Question Marks Use a question mark at the end of an interrogative sentence. An interrogative sentence asks a question.

Question Marks Example: Have they figured out all our plays?

Exclamation Points Use an exclamation point to end an exclamatory sentence. An exclamatory sentence expresses strong feeling.

Exclamation Points Example: What a terrible situation!

Exclamation Points Use an exclamation point after an interjection or any other exclamatory expression.

Exclamation Points Example: Oh! I have an idea!

Other Uses for Periods Use a period at the end of most abbreviations or after an initial.

Abbreviations sec. second in. inch lb. poundgal. gallon min. minutehr. hour mo. month yr. year St. Street Feb. February Thurs. Thursday Pres. President

Initials R.N. registered nurse P.M. post meridiem (after noon) B.A. bachelor of arts M.D. doctor of medicine P.O. post office R.K.S. Rebecca Kate Simmons

Abbreviations Without Periods CIA Central Intelligence Agency mph miles per hour VCR videocassette recorder cm centimeter CA California mm millimeter

Period Use a period after each number or letter in an outline or a list.

Outline Uses for Codes 1.Use in wartime A. World War I B. World War II 2.Industrial uses A. To protect new methods B. To protect consumers’ privacy

List Communication Codes 1.Braille 2.American Sign Language 3.Egyptian hieroglyphics 4. Mayan hieroglyphics 5. Morse code 6. Semaphore

LESSON 2 COMMAS IN SENTENCES

Commas are used to make the meanings of sentences clear by separating certain elements of the sentences.

Commas Use a comma before a conjunction that joins independent clauses in a compound sentence.

Commas Example: The ancient Egyptians’ written language was called hieroglyphics, and it was not decoded for many centuries.

Commas Sometimes a sentence has a two-part compound verb but is not a compound sentence. Do not use a comma in this kind of sentence.

Commas Example: Scribes could read and write hieroglyphics.

Commas with Items in a Series Use a comma after every item in a series except the last one. A series consists of three or more items.

Commas with Items in a Series Example: Symbols of birds, lions, and snakes appear in hieroglyphics.

Use a comma between adjectives of equal rank that modify the same noun. Example: Hieroglyphics used colorful, decorative symbols.

Do not use a comma between adjectives that express a single idea. Example: The symbols were often painted with a brilliant gold paint.

Commas with Introductory Words and Phrases Use a comma after an introductory phrase that contains a prepositional phrase. Use a comma after introductory words. Example: Even after 2,000 years of study, no one could read hieroglyphics.

Commas with Interrupters Use commas to set off a word or phrase that interrupts the flow of thought in a sentence. Example: The stone provided, at long last, a key to hieroglyphics.

Use commas to set off nouns of direct address. A noun of direct address names a person or group being spoken to. Example: Alex, your class would be thrilled with this discovery.

Commas with Appositives An appositive is a word or phrase that identifies or renames a noun or a pronoun that comes right before it. Use commas when the appositive adds extra information; do not use commas when the appositive is needed to make the meaning clear. Example: Jean Champion, a French Scholar, deciphered the Rosetta stone

Commas to Avoid Confusion Use a comma whenever the reader might otherwise be confused. Unclear: Before hieroglyphics records were not kept on stone or paper. Clear: Before hieroglyphics, records were not kept on stone or paper.

LESSON 3 COMMAS: DATES, ADDRESSES, AND LETTERS

Commas in Dates In dates, use a comma between the day and the year. (Use a comma after the year if the sentence continues.)

Commas in Addresses Use a comma between the city or town and the state or county. (Use a comma after the state or country if the sentence continues.)

Commas in Letters Use a comma after the greeting of a casual letter and after the closing of a casual or business letter.

LESSON 4 COMMAS: DATES, ADDRESSES, AND LETTERS

To punctuate quotations you need to know where to put quotation marks, commas, and end marks.

Direct Quotations A direct quotation is a report of a speaker’s exact words. Use quotation marks at the beginning and end of a direct quotation. Example: “Flowers have meaning,” said Sophie

Use commas to set off explanatory words used with direct quotations (whether they occur at the beginning, middle, or at the end of the sentence). Example: Sophie said, “Flowers have meaning.” “Flowers,” said Sophie, “have meaning.” “Flowers have meaning,” said Sophie.

If a quotation is a question or an exclamation, place the question mark or exclamation point inside the quotation marks. “What do flowers mean?” I asked.

