Some references:
Nouns are people, places, or things, They tell us what we are talking about. The words cat, Jack, rock, Africa & it are nouns.
Adjectives modify, or describe, nouns. The words tall, beautiful, irresponsible & boring are adjectives.
Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. They tell us how, when, and where things happen. They express quantity, intensity, frequency, and opinions.
Articles, quantifiers, and other determiners modify nouns. They resemble adjectives in that way. Determiners help us say what we are talking about.
Verbs are action words. They tell us what is happening and when (past, present, future). Verbs can also express possibilities and conditions.
When we report what someone says, we can cite the person directly or indirectly. Indirect speech rules are an important area of grammar.
Punctuation Rules in English
- The period (or full stop in British English): .
- The comma: ,
- The exclamation mark: !
- The question mark: ?
- The colon: :
- The semicolon: ;
- The quotation mark: ' '
- The apostrophe: '
- The hyphen and the dash: - and –
- Parentheses and brackets: ( ) and [ ]
Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences. You use punctuation marks to structure and organise your writing.
You can quickly see why punctuation is important if you try and read this sentence which has no punctuation at all:
perhaps you dont always need to use commas periods colons etc to make
sentences clear when i am in a hurry tired cold lazy or angry i sometimes
leave out punctuation marks grammar is stupid i can write without it and
dont need it my uncle Harry once said he was not very clever and i never
understood a word he wrote to me i think ill learn some punctuation not too
much enough to write to Uncle Harry he needs some help
Now let's see if punctuating it makes a difference!
Perhaps you don't always need to use commas, periods, colons etc. to make
sentences clear. When I am in a hurry, tired, cold, lazy, or angry I sometimes
leave out punctuation marks. "Grammar is stupid! I can write without it and
don't need it," my uncle Harry once said. He was not very clever, and I never
understood a word he wrote to me. I think I'll learn some punctuation - not too
much, enough to write to Uncle Harry. He needs some help!
You use it like a knife to cut the sentences to the required length. Generally, you can break up the sentences using the full stop at the end of a logical and complete thought that looks and sounds right to you. Use the full stop
-
to mark the end of a sentence which is not a question or an exclamation. .
Rome is the capital of Italy. I was born in Australia and now live in Indonesia. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.
-
to indicate an abbreviation .
I will be in between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Note: Dr and Mr and Mrs and Ms do not take a full stop nor do most abbreviations taken from the first capital letters such as MA Phd CNN
- special case - three dots
Often you will see a sentence concluding with three dots. This indicates that only part of the sentence or text has been quoted or that it is being left up to the reader to complete the rest of the sentence.
"Goodbye."
"Hello."
Note: This is often the case when the subject is understood as in a greeting or a command such as "Stop."
Although we are often taught that commas are used to help us add 'breathing spaces' to sentences they are, in fact, more accurately used to organise blocks of thought or logical groupings. Most people use commas to ensure that meaning is clear and, despite grammatical rules, will drop a comma if their meaning is retained without it.
A series of independent clauses (sentences):
I met Harry, we went for a swim together, and afterwards Harry went home.
I like your son, I might even love him, but he is not a very good soccer player.
A series of nouns:
For dinner I had soup, fish, chicken, dessert, and coffee.
This afternoon I went to Oxford Circus, Picadilly, Hamstead, and Gatwick Airport.
A series of adjectives:
She was young, beautiful, kind, and intelligent.
The house we visited was dark, dreary, and run-down.
She was wearing a bright red shirt.
A list of adjectives usually requires commas. However, if an adjective is modifying another adjective you do not separate them with a comma (sentence 3).
A series of verbs:
Tony ran towards me, fell, yelled, and fainted.
The boy leapt, spun, twisted, and dove into the water.
A series of phrases:
The car smashed into the wall, flipped onto its roof, slid along the road, and finally stopped against a tree.
The dog leapt into the air, snatched the frisbee in its mouth, landed, and ran off into the forest.
Use a comma to enclose non-defining relative clauses and other non-essential details and comments. The comma is placed on either side of the insertion:
China, one of the most powerful nations on Earth, has a huge population.
Jason's grandmother, who was born in 1930, lived through the Second World War.
Cats, unlike dogs, do not respect their masters.
My friend, Jim, likes to go scuba diving.
Hearing that her father was in hospital, Jane left work immediately.
Walking to the bus stop that morning, Sam knew it was going to be a special day.
She lives in Paris, doesn't she?
We haven't met, have we?
Yes, I will stay a little longer, thank you.
No, he isn't like other boys.
Wait, I didn't mean to scare you.
Putting a comma in the wrong place can lead to a sentence with a completely different meaning, look at these two sentences:
I detest liars like you; I believe that honesty is the best policy. = I detest you because you are a liar.
