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PUNCTUATION
Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

Our team thinks the coach is great

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PUNCTUATION
A MARK
which Helps Organize a Sentence
and
Indicates Pauses and Stresses
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PUNCTUATION MARKS
Period .
Question Mark ? End marks
Exclamation Point !
Comma ,
Semi-colon ;
Colon : Internal marks
Dash —
Parentheses ( )
Apostrophe ‘
Quotation Marks “ ”
Other marks
Hyphen -
Ellipses ...
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2 General Principles in the Use of PUNCTUATIONS

 Do not use punctuations to separate sentence
elements that:
= belong together structurally
= belong together essentially
= are in their normal positions

 Use punctuations to separate sentence elements that:

= do not belong together structurally

= do not belong together essentially
= are not in their normal positions
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PUNCTUATIONS at the end of a Sentence

Period .
* Marks the end of a declarative, narrative, or imperative
statement
* Marks an abbreviation

Question Mark ?
* Marks the end of an interrogative statement
* Expresses doubt or uncertainty

Exclamation Point !
* Marks the end of an exclamatory statement
* Expresses excitement or intensity
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Difference in DEGREE of Stress/Pause

(Internal Marks)
( )Parentheses : least pronounced

, Comma : more pronounced

; Semi-colon : even more pronounced

—Dash : most pronounced

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SENTENCE with Independent Clauses

[Use Comma, Semi-colon, or Dash]
, ; —
 With Coordinating Conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for)

e.g. Every writer should check his work carefully, for even great
authors can commit mistakes.
Jane entered the ground by the golden gate, and the full glory of
the garden in spring burst upon her.
He proposed to Mary — and Therese has not spoken to him
since.

He is a man of great ambition, profound thought, and simple

action; but he is also a man of complicated dreams, twisted logic,
and bitter misgivings.
I rode madly up the hill, across the field, through the forest,
and beside the stream — and still the fox eluded me.
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SENTENCE with Independent Clauses

[Use Comma, Semi-colon, or Dash]
, ; —

 Without Coordinating Conjunction

e.g. You are an outstanding manager; everybody says
there is none better.
Scholars tend to stress theory; pragmatists tend to
stress actual practice.
I studied hard all semester; there is hardly any need to
cram for exams.
Nobody spoke to Charles as he walked in — no one
seemed to recognize him.
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SENTENCE with Independent Clauses

[Use Comma, Semi-colon, or Dash]
, ; —

 With Adverbial Conjunction (however, moreover,

nevertheless, consequently, then, yet, so, . . .)
e.g. The surroundings seemed familiar;
however, the visitors noticed some changes.
We would like to accept your invitation;
however, we already have a previous
engagement.
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SENTENCE with a Parenthetical Element

[Use Parentheses, Commas, or Dashes]
( ) , —

e.g. She is certain (I talked to her yesterday) that the

problem will be solved.
She is certain, when I talked to her yesterday,
that the problem will be solved.
Everyone — man, woman, and child — should
know as much as possible about first aid.
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SENTENCE with a Parenthetical Element

[Use Parentheses, Commas, or Dashes]
( ) , —

e.g.For the story (A study in Scarlet) which first introduced

Sherlock Holmes, the main protagonist of the most famous
and the most profitable detective series of all time, Dr.
Conan Doyle (the author) received exactly $125 (now worth
approximately P3,200).
John Keats, who died at the age of twenty-six, was
perhaps the most promising young poet that England ever
produced.
Only one man — the President — can appoint justices in
the Supreme Court.
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SENTENCE with a Parenthetical Element

[Use Parentheses, Commas, or Dashes]
( ) , —

e.g. I shall explain, as clearly as I can, all I know about the

subject matter.
You must not — and I mean this — use dashes
indiscriminately.
Conventional wisdom says — and this is often
emphasized by our elders — an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure.
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Distinguishing Parenthetical versus

Non-parenthetical Elements
e.g. Dr. Bradley, who tries to keep abreast of new
discoveries, spends a great deal of time reading
medical journals.
Any doctor who tries to keep abreast of new
discoveries must spend a great deal of time reading
medical journals.

