English and Ukrainian

Punctuation
Punctuation
is a system of specific signs, which are used
in written speech to indicate
- Logical
- Grammatical Delimitation of
- Intonation an utterance
Punctuation rules in every language
rely on 3 principles:
 Logical
 Structural-syntactic
 Intonation (speech melody, sentence
stress, pausation)
Punctuation signs include
1. Dot
2. Comma
3. Column
4. Semi-column
5. Dash
6. Interrogation
7. Exclamation mark
8. Inverted commas
9. Dots
10. Brackets
Some punctuation marks can even completely change the
intended meaning
This example shows how the placement of punctuation, such as full
stops/periods, commas, and question marks, can turn something that seems loving and
innocent into something more sinister:

Dear John: Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all
about.
You are generous, kind, thoughtful.
People who are not like you admit to
being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me for other men.
I yearn for you.
I have no feelings whatsoever when
we’re apart.
I can be forever happy.
Will you let me be yours?
Gloria
I want a man who knows what love is.
All about you are generous, kind,
thoughtful people, who are not like you.
Admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me.
For other men, I yearn.
For you, I have no feelings whatsoever.
When we’re apart, I can be forever
happy.
Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria
 Сapitals
 Use an initial capital for proper nouns such
as the names of
- a race: Europeans
- a language: German
- a month: July
- a day of the week: Friday
- a school subject: Biology
 Capitals
 Family relationships
- Use an initial capital for relationship words used alone:
Grandmother is rather old, and so is Grandfather.
brother, sister, cousin aren’t used in this way.
- Use an initial capital for relationship word + a proper
name:
Aunt Jane, Uncle John
But: our aunt, the aunt
A dot
 Indicates the end of an utterance:
A vast emptiness settled within me.
Вони ішли мовчки по сухій осінній вулиці.
 Use in abbreviations:

etc., e.g.
 Use in indicating fractional numbers:

$25.75 (25 dollars 75 cents)

An exclamation point
Signifies the emotional impact of an utterance
and is used at the end of a sentence:
That was all Thompson knew!
Тоді вже дивіться туди, куди вам ближче!
N/B This sign is used in U at the beginning of a
letter after the name of the person
addressed.
In E a comma is demanded in this position.
An interrogation point
 Testifies to the interrogative character of an
utterance:
Does Gloucester remind you of anything?
А взагалі що владика поробляє?
A comma
Separates homogenous parts
But N\B: it doesn’t separate a chain of adjectives
in the epithet function:
I saw a wonderful big old round brown
English clock.
Він переймався недолею голодних,
безправних та безробітних мешканців
цього села.
 Punctuation mistakes can cost millions of dollars.
The New York Times
Lack of Oxford Comma Could Cost Maine Company Millions in Overtime Dispute
(a lawsuit about overtime pay for truck drivers)
Note the lack of Oxford comma — also known as the serial comma — in the following state
law, which says overtime rules do not apply to:
The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing,
packing for shipment(,) or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.
Does the law intend to exempt the distribution of the three categories that follow, or does it
mean to exempt packing for the shipping or distribution of them?
Had there been a comma after “shipment,” the meaning would have been clear. David G.
Webbert, a lawyer who represented the drivers, stated it plainly in an interview in March:
“That comma would have sunk our ship.”
Punctuation’s importance to Ameri
can gun laws
How A Comma Gave Americans The Right To Own
Guns
the Second Amendment:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
That little, red comma caused the Supreme Court to
strike down D.C.'s ban on handguns, the country's
strictest gun control law to date.
A comma
 Unlike in U it is put in E enumeration even before the last
element introduced with and:
There were apples, oranges, and bananas on the table.
 When several ‘and’s are close together, use a comma to mark
the main division:
Ricky bought a jacket and trousers, and a gin and tonic.
 In simple sentences commas are put to indicate direct
addresses:
You are off your game, young man!
Народе мій, ясна любове,
Ти волю лиш яви свою…
 A comma
 Use it to make the meaning clearer:
Tea or coffee with milk in it?
(The milk will be in either)
Tea, or coffee with milk in it?
(The milk will be only in the coffee)
 A comma
 Do not use a comma if or or nor join single
words:
Would you like a regular or a diet Coke?
 Use a comma if or or nor join word groups:

Do come, or we will leave without you.

