Punctuations

A sentence or a paragraph without suitable punctuation marks does not give clarity to the meaning to a piece of writing, therefore, the function of marks of punctuation in a sentence or in a paragraph is very important. Without the use of proper punctuation marks, the writer fails to convey the proper meaning of the text. Read these examples to know how the use of punctuation marks alters the meanings of these two sentences:

• How old are you? (It is a simple interrogative sentence where the age of a person is asked.)
• How old are you! (The above sentence gives the expression that the speaker marvels at the old age and wants to say that you are very old.)

1.0Types of Punctuations

The use of capital letters

• For the first word of every sentence: Science can be taught effectively through films.
• For the first word of each sentence of a poem: Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Life is but a dream.
• For proper nouns: a. Names of persons and surnames: Meeta, Kunal, Bhargava b. Names of rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, mountains: Raavi, Badkal lake, Arabian Sea, Altantic Ocean, Ural mountains etc. c. Names of countries, cities, villages: Argentina, Kolkata, Khekra d. For nationalities, languages: American, Hindi e. Names of schools, colleges: Modern School, S.D. Post Graduate College f. Names of business houses, political parties, brand names: Bata Shoe Company, R.J.D., Samsung g. Names of ships, trains: the Titanic, the Shatabdi Express h. Names of buildings, parks, museums, roads: Imam Bara, Hyde Park, British Museum, Ring Road i. Name of days of week, months of year: Sunday, Wednesday, July, October j. Names of special days, special events: Mother's Day, First World War k. Names of religions, religious books: Islam, the Bible l. Names of books, magazines, newspapers: Roots and Shadows, India Today, The Statesman m. Names of subjects, festivals: German, Eid, Pongal n. Proper adjectives: Indians (India), Australians (Australia)
• First letter of first word of a direct speech: I said, "The oceans and seas have always been mysterious."
• Vitamins: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, K, P
• Pronoun I, Words standing for God. It is not the shade that I like. Do you pray God and believe in His existence?
• Short forms of rupee and era: Rs 10/-, A.D., B.C., (Anno Domini, Before Christ)
• Titles of stories, paragraph, essay, excerpt, articles, prepositions and conjunctions: The Arab and His Camel, The Tsunami Disaster, My Hobby
• Official names of government departments and the titles of high ranking officials: Union Public Service Commission, Director General, Managing Director
• Abbreviations: M.P., I.A.S., M.B.B.S.

2.0The Marks of Punctuation Are

Full Stop ( . )

The full stop is used to mark the end of a statement or an imperative sentence. It indicates the greatest pause and separation of one sentence from the other.

We use full stop:

a. at the end of all assertive and imperative sentences:

• The train had collided against another train. (assertive-affirmative)
• The train had not collided against another train. (assertive-negative)
• Release the prisoners of war. (imperative-command)
• Please release the prisoners of war. (imperative-request)
• Always use a mosquito repellent at night. (imperative-advice)

b. in abbreviations and initials: B.K. Chawla, (Baljeet Kumar Chawla) M.Com., N.C.C., H.U.D.C.O.

c. to indicate a decimal fraction: (It is read as 'point'.) 112.25, 91.70

The Comma ( , )

The comma represents the shortest pause or break between parts of a sentence. It is used to:

a. separate a series of words in a sentence: They heard moaning, sobbing and weeping in the room. Tsunami waves hit India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Somalia, Myanmar and Maldives.

b. set off a common noun or a proper noun of address: Will you help me, sir? (sir - common noun) Makrand, prepare a list of successful candidates. (Makrand-proper noun.)

c. when a very brief pause is needed: To meet his friend in jail, he took the assistance of the jailor. Do not hire a taxi, walk on foot.

d. indicate affirmative and negative expressions: Yes, ours was the best performance. No, they were not called on the stage.

e. express expressions like oh, well: Oh, we are sorry for our misbehaviour. Well, you are permitted to leave the room. ' $O$ ' is variant of 'oh'. 0 is used to introduce an invocation, entreaty, or the like in religious and literary contexts.

f. separate expressions like too, however, in fact: My sister, too, has many credentials to her credit. The weather is cold, however, she still thinks she should swim. The saint, in fact, is the accused himself.

g. separate reported verb from reported speech: Sonali said, "Swami Vivekananda is one of the greatest men in the world." "We should value spare time, "said Anurag.

h. separate a statement from a question tag: She has been writing stories, hasn't she? They did not return by 2 p.m., did they?

i. avoid the repetition of a verb: Aakash is a police officer, his brother, a rogue. Hanish left for Ludhiana, Prerna, for Delhi.

j. separate absolute construction: The downpour being over, we resumed the journey. The summer season being over, the cool breeze started to blow.

k. separate each pair of words of the same class and kind: The victims of Tsunami disaster won the sympathy of young and old, high and low, rich and poor.

l. mark off a noun or a phrase in apposition: Shakespeare, the great dramatist, had been a stable-keeper. Nagma, the most famous model, had been busy with charitable work.

m. separate phrases in series: Climbing up the stairs, running short of breath, the old lady was holding the railing for support.

n. separate clauses in series: We want to know, where the snow has fallen, how long it will take to clear up.

