Punctuation

Dina Zitawe
OBJECTIVES
• To use punctuation correctly to help
readers interpret our ideas and inquiries
precisely as we intended.

• To determine when to use periods,

question marks, commas, semicolons, and
exclamation points in our writing.
 Punctuation
INTERNAL PUNCTUATION

EXTERNAL comma ,
PUNCTUATION
semicolon ;
period . colon :
quotation marks “ ”
question mark ? parentheses ( )
dash —
exclamation point ! apostrophe ’
hyphen -
How Do You Use the Comma?
The comma is the most abused form of punctuation.
When in doubt, leave out.
1. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and
clauses when there are three or more in a series.
Zeina can run, jump, and skip.

2. Use a comma to separate

independent clause (sentences) in a
compound sentence. ),(
I like English, BUT it is difficult.
 MORE ON THE COMMA
3. Use Comma to set off nouns of direct address.
Khalid, I want you to know that Kareem likes
Hani.
4. Use a noun to set off a word or phrase that
explains a preceding word.
Please ask your teacher, Mr. Mahmoud,
about commas.
5. Use a comma to set off a
year when it is with a month
and date.
Lina was born June 25,
1954, in Sweileh, Amman.
More on Commas
6. When the date identifies
the day of the week, the date
is set off with a comma.
On Thursday, August 25,
school resumes.
7. Use a commas to set off
the state when it identifies a
city.
I live in Jubiha,Amman,
the home of the
Entertainment city.
 Commas
8. Use commas when
writing full addresses in
sentence form.
I live at block 23, Sweileh,
Amman.
Do not use a comma between state and zip code.
9. Use commas to set off introductory phrases
that come at the beginning of a sentence.
Feeling anxious, Mahdi slowly stepped on the
stage.
 Commas
10. Use a comma after a long
prepositional phrase or two short
prepositional phases.
On the seventh day of the ceremony, people rested.
11. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive relative
clauses (not necessary to the meaning of the
sentence) from the rest of the sentence.
Who
Whose) Restrictive/nonrestrictive
Whom
Which) Nonrestrictive (needs a comma)
That) Restive (no comma is needed)
That man, who is standing by the door, is my son.
 Commas
12. Use commas to set of
parenthetical expressions.
Hadi is handsome, however, looks can be
deceiving.
13. Use commas to set off words such as yes, no,
well, when they are used independently.
Yes, it is a hot summer.
14. Use a comma to set off short quoted
sentences from the rest of the sentence.
Hamlet said, “To be or not to be.
That is the question.”
 Commas
15. Use a comma to set off contrasting expressions.
School is in session during the week,
seldom on Saturday.
16. Use a comma to prevent misreading.

Just a month before, Bill

accepted the promotion.
 Semi-Colons
The semi-colon has a greater degree of separation than
the comma, but less than a period. A reader pauses
more than he/she would for a comma and less than
he/she would for a period, thus we have ( ; ).
1. Use a semi-colon to separate
independent clause (sentences) is a
compound sentence that are closed
conned in thought and not joined by a

(;) conjunction.
After class, I went to the Pizza Hut;
then I graded papers for an hour.
 Semi-Colons
2. Use a semi-colon to
separate independent clause if
there are commas within the
parts.
I wrote to Manal, Mohammad,
and Rami; and Mjali notified
Mahmoud by phone.
3. Use a semi-colon after an introduction that preceded
an explanation or an enumeration.
namely for instance
that is for example
Juan enjoys teaching English; namely he enjoys
literature and composition.
 Semi-Colons
4. Use a semi-colon to separate the independent clauses
of a compound sentence when the nonrestrictive word is
a conjunctive adverb. Put a comma after the conjunctive
adverb.
accordingly likewise besides nevertheless
consequently however hence otherwise
She will type the letters today; however, they
won’t be mailed until tomorrow.
Period = Full Stop .
• at the end of statements:
The cat is sitting on the bed.

• at the end of commands and requests:

Please show me your passport.

• after abbreviated words:

).(
Mon., Tue., Wed. etc.
Blackwell Ltd.
The answer is on p. 64.
Question Mark ?
• after direct questions:
Is this a cooking book?
)?(
• Not at the end of indirect quotations:
The boy asked if there was cooking in the bookshop.
Exclamation Point !
• to express strong emotion:
You only think I guessed wrong! That's
what's so!
funny! I switched glasses when your
back was turned! Ha ha! You fool!

• after interjections :
Oh! Wow! That hurts! (!)
Apostrophe
• to create possessives

(‘)
This is Juliet’s basket.
• to show contractions
I’m going to Delphi tomorrow.
• to show special plurals
It’s a nice idea, but there are a lot of if’s.
Dina got four A’s last term.