 A comma
 Use a comma before but in most cases:
The restaurant was bad, but cheap.
 Don’t use a comma before but if there are
other commas close by in the same sentence:
John, confused but still eager to know, came in.
 A comma
 Use a comma before for = because
We had to leave without him, for he had not
come.
 Use a comma after clauses beginning with
as/since = because
As/Since he hadn’t come, we had to leave
without him.
 A comma
 Don’t use a comma after single words and
short phrases if you are not aiming at a
particular emphasis, contrast or dramatic
effect:
We finally found the hotel.
But:
Finally, we found the hotel (emphasis).
A comma
 In U it separates дієприкметникові / дієприслівникові звороти:
Вмирав поет, залюблений у світ,
Вмирав поет, задивлений у море.
Вода переливалась, поспішаючи до річки чи до великого
струмка, омиваючи розсипані в піску різнокольорові камінці.
 Use a comma to mark off participles and participial phrases:
She sat down, thinking about what had happened.
Exhausted, he sat down.
 Both in E and U:
A comma or a dash indicates apposition:
Taras Shevchenko, the great Ukrainian poet, …..
 The meaning of a sentence may be changed by the use of
commas

The students who stay at The students, who stay at

school after classes are doing school after classes, are doing
well. well.

Some students stay at school All students stay at school after

after classes – and these are classes and are doing well.
doing well.
 A comma
 Inverted order (if the natural order of a sentence is reversed)
She couldn’t remember when she had arrived.
But:
When she had arrived, she couldn’t remember.
 we don't use the comma when "please" precedes the verb and
its object in English:
Would you please help me?
but
Would you tell me, please, where Mr Donny lives? 
A comma separates the parts of
compound sentences:
Her son only hadn’t come home, but he had come home
a good person.
But if both parts of a composite sentence express one
general meaning, there is no comma:
The laughter in her eyes flowed to her lips and she
smiled at him.
In U the use of a comma to separate the parts of a
compound sentence is obligatory:
Вже давно була ніч над землею, і зорі виблискували
з неба.
Rules of punctuation in complex
sentences.
- There is no comma in subordinate subject clause of
such a sentence:
What truth she felt in his speech made the game but the
more formidable.
- There is no comma in sentences with the
introductory it:
It is well-known that the best method of defense is to
attack.
- There is a comma in the subordinate predicative
clause:
The fact was, the day had begun very well.
- The limiting attribute clause isn’t separated by a comma:
Aren’t you the young man who married Jane?
- Descriptive attribute clause is separated by a comma:
She, who was standing against the wall, gave a little sigh.
- There is no comma in a subordinate adverbial clause, which
follows the principal clause:
She felt very faint when she hurried away from him.
A semi-column
Is used much rarer in the sentences, which
possess commas:
The girls of the crowd had naked faces and dirty
hair; he was repelled by them.
Сашко почав знову плакати, але випив; трохи
віддихався, випив потім ще півсклянки і
весь день промучився, тому що нудило.
A column
Is used before homogenous parts or reveals
the main idea in the further part of the
utterance:
My sister finds all subjects easy: French,
History, Biology, everything.
Давай змагатися: хто швидше назбирає!
A column
In the case with direct speech in U, a column is put
after the author’s words, whereas in E a comma is
used in the same place:
He said, “I’ll come soon”.
У цей час я побачила машину і стала показувати
в інший бік: “Дивіться, дивіться!”
If the author’s words follow direct speech a comma
is used in E and a dash in U:
“Very generous of you”, said Bob.
“Це неможливо”, – категорично заперечив він.
Dots
Can be used
- At the end of a sentence, when the thought is not
finished
- In the middle of a sentence, when a word is missing
or to show hesitations, citations or breaks in
narration:
What exactly… that is to say, if you are looking for
a room with breakfast.
Я тепер знаю… Але тоді, ви розумієте…
 In E a dash is used more often to signify the
idea, which is not concluded, whereas dots
are preferable in U:
If you take my advice – it is dangerous further
up to the river – come downstream with me.
Якщо ви прислухаєтесь до моєї поради…
далі, вгору по річці просуватись
небезпечно… їдемо зі мною вниз за
течією.
