Language/English/Grammar/Punctuation

In English grammar, there are many ways to punctuate sentences. I will try to go over all of them today. I will organize them based on what is used formally and what isn't. Before that, I'll tell you what " " those marks mean, as I will use them throughout the lesson frequently. " is used to quote what someone is, will, or has said. I'll use these when referring to examples such as "For example," take note that I say that later in the lesson. 😊

After mastering this lesson on punctuation, you can also explore other related topics, such as common English grammar mistakes, infinitives in English, and legitimate and false ellipsis in English grammar. These additional resources will help you further improve your English language skills. Happy learning! 📚

Formal punctuation marks

The following punctuation marks can be used at the end of any sentence.

The question mark ?

? - The question mark. This is used at the end of a sentence that asks a question.

For example, "How are you?", "What are you doing today?", and "What are you wearing?"

The exclamation mark !

! - The exclamation mark, this is used to show someone being loud, or very excited.

For example, "Oh my gosh!" and "I can't believe it!"

The period or full stop .

. - The period (American English) or full stop (British English) , is used at the end of a sentence. It will always be used at the end of a sentence unless replaced by one of the punctuations shown above.

For example, "Hey." and "This is an example sentence using a full stop."

The comma ,

, - The comma is used when pausing in a sentence or when making a list of three items or more.

For example, "I need to buy eggs, bread, and cake.", "I like dogs, cats, and rabbits.", and "hmm, alright."

The apostrophe '

' - The apostrophe is used in abbreviations/contractions or to show possession of something.

For example, "don't", "won't", "Lilly's book.", "Daniel's wallet."

the semi-colon ;

The semi-colon is used to join two sentences without using the word "and"

For example: "We can go to the park to read; Mondays are pretty quiet there."

the colon :

The colon is used to introduce a list. For example, "I have three classes to attend today: art, science, and math.

The colon can also be used for emphasis. For example, "after a long trial, the judge reached a verdict: guilty."

the quotation marks “ ”

Quotations are used to show what someone said. In academic writing, quotations are used to show what someone else said and to give them credit for their work.

the hyphen -

Hyphen is used to join two words or two parts of words. For example, "this rock-hard cookie is impossible to eat"

brackets ( ) or [ ]

In writing, brackets are often used to add a suppletory information within a main for further explanation.

the slash /

Slashes can be used to replace the word "per." For example, "$800/week OR a maximum speed of 100 km/h"

It can also replace the word "and." For example, "She is enrolling into the JD/MBA program at Harvard."

As seen in these examples, the slash is often used in informal contexts.

Informal punctuation marks

These sort of punctuation are only used online and very sparingly at that.

Show action **

** - To show action, if you want to show someone what you're doing or act something out you will place it inside two * symbols.

For example, *waves*, *closes tab*, *jumps*

Other Lessons

• Collocations with do
• Nouns
• CONJUNCTIONS → A Choice or Alternative
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns
• Abstract nouns and concrete nouns
• After as an adverb
• Gender
• Grammar Gaffes (mistakes, errors)
• Irregular Verbs
• CONJUNCTIONS → Correlative Conjunctions