Punctuation

I. Period (.)
A. Uses
1. To mark the end of a sentence
2. To signal an abbreviation
B. Examples
1. I have finished eating.
2. I.D.B. is a large Israeli company.
II. Comma (,)
A. Uses
1. To set off any non-essential parts of the sentence
2. To separate dependent and independent clauses
3. To separate items
B. Examples
1. SUV’s, which are not my favorite kind of car, are very popular here.
2. Although I understand your situation, I cannot help you.
3. I like bread, cheese and olives.
III. Semicolon (;)
A. Uses
1. To use when there are too many commas
2. To distinguish items on a list
B. Examples
1. You may not cancel, postpone, sell, transfer or use it as a security; register it in
your own name, a company’s name or a third person’s name.
2. Paint the walls;
Fix any damage;
Pay all debts;
IV. Colon (:)
A. Uses
1. Introduces a list of items at the END OF A SENTENCE.
B. Examples
1. The following animals are allowed: dogs, cats, fish and snakes
V. Apostrophe (‘)
A. Uses
1. To mark possession
2. To mark a missing letter
B. Examples
1. That is John’s telephone.
2. It’s a long bus trip.
 Exercise

Put in the missing punctuation.

The trip was exhausting but fascinating. Although I had flown many times, I was not prepared for the

challenge of the world tour. We did the show in London ,Dublin Lisbon and Madrid; and in North

America, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver ,Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. I was responsible for the

following: connecting the sound system, testing it before the concert and packing it up at the end of

the concert. My boss’s instructions were very specific .He didn’t want to know that I exist. In practice

,that meant that he doesn’t want to hear of any problems. As you can imagine I had a wonderful

time but am very glad to be home.

The trip was exhausting but fascinating. Although I had flown many times, I was not prepared for the

challenge of the world tour. We did the show in London, Dublin, Lisbon and Madrid; and in North

America, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. I was responsible for the

following: connecting the sound system, testing it before the concert and packing it up at the end of

the concert. My boss’s instructions were very specific: he didn’t want to know that I exist. In

practice, that meant that he doesn’t want to hear of any problems. As you can imagine, I had a

wonderful time but am very glad to be home.