e.g. Mr. Benedicto, who is wearing a barong, is not

listening.
The man who is wearing a barong is not listening.
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SENTENCE with Coordinate Elements in a Series

[Use Comma or Semi-colon]
, ;

 With Coordinate Words or Phrases

e.g. Coffee, toast, and eggs are common food items
during breakfast.
Coffee and toast, eggs and bacon, and cake and
orange juice are three combinations often found in
menus.
The archbishop has taken note of several rumored
love triangles in his diocese: Alma, Joey and Brenda;
Gelli, Ariel and Regine; and Ming, Eddie and Baby.
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SENTENCE with Coordinate Elements in a Series

[Use Comma or Semi-colon]
, ;

 With Coordinate Clauses

e.g. The scout rangers hiked up the hill, the

marines strode across the field, and the
rest decided to camp near the forest.

I ordered coffee and toast; he requested for

eggs and bacon; and we decided to share
the cake and orange juice.
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SENTENCE with Coordinate Elements in a Series

[Use Comma or Semi-colon]
, ;

 With Coordinate Adjectives or Adverbs

e.g. The exhausted, (and) miserable child sobbed

herself to sleep.
The fans cheered their idol lustily, (and)
excitedly.

Note: The yellow silk evening dress was too big for
the little old lady who bought it.
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SENTENCE with an Introductory Phrase or Clause

[Use Comma] ,

e.g. As soon as the sun came out, the people rushed

out of their homes.
If you wish to see a doctor, I can recommend one.
To find your way around the city, get a good map.
In a troubled world, personal peace is hard to
find.
In summary, she failed the course.
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DANGLING MODIFIERS
Admiring the view, a prayer of appreciation was murmured by a
tourist.
Admiring the view, a tourist murmured a prayer of appreciation.

After reading the article, his statements remain unconvincing.

After reading the article, I remain unconvinced (by his statements).
Clapping thunderously, the speaker received the full support of the
audience.
Clapping thunderously, the crowed gave their full support to the
speaker.
Encouraged by their applause, the audience was urged to take a
stand.
Encouraged by their applause, the speaker urged the audience to
take a stand.
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MISATTACHED MODIFIERS
A beautiful painting hanged on the wall that Jennie had created.
A beautiful painting that Jennie had created hanged on the wall.
Jennie hanged on the wall a beautiful painting she had created.
The tourist called out to the market vendor while snapping his
camera.
The tourist, while snapping a video camera, called out to the
market vendor.
While snapping a video camera, the tourist called out to the
market vendor.
Our teacher gave my classmate a scolding because he felt insulted.
Our teacher felt insulted, and so he gave my classmate a scolding.
Our teacher gave my classmate a scolding because the former felt
insulted.
Feeling insulted, our teacher gave my classmate a scolding.
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Overuse or Underuse of COMMA ,

 Comma splices, comma faults, or comma blunders

e.g. During the storm, cracks appeared across the
walls, and the ceilings, and the columns, and the
beams collapsed under the weight of the heavy
downpour.

 Run-on or run-together sentence

e.g. His sunburn was painful for a week he was in
the hospital agonizing.
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Other Applications of COMMA ,

 In Elements Out of Normal Position

e.g. Happily, he sang throughout the trip.
The horse, old and infirm, was retired to
pasture.
Perhaps, it is best left for tomorrow.

 In Distinguishing Contrasted Elements

e.g. Not Rico, but Juanito, was given the most crucial role.
Tina, not Isabel, is older.
Research, though expensive, is indispensable to a
creative, productive and effective organization.
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Other Applications of COMMA ,

 In Absolute (Interjection)
e.g. Oh, why did you say that?
Of course, because I believe it’s true.
Yes, I agree absolutely.
So, are we settled on this?