o. separate non-defining relative clause from the main clause: My cousin, who is an engineer, is going to Australia for an M.B.A degree.

p. before a co-ordinating conjunction in a compound sentence: She is only sixteen, yet she is lazy. They should reach the station in time, or they shall miss the train.

q. separate co-ordinate clause of a compound sentence: We came in the field, we played, we won the match.

r. separate an adverb clause when it comes before the main clause: If I had time, I would attend the conference. Because I trust you, I shall employ you.

s. separate the parts of a date from one another: July 30, 2005 On August 5, 2004, Ajay left for heavenly abode.

t. separate the parts of an address: 8/891, N.I.T. M-162, Ashiana Colony

The Semicolon ( ; )

The semicolon indicates a pause greater than that indicated by a comma.

It is used to:

a. separate independent short clauses: Madhvan is a good teacher; Sanju is a good student.

b. separate a series of loosely connected clauses: Yesterday, we met the leader of the union; today, we shall ask the worker's demands.

The Colon ( : )

The colon indicates a shorter pause than a full stop but a longer pause than a semicolon.

It is used to:

a. indicate numbers or group of numbers as in ratios: 4:6

b. give biblical reference: genesis 4:1-2

c. indicate expression of time: By 4 : 15 we shall reach the marriage venue.

d. introduce a list: The goal of life should be: noble, charitable and high.

e. introduce examples: The two poles are: the north pole and the south pole.

f. introduce quotation or speech: It has been rightly said: "Slow and steady wins the race." Aatur said: "Delhi gets power supply from the Northern Grid."

g. separate two sentences when one is used to explain something in connection with the other: The management cannot meet out the workers' demands: they are too high.

h. separate two contrasted sentences: The government is powerful: the actual power lies with the public.

The Question Mark ( ? )

The question mark or the mark of interrogation is used in place of the full stop after an interrogative sentence. It is used to:

a. ask questions: How did you manage to get out of the well?

b. mark assertive sentence where the statement of the speaker asks a question: We are ready. Are you ready? Yes, ready to shoot the bird.

The Mark of Exclamation ( ! )

The mark of exclamation is used after interjections, exclamatory phrases, exclamatory sentences and optative sentences. Alas! We have lost grandfather. What a hot cup of tea it is!

The Quotation Mark ( " " )

The quotation marks, also known as the inverted commas, are used to enclose the exact words of speaker or a quotation. Atul said, "My choicest career is to join Indian army." "Necessity is the mother of invention." The sign of quotation mark is always put after the full stop, the question mark and the exclamation mark.

The Apostrophe ( s' )

The apostrophe mark is used in punctuation to:

a. to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word or words: They'll - they will, shan't-shall not, can't-cannot.

b. indicate the omission of a number or numbers as from a date: 09.01. '05 09.01.2005 26.12. '04 26.12 .2004

c. indicate the possessive case of a singular noun: girl's pen, boy's books, man's handkerchief.

d. indicate the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in S, we add an apostrophe and then an s: oxen's yolk, policemen's duty, children's uniform.

e. indicate time, space, weight and value: a day's work, a furlong's distance, a ton's weight, a rupee's worth.

f. form the plurals of letters, figures: p's, q's, r's 3's, 8's, 9's It is incorrect to use apostrophe mark with the words hers, ours, theirs, yours.

The Dash ( ...-... )

The dash as a mark of punctuation has the following uses:

a. to indicate a break in thought: He started singing - the novice.

b. to mark a summing up: Hard work and sincerity - this is what I desire from employees.

c. to do the work of a colon: These were the prizes - cups, mementos and shields.

d. to set off a parenthetical clause: Her face - or so it seemed to me - had never been so radiant.

e. to indicate hesitating or faltering speech: I - er -think - er - that they will - er - not -er - help us.

The Hyphen ( - )

We use this mark to:

a. make a compound noun: gate-keeper, father-in-law, step-mother.

b. make compound adjective: three-in-one, ready-to-use, twelve-storey building.

c. indicate a span of years in place of to: The first world war dated for four years from 1914-1918.

3.0Recall

• Punctuation is the correct usage of pauses or stops in writing. It is used to indicate pauses in a sentence as well as to clarify the meaning of a sentence.
• There are different punctuation marks used in writing: Example: Full stop, Question marks, Exclamation mark, Comma, Semicolon, Colon, Dash, Hyphen, Quotation marks, Apostrophe
• The capital letter is used-
  • In the first word of every sentence.
  • In the first word in direct speech.
  • For specific names of particular of specific persons and places.
  • For names of days, months, and special days
• The full stop is used to-
  • Mark the end of a simple statement or a command
  • Mark abbreviations and initials.
• The question mark is placed at the end of a sentence that asks a question.
• The exclamation mark is another type of punctuation mark placed at the end of a sentence that expresses deep or sudden emotions or feelings.
• The comma indicates a short pause or breaks in the sentence.
• The apostrophe is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters to form contractions or shortened words.
• The quotation mark is used to enclose the actual words used by a speaker.
• The dash is used to emphasize the content enclosed within dashes or the content that follows a dash.