Punctuation:
Sentences
that lack punctuation can be difficult to read. Consequently knowing how to use
punctuation is extremely important. Punctuation marks are signals that are
designed to help the reader to understand your intentions.
A Full Stop(.)
1. Marks the end
of a sentence.
2. Marks an
Abbreviation.
Abbrev.
Diff.
A Comma(,)
1. Separates
items in a list.
The colours of
the flowers were red, yellow, blue and green.
2.Separates the
main statement from other parts of the sentence. Addition information can come
before, or after the main character.
The temperature
is usually around 20 degree Celsius, although today it is 28 degrees.
3.Sets off extra
information in the main statement:
His sister, a
marathon runner, is often overseas.
4.Separates two
main statement joined by a conjunction.
You may leave at
2 pm, but only today.
5.Follows an
adverbial used at the beginning of a sentence:
Many people
enjoyed the music. However, some felt it was a disappointment.
Separates
a non-defining clause from the rest of the sentence. If there is no comma, the clause
will be a defining relative clause. A defining
relative clause (without a comma) identifies a person or a thing in the
main clause(sometimes called an identifying clause), provides essential
information about the subject or object without
which the sentence would make no sense. The
clause is introduced by a relative pronoun: who
or that for people, and which or that
for things.
A non defining
relative clause (without a comma) provides extra information not
essential to the sentence. The comma
separates the non essential information from the main clause.
E.g;
My mother, who lives in Paro, is 79 years
old.
The weather, which had been hot for weeks,
suddenly turned bitterly cold.
Peter,whose flight had been delayed, arrived at the conference two days
late.
So
in a sentence such as;
A child who
screams for attention is being ignored ,
Then
this sentence would mean that we should ignore all children which is probably not good advice to give to the
children.
A Colon(:)
Is
used to indicate that an explanation, example, or a list follows, Can replace
expressions like namely, for example,
such as.
1.Introduce a
list or a series of examples:
You’ll need
three things for your exam: a pen, a ruler and a calculator.
2.Introduces a
quotation or lines of a dialogue:
Kinley: Will you
be gone for a long?
Om : Not very long.
Semicolon(;)
1.Acts as a weak
form of the full stop.
I found it hard
to sleep last night; it must have been all the coffee and wine I drank.
2.Acts as a
strong form of a comma to separate items in a series:
The members of
the sub-committee are Dawa Lhamo, Personnel; sangay Om, Marketing; and a
representative from education media.
Parenthesis()
Are
used for extra, non-essential material included in a sentence. They enclose
material which is not part of the flow of thought in a sentence or a paragraph.
Dates,source
or ideas that are subordinate to the rest of the sentence are set apart in
parenthesis.e.g
To moderate the
amount of fat you eat, you should use salad and vegetable dressing, and sauces
sparing (many of these are high in fat) or choose low fat varieties.
Ellipsis(…)
An
ellipsis may be used in a assignment when you are quoting references or other
material and you want to omit some words. The ellipsis consists of three evenly
spaced dots (full stop) with spaces between the ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks.
Example:
Full text
During the
growing years, physical activity is an important factor if normal
development of the child is to be
maintained. The fact is now well accepted. However, in recent years, a debate has arisen regarding the potential benefits or risks of excessive physical training on the
physical growth and development of children.
Text with
ellipsis
During the
growing years, physical activity is an important factor if normal
development of the child is to be
maintained. … The fact is now well accepted. However, in recent years, a debate has arisen regarding the potential benefits or risks of excessive physical training on
the physical growth and development of children.
Note:
1.If
the omission comes at the end of a sentence as in the sentence above, the
ellipsis will be replaced after the full stop, making a total of four dots. …
Notice
that there is no space between the full
stop and the last character of the sentence.
2.In
mid-sentence, a space should appear between
the first and last ellipsis marks and the surrounding letters.
3.The
ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in the flow of a sentence and is
especially useful in quoted speech.e.g
Alice thought
and thought … and then thought some more.
Quotation Marks(“ “)
1Set off spoken
words from the rest of the material:
We all
shouted,”Come on!”
2.Indicate a
title, or a word or idea being discussed:
Have you read
Kunzang Choden’s “Dawa: The story of a
stray dog in Bhutan?”
What’s your
understanding of the word,”Irony?”
3.Used when
quoting material from a text:
As Bouchard states “… failure to exercise is
dangerous.”(1975:26)
4.Single
quotation marks are used to indicate
quotes within quotes:
“Do you know
what ‘love ‘really means?’ he asked.
The Apostrophe (‘)
The
apostrophe is probably the most misunderstood punctuation mark. If you are
unsure about how to use it, check your understanding against the following
examples.
To show
ownership
The
student’s books are on the table. (One student)
The
students’ books are on the table.(more than one student)
The
students’ flat is always a mess.(more than one)
In the case of plural with no ’s’ on the end(e.g. women,children,geese) the
apostrophe goes before the ‘s’ , (Ask yourself , who is the owner? If the answer does not have ’s’ put the
apostrophe before the ‘s’) e.g.
The women own
the house >the women’s house.
The children own
the toys > the children’s toys.
The honking of
the geese > the geese’s honking
To indicate
possession when the plural already ends in “s”, just put the apostrophe on the
end:
The lions’ water
source has dried up. The wolves’ howling kept me awake.
the Jones’ house
is on the corner.
When the word is
contracted:
It
is > it’s; Do not > don’t; they are
> they’re; you are > you’re
The cheque is in the mail > The cheque’s in the
mail.
She has got a lot of study to catch up on > She’s
got a lot of study to catch up on.
Do not use the apostrophe for possessive
pronouns: ours, yours, hers, its, whose, theirs
Ours is the tidiest in the block. Herd is always untidy. Theirs is ok. Whose book is it anyway?
The case of “its”:
The words its and it’s are usually
the most confused. Only put an
apostrophe in its when it is an abbreviation for ‘it is’, and remember possessive pronouns do not take an
apostrophe:
It is terribly
hot > it’s terribly hot.
It is a good
house but its roof leak.> It’s a good house but its roof leak.
Do
not put an apostrophe in plurals just because they end in an ‘s’,
Please buy some
potatoes and tomatoes, and order some
pizzas.
NOT: potato’s, tomato’s, pizza’s.
Possessive
forms of compounds.
Single compounds: before ‘s’ her daughter-in-law’s gift, a friend of mine’s
car. (only one daughter-in-law)
Plural compounds after ‘s’; the daughter-in-law’s gift. (more than one daughter-in-law)
Friends of
mine’s car (bit
silly and clumsy – use “the car of my friends instead”)
Dorji’s and
pem’s new cars are in the parking lot.
(Each of them has a new car and
ownership is a separate matter.)
Dorji’s and
pem’s new car is in the parking lot.
(They share ownership;the possessive
belongs to the entire phrase.)
Sumchu’s and
Drugay’s study found that.(there was one study.)
Sumche’s and Drugay ‘s studies found
that.(Each did a study.)
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