I detest liars, like you; I believe that honesty is the best policy. = You and I both detest liars.
The exclamation mark is used to express exasperation, astonishment, or surprise, or to emphasise a comment or short, sharp phrase. In professional or everyday writing, exclamation marks are used sparingly if at all:
Help! Help!
That's unbelievable!
Get out!
Look out!
You can also use exclamation marks to mark a phrase as humourous, ironic or sarcastic:
What a lovely day! (when it obviously is not a lovely day)
That was clever! (when someone has done something stupid)
In very informal writing styles (SMS, chat, Twitter or Facebook, etc.), an exclamation mark is sometimes combined with a question mark to indicate both surprise and slight uncertainty. Double and triple exclamation marks are common in very informal writing styles, but are a sign of being uneducated in less casual correspondance:
He's getting married!?
That's insane!!!
Use the question mark at the end of all direct questions:
What is your name?
Do you speak Italian?
You're spanish, aren't you?
Do not use a question mark for reported questions:
He asked me what my name was.
She asked if I was Spanish.
Ask them where they are going.
Long questions still need question marks:
Isn't it true that global warming is responsible for more and more problems which are having a disastrous effect on the world's climate and leading to many millions of people in countries that can least afford it having to contend with more and more hardship?
Why is it that even though you are unkind to me, ignore me when I ask you for help, and consistently forget to thank me when I do favors for you, you still claim to want me to be your friend and appear surprised when I prefer to hang out with other people?
Question marks can sometimes appear within sentences:
There is cause for concern (isn't there?) that the current world economic balance is so fragile that it may lead to a global economic downturn.
"Why is she here?" asked Henry.
The colon expands on the sentence that precedes it, often introducing a list that demonstrates or elaborates whatever was previously stated:
There are many reasons for poor written communication: lack of planning, poor grammar, misuse of punctuation marks, and insufficient vocabulary.
He collected a strange assortment of items: bird's eggs, stamps, bottle tops, string, and buttons.
Peter had an eclectic taste in music: latin, jazz, country and western, pop, blues, and classical.
He had just one fault: an enormous ego.
The colon is also used to divide the hour from the minutes in writing a time in English:
4:15 = "four fifteen"
6:45 = "six fourty-five"
The semicolon is somewhere between a full stop and a comma. Semicolons can be used in English to join phrases and sentences that are thematically linked without having to use a conjunction (example 1 below). Semicolons can also be used instead of commas to separate the items in a list when the items themselves already contain commas (example 2 below):
I like your brother; he's a good friend.
Many great leaders, Churchill, leader of Britain during the Second World War; Alexander, the great Emperor and general; and Napolean, the brilliant French general, had strong characters, which were useful when their countries were at war but which did not serve them well in times of peace.
Use quotation marks to cite something someone said exactly. When rephrasing what someone told you, no quotation marks are needed:
"I'm going to the store now," she said.
Harry told me, "Don't forget your soccer jersey."
Harry told me not to forget my soccer jersey.
If quoting others within a quote, both single and double quotation marks are used to set the two separate quotations off from each other:
'I haven't spoken to Peter for months,' Dianne said.'The last time I spoke to him he said, "I'm going to Bahrain and won't be back for about three years", I've heard nothing since then'.
You may see single or double quotation marks used to mark out idiomatic or unfamiliar expressions:
I've always thought that he was very annoying, a bit of a 'pain in the neck.'
I'm not sure what you mean by "custodial care", but I'm sure you will explain it to me.
Quotation marks both single and double are also used for specific purposes in bibliographic references or when citing sources in academic writing. There are a number of ways of organising bibliographies which set out standard formats. Most organisations and academic institutions will prefer one of these or have their own format published in a 'style guide':
"The Migration Flight of the Lesser Tweazle", by Jeremey Adams, The Bird Spotter Magazine, July 2009.
The difference between a 'bracket' and a 'parentheses' can be a bit confusing. Generally, 'parentheses' refers to round brackets ( ) and 'brackets' to square brackets [ ]. However, we are more and more used to hearing these referred to simply as 'round brackets' or 'square brackets'.
Usually we use square brackets - [ ] - for special purposes such as in technical manuals. Round brackets - ( ) - are used in a similar way to commas when we want to add further explanation, an afterthought, or comment that is to do with our main line of thought but distinct from it. Many grammarians feel that the parentheses can, in fact, be replaced by commas in nearly all cases:
The government's education report (April 2005) shows that the level of literacy is rising in nearly all areas.
I visited Kathmandu (which was full of tourists) on my way to the Himalayas for a trekking expedition.
You can eat almost anything while travelling in Asia if you are careful to observe simple rules (avoiding unboiled or unbottled water is one of the main rules to be aware of.)
We use relative clauses in English to create more complex and more precise sentences.