Punctuation means making points. It means putting the right kind of points in the right place so as to mark the exact length and meaning of sentences. Proper punctuation is essential in writing to enable the reader to understand what it is you are trying to say.
| Full stops - [.] |
|---|
| Full stops go at the end of sentences that are statements. You do not put a space before a full stop, but you do need at least one space after one (two spaces for purists). |
For example:- My name is Lynne. I am a teacher. |
| Question marks - [?] |
|---|
| Question marks go at the end of sentences that are questions. As with full stops you do not put a space before a question mark, but you do need at least one space after one (two spaces for purists). |
For example:- Is my name Lynne? Of course it is. |
| Exlamation marks - [!] |
| Exclamation marks act as a full stop. It is most often used to show shock, surprise, horror or pleasure. As with full stops you do not put a space before an exclamation mark, but you do need at least one space after one (two spaces for purists). |
For example:- Oh! Ah! Wow! Brilliant! etc... |
Commas - [,] |
Commas point out brief pauses in a complex sentence or separate items in long lists. They are useful for breaking up long sentences, but only to show a natural break. You do not put a space before a comma, but you do need a space after one. |
For example:- There were a lot of people in the room, teachers, students and parents. The teachers were sitting, the students were listening and the parents were just worrying. !Note - we don't usually put a comma before the word and. |
| Colons - [:] |
Colons precede a list, an explanation or an example. You do not put a space before a colon, but you do need a space after one. |
For example:- "There are two main shopping areas in Nottingham: Broadmarsh Centre and Victoria Centre." |
| Semicolons - [;] |
Semicolons are used to separate two sentences that would otherwise be joined with a word such as 'and', 'because', 'since', 'unless' or 'while'. You do not put a space before a semicolon, but you do need a space after one. |
For example:- "I'm looking forward to our next lesson; I'm sure it will be a lot of fun." |
| Speech marks - [" "] |
Speech marks are used to show words that are directly spoken. You need a space before the opening speech mark and a space after the closing one, but no space before the closing one. |
For example:- "Could everyone sit down please?", said the teacher. Sometimes when writing a spoken sentence is split in two. The speech marks must then be placed at the beginning and end of each part of the sentence. Commas are used to seperate the spoken part from the rest of the sentence. For example:- "I wonder," she said quietly, "whether people will ever truly understand each other." |
| Apostrophes - ['] |
Apostrophes next to the letter ('s) indicate belonging. No space is needed before or after the apostrophe. |
For example:- Lynne's web site. |
They are also used to show missing letters in shortened words. No space is needed before or after the apostrophe. |
For example:- It's a nice day today, isn't it? |
A brief note from historyWhen Alexander Dumas completed his sequel to 'The Three Musketeers', he sent the manuscript to his publishers. After a few weeks he had heard nothing and wrote a short note:- Dear Henri He received the reply:- Dear Alexandre |