Dash
 In E
- it is used in apposition to give additional information or contrast:
The Colonel looked at the front door of his flat – always rather a business now
that he had had a third lock put on, but one couldn’t be too careful with things
as they stood – and set off along Parliament Hill.
- before or after a list if a collective word is used
Videos, cameras, tape recorders – all sorts of things were there.
- to introduce an explanation or a comment:
John had forgotten his bag – another proof of his absent-mindedness.
- For a dramatic effect – to introduce sth surprising:
Nick was sitting in his chair – safe and sound.
 In U a dash unites the subject and the predicative, when the link verb is omitted:
Київ – столиця України.
- In elliptical sentences it is used instead of the words omitted:
Він пішов до школи, а вона – додому.
 Hyphen
 Used to divide a single word as there is not enough room for it in the line:
- you may separate affixes from the root
(count-less, over-view)
- divide a double consonant (gram-mar)
 Join 2 words into a compound word:
- compound numbers: twenty-six
- Combination of a number with an amount of time or space: ten-year
friendship
 Use hyphen to distinguish words which change the meaning if it is used:
re-form and reform
 The hyphen may have the meaning of “to” in adjectival phrases:
the 1939-45 war, the New York-London sea route
 Phrases and clauses used as adjectives:
the-man-I-saw-yesterday’s son
Brackets
 Introduce additional information with the parts of the sentences
having no direct grammatical links with its main parts.
 Parenthetic phrases, citations, author’s remarks are basically
put into brackets:
At five yards he lifted his face a moment, and we had a glimpse of
a flat features, the mouth open as he drew in air, and the
unseeing eyes (as if he saw and was yet not conscious of
seeing), for his sight was still occupied with a picture.
З такою людиною, що в звичайний час життя свого
повсякденного нормальніша за нормальних усіх людей, а в
суботу або в день перед святом починають у неї (у людини
в тієї) бігати очі, починає та людина в кріслі крутитися.
Inverted commas
 Indicate direct speech, citations, names of
firms, enterprises, titles of periodicals, books,
articles:
She merely said “Me? You don’t want to
know about me!”
Для більшості сучасників Л. Українки той
дух новаторського мистецтва нагадував
“хмару, що сунулась так тяжко по долині”.
Apostrophe
 In U apostrophe is placed before я, ю, є, ї
 In E marks
- The possessive case of a noun: the boy’s pen, the boys’ pens
- Contracted forms of the verbs: don’t, I’m
- Elision: ‘cause
- o’clock
- dates: ‘69 for 1969
- transcribing dialect speech: ‘e took ‘is ‘at an’ put it on ‘is ‘ead.
- Plural of figures/letters/words represented as items of language:
I can’t distinguish the 7’s from 1’s in this text.
Don’t forget to cross your t’s.
There are too many if’s in your explanation.
 EXERCISE
 what plans do you have for chinese new year
 james our guide will accompany you on the boat across to the island
 it was an expensive hotel in the centre of Stockholm but we decided it was worth the
money
 if you get lost in the city centre please don’t hesitate to text us or phone us
 the ambulance which arrived after just five minutes took three people to the hospital
immediately
 he said in his opening speech now is the time to plan for the future
 dont try to do too much when you begin the fitness trainer said
 there are three main reasons for the success of the government economic social and
political
 try to keep your flat clean and tidy it will sell more easily
 spanish is spoken throughout south america in brazil the main language is portuguese
 KEY
 What plans do you have for Chinese New Year?
 James, our guide, will accompany you on the boat across to the island.
 It was an expensive hotel in the centre of Stockholm, but we decided it was worth the
money.
 If you get lost in the city centre, please don’t hesitate to text us or phone us.
 The ambulance, which arrived after just five minutes, took three people to the hospital
immediately.
 He said in his opening speech, ‘Now is the time to plan for the future.’ 
 ‘Don’t try to do too much when you begin,’ the fitness trainer said.
 There are three main reasons for the success of the government: economic, social, and
political.
 Try to keep your flat clean and tidy:/– it will sell more easily.
 Spanish is spoken throughout South America; in Brazil the main language is Portuguese.