Punctuation Marks

Integrated Skills in English I

Johnny Escobar Salazar

Universidad del Valle

Escuela de Ciencias del Lenguaje
Dpto. De Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras
 Is punctuation important?
A woman without her man is nothing. A woman: without her, man is nothing.

I love cooking my family and my dogs. I love cooking, my family, and my dogs.

Blue seats on the bus are only for Blue seats on the bus are only for disabled,
disabled elderly and pregnant people. elderly, and pregnant people.

I will never call you stupid. I will never call you 'stupid.'
I will never call you, stupid!
Let’s eat grandma! Let’s eat, grandma!

Yes, it is. Punctuation can even save lives!

Comma

A comma marks a slight break between different parts of a sentence. There are four common
occasions on which commas are necessary.

• Using commas in lists (e.g. The flag was red, white, and blue.)
• Using commas in direct speech (e.g. 'That's not fair', she said.)
• Using commas to separate clauses (e.g. As we had already arrived, we were reluctant to
wait.)
• Using commas to mark off parts of a sentence (e.g. Her best friend, Eliza, sang for a living.)
• Using commas to separate an introductory word or phrase (e.g. By the way, did you like it?)

Additionally when I have free time I What do you usually do in the morning?
spend time with my friends.
What sport did you use to do when you were in school?
What would you do if you were rich?
Period

A period is a small dot-shaped punctuation mark that is used at the end of any sentence that is
intended to make a statement. Some common occasions in which periods are necessary
include:

• Using periods in sentences that make statements (e.g. Gloria wants to be a nurse after she
finishes high school.)
• Using periods at the end of sentences that are intended to instruct or command (e.g. Lock
the door behind you.)
• Using periods at the end of a sentence that contains an indirect question (e.g. The coach
asked Jared why he was late for practice.)
The period is perhaps the easiest punctuation mark
to master. Difficulty generally arises only when
the period is used with other punctuation marks.
Multiple punctuation

• If a sentence otherwise ends with a question mark or exclamation point, the period is omitted.
Incorrect Correct
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Incorrect Correct
He used to work at Yahoo!. He used to work at Yahoo!

• If a sentence ends with an abbreviation, the period used for the abbreviation also serves as the
period for the sentence. This is true even if the abbreviation is contained within a quotation.
Incorrect Correct
He is a vice president at Apple Inc.. He is a vice president at Apple Inc.
Incorrect Correct
Laura said, “We will continue this Laura said, “We will continue this
tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.”. tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.”
Colon

There are three main uses of the colon:

• Between two main clauses in cases where the second clause explains or follows from the
first (e.g. We have a motto: live life to the full.)
• To introduce a list (e.g. The cost of the room included the following: breakfast, dinner,
and Wi-Fi.)
• Before a quotation, and sometimes before direct speech (e.g. The headline read: ‘Local
Woman Saves Geese.’)

Does Univalle have a motto? Which one?

How many classes are you taking this
semester? Which ones?
Semicolon

The semicolon is most commonly used to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but
not as final as a full stop. It’s used between two main clauses that balance each other and are
too closely linked to be made into separate sentences. For example, The film was
a critical success; its lead actors were particularly praised.

The semi-colon can also be used to assemble detailed lists. For example: The conference
was attended by delegates from Paris, France; Paris, Texas; London, UK; Stockholm,
Sweden; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Mumbai, India.
Brackets

There are two main types of brackets.

Round brackets are mainly used to

separate off information that isn’t
essential to the meaning of the rest
of the sentence. For example: He
asked Sarah (his great-aunt) for a
loan.
Square brackets are mainly used to
enclose words added by someone
other than the original writer or
speaker, typically in order to clarify
the situation. For example: The
witness said: 'Gary [Thompson]
was not usually late for work.'
Exclamation mark
 

The main uses of the exclamation mark (most

commonly used in informal writing) are to
end sentences that express:
• An exclamation (e.g. Ow! That hurts!)
• Direct speech that represents something
shouted or spoken very loudly (e.g. 'Run as
fast as you can!' he shouted.)
• Something that amuses the writer (e.g. Question mark
They thought I was dressed as a smuggler!)
• A question mark is used to indicate the end
An exclamation mark can also be used in
of a question. For example: what time are
brackets after a statement to show that the
you going to the fair?
writer finds it funny or ironic (e.g. He
thought it would be amusing (!) to throw a • A question mark can also be used in brackets
plastic mouse at me.) to show that the writer is unconvinced by a
statement. For example: The bus timetable
purports to be accurate (?).
Inverted commas
Inverted commas are mainly used To mark
the beginning and end of direct speech. For
example: 'There wasn't,' he said, 'any need
for you to say that.'
Also, they are used to mark off a word or
phrase that’s being discussed, or that’s being
directly quoted from somewhere else. For
example: They called it the 'land of milk and
honey.'
Double quotes
• To quote exact words from spoken or written
language. For example: Anthony Angelo
said, "Develop a passion for learning. If you
do, you will never cease to grow.")
• To show titles (e.g. My favorite poem by
Emily Dickinson is "There is another sky.")
• To show that a word or phrase is used in an
unusual way (e.g. She shared her "wisdom"
with me.)
• To show that a word is used as a word (e.g.
Look up the word "calm" in the dictionary.)
Hyphen
Hyphens are used to link words and parts of
words. There are three main cases where you
should use them:
• In compound words (e.g. My mother-in-
law is visiting soon.)
• To join prefixes to other words (e.g. The
novel is clearly intended to be a post-
Marxist work.)
• To show word breaks (e.g. He collects
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century vases.
Dash
There are two main occasions on which a dash
can be used, usually in informal writing:
• To mark off information that is not essential
to an understanding of the rest of the
sentence. For example: Many birds —do you
like birds?— can be seen outside the window.
• To show other kinds of break in a sentence
where a comma, semicolon, or colon would
be traditionally used. For example: Tommy
can't wait for Christmas —he's very excited.
Ellipsis

• Use an ellipsis to show an omission of a word or words in a quote (e.g. After school I went
to her house … and then came home.)
• Use an ellipsis to show a pause in a thought or to create suspense (e.g. She opened the door
. . . and saw . . . a cake!)
• Use an ellipsis to show a break of a thought (e.g. I know I saw my keys somewhere . . .)
Exercise

Read the texts below and complete them with punctuation marks.

• Because of his participation in revolutions in Cuba Congo-Kinshasa and Bolivia Guevara is

popularly seen as a man of action rather than a political theorist he is a key figure in modern
history as his adoption of guerrilla tactics was a major contribution to the development of
revolutionary socialism having seen firsthand the oppression and poverty throughout South
America under dictatorships he believed the salvation of the continent could only come about
through anticapitalist revolution as advocated by Karl Marx

• Maria Salomea Sklodowska was born in Warsaw in 1867 at that time Poland was under
Russian rule and women were not allowed into higher education she worked to help finance
her sisters medical studies in Paris France and in 1891 moved there herself to study
mathematics physics and chemistry there she married her colleague Pierre Curie in 1895
Thank you!