 In Preventing Misreading or Confusion

e.g. Whatever it is, is right.
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Other Applications of COMMA ,

 In Date
e.g. May 8, 2012 [as opposed to 8 May 2012]

 In Address
e.g. 1437 Perez Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines

 In Direct Quotation
e.g. He said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”
“Give me liberty or give me death, ” he said.
“Give me liberty, ” he said, “ or give me death. ”
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To Introduce
[Use Colon or Dash]
: —
 A Series
e.g. Bacteria fall into groups: aerobic and anaerobic.
He possesses all the three main virtues — faith,
hope and charity.
Three types of government functions are carefully
distinguished in the constitution: administrative, legislative,
and judicial.
Note: in reverse, or to summarize
e.g. Imagined beauty, elitist family background, vast wealth,
an exclusive education, and a prosperous business
career — all these contribute to her self-assured but arrogant
personality.
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To Introduce
[Use Colon or Dash]
: —
 A Second Clause
e.g. Dave is a perfect example of a gentleman: he offered
his seat unhesitatingly to an elderly lady who boarded
the bus last.

 A Quotation
e.g. He simply said: “No comment.”

Note: Difference in degree of stress/pause

= colon : less pronounced
= dash : more pronounced
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Other Applications of COLON :

 In Formal Salutation
e.g. Dear Sir:
Dear Mr. Pangilinan:
Gentlemen:
 In a Memorandum
e.g. To/For :
Thru :
From :
Re :
Date :
 In between Chapters and Verses
e.g. John 3:7 - 11
 In between Hours, Minutes, and Seconds numerically represented
e.g. 12:34:56 a. m.
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APOSTROPHE ‘

 Indicates Possessive Case

e.g. boy’s, boys’, man’s, men’s, boss’s, bosses’,
Tony’s, Moses’, everyone’s, each other’s,
man-in-the-street’s

 Indicates a Contraction
e.g. it’s (it is)
can’t (can not)
should’ve (should have)
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APOSTROPHE ‘

 Indicates Plurality of Symbols (letters, numerals, ratings, etc.)

e.g. All writers must learn to cross their “t’s” and dot
their “i’s” properly.
We should divide the participants into groups of
“5’s” or “6’s”.
I got three “A’s”, two “B’s”, and one “C” last school
year.
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QUOTATION MARKS “ ”

 Encloses a Direct Quotation

e.g. Lincoln began his speech at Gettysburg thus:
“Fourscore and seven years ago, . . . .”
 Encloses a Nickname
e.g. Amelita “Ming” Ramos has distinguished and
comported herself well as first lady of the land.
 Encloses a Label
e.g. If you go against the system, you are said to be
a “rebel”.
 Encloses a Rating
e.g. I got an “A” in Trigonometry.
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QUOTATION MARKS “ ”

 Encloses an Unusual/Uncommon Word/Phrase (or one used

in an unusual/uncommon way)
e.g. Books dealing with extremely serious topics should be
“chewed” and digested more thoroughly.
 Encloses a Letter or Word used as itself
e.g. You use too many “ifs” and “buts” in your sentences.
 Encloses a Title from a Larger Work (stories from a volume, . . .

articles from a magazine, . . . chapters from a book, . . . poems

from a collection, . . . etc.)

e.g. “The Adventure of the Empty House” is a story taken
from the volume entitled The Return of Sherlock
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Applications of HYPHEN -

 To Form Compound Words

= Compound Nouns
e.g. mother-in-law, matter-of-fact, scholar-athlete
= Compound Modifiers (adjectives or adverbs)
e.g. heat-seeking, happy-go-lucky, not-to-be-sneezed-at
self-employed, self-styled, self-annointed

 To Avoid Confusion
e.g. anti-imperialist, co-owner, re-creation
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Applications of HYPHEN -

 To Coordinate Compound Words

e.g. We perhaps live in both the three- and four
dimensional worlds.

 To Represent Stuttering
e.g. I-I w-w-was t-terribly f-fr-fri-frightened.

 To Spell Out
e.g. My nickname is spelled T-O-N-Y.
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ELLIPSES (Suspension Marks) ...

 Indicates Omission or Incompleteness

e.g. He prayed fervently “Our Father, who art in
heaven. . . .”

 Indicates Hesitation in Dialogue

e.g. “I . . . I missed you so much.”

 Indicates a Trailing Away into Silence

e.g. Old soldiers never die. They just fade away, . . .
fade away, . . . fade away.
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Basic Reminders
in the Use of PUNCTUATIONS

 Aim to simply make the message

clear and accurate.

 Be guided by the pauses and stresses

of the spoken language.