1. Punctuation
Punctuation marks make the written text easier to read and understand.
Without punctuation, writing would make no sense.

2. ABC Capital Letters XYZ
Sentences always start with caps.
Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives need to be capitalised.
Titles of books, films or plays: all the nouns are capitalised.
In direct speech the first word is capitalised.
e.g.: The Mexican girl said, “We are watching The Lord of the Rings in class.”

3. . Full Stop . A full stop ends off a sentence.
Certain abbreviations use full stops.
Abbreviations do NOT have an end full stop if the last letter of the full word and the last letter of the abbreviation are the same!
E.g.: dr = doctor but Fri. = Friday
e.g.: Mrs Blake has an appt on Mon. with Prof. Malloy.

4. , Comma , Commas separate words/phrases in a list.
Commas separate phrases and clauses.
Commas are used in parenthesis to add extra information to a sentence.
Introductory words/phrases are separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma.
Commas are used when addressing someone.
Do NOT use a comma to join two complete sentences!! (comma splice error)
e.g.: Once again, I was ignored by you on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, James.

5. ; Semi-colon ;
The semi-colon creates a long pause that balances equally important related/parallel ideas.
Semi-colons also indicate antithesis (opposite ideas).
A semi-colon joins two complete sentences in the absence of a conjunction.
To test for this: see if the semi-colon can be replaced with a full stop or the following conjunctions: and, but, so, for and although.
e.g.: She likes to play the violin; she cannot master the piano.

6. : Colon :
Colons indicate the start of a list, an explanation or an idea.
They indicate that more information is about to follow.
A colon is used to introduce a quotation.
When writing a dialogue, a colon follows the speaker.
e.g.: I have an idea: let’s all go to the movies!

7. ? Question Mark ? All direct questions must end with a question mark.
Even rhetorical questions must end with a question mark.
Remember that a question mark is NOT used when the question is reported!
e.g.: Why are you all here?

8. ! Exclamation Mark !
Exclamation marks convey emphasis, shock and drama!
They help to convey the tone of a statement.
Interjections are followed with exclamation marks.
e.g.: Wow! That was fantastic!

9. “ ” ‘ ’ Inverted Commas ‘ ’ “ ”
Direct speech and quotations are enclosed within double inverted commas.
Metaphoric usage and an excuse for using slang/foreign words are indicated with single inverted commas.
Titles of books and films used to be enclosed within single quotation marks (when hand-written). Now the title is underlined.
e.g.: “You are such a ‘nana’ at times,” said Joe.

10. ( Parenthesis ) Brackets, dashes and commas fall under parenthesis.
An explanation, aside or extra information is written in parenthesis within a sentence.
e.g.: Henry’s father (a vegetarian) looks younger than his years.

11. - Hyphen - Hyphens are used to join parts of a compound word.
Hyphens also link prefixes to root words.
When a word does not fit at the end of a line a hyphen is used to divide the word into syllables. NB: the hyphen may ONLY be used at the end of a syllable.
e.g.: The high-heeled prima donna felt insigni-ficant after she made a mistake.

12. - Dash - A dash separates parts of a sentence and forces a pause.
It can be used to create a dramatic pause, leading to a climax/anti-climax.
It can be used to indicate interruptions.
It can be used to express an afterthought.
It can be used to prepare for a conclusion.
e.g.: It was a calm, relaxed evening – or so I thought!

13. … Ellipsis … Three consecutive dots form an ellipsis.
When part of a sentence is left out or not completed then the ellipsis is used.
The ellipsis may also be used to indicate a pause.
Should the ellipsis fall at the end of a sentence FOUR dots should be used – the last being a full stop.
e.g.: Well … let me think. The night was dark, stormy and ….

14. ’ Apostrophe ’
An apostrophe may only be used to indicate either contraction or possession.
When two words are joined then the apostrophe is used in the place of the letter(s) that was left out.
When indicating possession/ownership an ’s or ’ is added.
For singular words and plurals not ending with s = ’s
For plural words ending with s = only ’
Biblical/Classical names ending with s = only ’
Possessive pronouns, abbreviations & dates = NO ’

15. Exercises Punctuate the following sentences correctly:
sue asked tom why cant you see its red
we went to the leriba lodge on friday the service wasnt good said dad
you are such a silly boy said mary and i dont like you anymore leave me alone
paul takes his dog to dr williams the vet for its yearly check up
mr james cats arent missing theyre in the oak tree

16. Answers Sue asked, “Tom, why can’t you see it’s red?”
“We went to the Leriba Lodge on Friday. The service wasn’t good,” said Dad.
“You are such a silly boy,” said Mary, “and I don’t like you anymore. Leave me alone!”
Paul takes his dog to Dr Williams (the vet.) for its yearly check-up.
Mr James’s cats aren’t missing; they’re in the Oak tree. OR Mr James’s cats aren’t missing. They’re in the Oak tree.