If quoted words are part of a question or an exclamation, place the question mark on the outside of the closing quotation marks. Example: Do flowers tell “secret messages”?

Commas and periods always go inside the closing quotation marks. They’re too little to stay outside.

Indirect Quotations Do not use quotation marks to set off an indirect quotation. An Indirect quotation is a restatement, in somewhat different words, of what someone said. An indirect quotation is often introduced by the word that. It does not require a comma.

INDIRECT Shakespeare wrote that a rose would smell sweet regardless of its name. DIRECT Shakespeare wrote, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Divided Quotations A divided quotation is a direct quotation that is separated into two parts, with explanatory words such as he said or she said between the parts

Use quotation marks to enclose both parts of a divided quotation. Example: “A rose,” he said, “means love.”

Do not capitalize the first word of the second part of a divided quotation unless it begins a new sentence. Example: “ A rose,” he said, “ sometimes means treachery”

Use commas to set off the explanatory words used with a divided quotation. Example: “ A rose,” he summed up,” can mean treachery or love.”

Quotation Marks in Dialogue In dialogue, a new paragraph and a new set of quotation marks show a change in speakers. A dialogue is a conversation between two or more speakers.

LESSON 5 SEMICOLONS AND COLONS

A semicolon indicates a break in a sentence. It is stronger than a comma but not as strong as a period. A colon indicates an abrupt break. A colon indicates that a list follows. Colons are also used after greetings in business letters and in expressions of time.

Semicolons in Compound Sentences Use a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence without a coordinating conjunction. Example: Enslaved people sang songs with secret messages; the songs told listeners how to escape.

Use a semicolon between the parts of a compound sentence when the clauses are long and complicated or when they contain commas. Example: Runaways navigated by the stars; and they lived off the land, slept outdoors, and walked hundreds of miles to freedom.

Semicolons with Items in a Series When there are commas within parts of a series, use semicolons to separate the parts. Example: The travelers took clues from songs, such as a song about the stars; from quilts, which had a special coded designs; and from other people along the way.

Colons Use a colon to introduce a list of items. An escapee carried few items: a knife, a flint, and a warm cloak.

Avoid using a colon directly after a verb or a preposition. Incorrect The recipients are: Joe, Sam, and Rita. Incorrect Send this message to: Joe, Sam, and Rita. Correct Send this message to the following people: Joe, Sam, and Rita.

Use a colon after the formal greeting in a business letter. Example: Dear Ms. Smith: Dear Sir:

Use a colon between numerals indicating hours and minutes in expressions of time. Example: Meet me at 8:00 p.m. We’ll send the message at 8:30.

LESSON 6 HYPHENS, DASHES, AND PARENTHESES

Hyphens, dashes, and parentheses help make your writing clear or setting off words or parts of words.

Hyphens Use a hyphen if part of a word must be carried over from one line to the next. The word must have at least two syllables to be broken. Right: num- berWrong: co- de

Separate the word between syllables. Right: let-terWrong: lette-r You must leave at least two letters on each line. Right: twen-ty Wrong: a-cross

LESSON 7 APOSTROPHES

Apostrophes are used in possessive nouns, contractions, and some plurals.

Apostrophes in Possessives Use an apostrophe to form the possessive of any noun, whether singular or plural. For a singular noun, add ’s even if the word ends in s. Becky’s bike Louis’s alphabet

For plural nouns that end in s, add only and apostrophe. the girls’ code the peoples’ plan For plural nouns that do not end in s, add ’s the children’s code the people’s plan

Apostrophes in Contractions Use apostrophes in contractions. In a contraction, words are joined and letters are left out. An apostrophe replaces the letter or letters that are missing

Commonly Used contractions I am I’m she is she’s cannot can’t

LESSON 8 PUNCTUATING TITLES

Here’s the Idea Use quotations marks and italics correctly in titles to show what kind of work or selection you are writing about.

Quotation Marks Use quotation marks to set off the titles of short works. Quotation Marks for Titles Book chapter “Dirk the Protector” from My Life in Dog Years Story “The Richer, the Poorer”

Use italics for titles of longer works and for the names of ships, trains, spacecraft, and individual airplanes (not the type of plane). In handwriting use underline to indicate words that should be in italics in printed material. Book:A Tale of Two Cities Magazine:Newsweek