WBJS Grammar Glossary Punctuation Section Punctuation refers to the marks used in writing that help readers understand what they are reading. Sometimes words alone are not enough to convey a writer s message clearly. They need a little help from punctuation marks to illustrate relationships between words, pauses or even emotions. Punctuation includes any conventional features of writing other than spelling and general layout. One important role of punctuation is to indicate sentence boundaries. Term Explanation Example Apostrophe There are two types of apostrophe. Apostrophes can show possession or omission. The possessive apostrophe is used to create the possessive form of nouns. There are two forms of the possessive apostrophe. Showing possession of a singular noun s Showing possession of a plural noun that ends in s s Showing possession of a proper noun that ends in s you simple add an apostrophe at the end. If the possessive form is pronounced with an additional s it needs an apostrophe followed by the s The possessive apostrophe possession of a singular noun the play s actors possession of a plural noun the grapes seeds possession of a proper noun that ends in s Socrates revised script the possessive form when pronounced with an additional s Jess s disbelief The apostrophe to show omission Original Contracted Original Contracted it is it s I shall/i I ll will she is she s he had/ he d he would I am I m you will you ll
The apostrophe to show omission represents letters that have been omitted in contractions. A contraction is when a word or words are shortened by omitting letters. There are about 100 common contractions. The apostrophe for omission is placed where the missing letters would be. The letters either side of an apostrophe should not be joined. you are you re is not isn t I have I ve cannot can t would would ve will not won t have we have we ve did not didn t Brackets The apostrophe can also be used to create a few unusual plural nouns. Brackets, also called parenthesis, allow writers to interrupt the normal run of a sentence and insert additional information. Brackets are always used in pairs around the extra text. The goods train (which was late) was full of Christmas presents. Bullet points Bullet points draw a reader s attention to key points in a document. Bullet points are used to create lists. Bulleted items appear in technical documents, websites or presentations as a way of condensing important information into brief phrases or First example shows bulleted items that are not complete sentences, only the final bulleted item has a full stop. Before the mission, we will need to complete several tasks: tune up the jetpack finish the penguin costumes
sentences. pack up the kite. Bulleted items are used to emphasise important points in a document by separating them from the main text and presenting them as a list. The bulleted text can be written as complete sentences, phrases or single words. Bulleted information has a greater impact if the items are of a similar length and written in the same way e.g. if the first bulleted item starts with a verb, all the bulleted items should start with a verb as well. Second example shows bulleted items that are full sentences and have been punctuated accordingly. The director asked these questions: Do I need winter clothes? Will there be pirates? Can I bring my pig? Will we receive any gadgets? Punctuating bullet points Bulleted information should be indented from the main text. The text introducing the bullet points should be followed by a colon. If each bulleted item is not a sentence then only the last bulleted item needs a full stop. If each of the bulleted items is a sentence on their own, then each can be punctuated accordingly as a sentence.
Comma Commas are used to separate elements in a sentence. Commas clarify information be separating words, phrases or clauses. They are used to organise information into group, sorting it so a sentence is understood correctly. The main roles of the comma 1) Commas in a list Commas are used to separate words or phrases in a list. A good way to test if this type of comma is in the correct position is to replace it with one of the conjunctions and or or. If the sentence doesn t make sense with the conjunctions and or or, don t add the comma. The main roles of the comma 1) Commas in a list My interests are walking, flowers, birds and gardening. 2) Commas for clarity When Lisa visited the garden, she saw a flower. Independent clause is shown in bold and dependent clause is underlined. The commas separate the two clauses. 3) Commas for joining Walkers turn left, joggers turn right, but cyclists go straight on. 2) Commas for clarity Sometimes, a sentence begins with a clause, phrase or word that s sets the scene and leads the way to where the main action begins in the second half of the sentence. A comma is placed after the introduction (dependent clause) to Other uses for the comma Commas in pairs (parenthesis) A flower, like a sock, can be stripy. The main clause is underlined (although broken) and the extra information is shown in bold.
make the reader pause and anticipate the main information. An introduction could be a word such as However, a phrase such as Three years ago or a clause If this happens. Direct address Grandma, let s eat. Let s eat, Grandma 3) Commas for joining Commas are used with conjunctions to join two or more main clauses to make a sentence. The comma before the last main clause is followed by a coordinating conjunction: (FANBOYS) For And Nor But Or Yet So Other uses for the comma Commas in pairs (parenthesis) Like a pair of brackets, if a sentence is interrupted by additional information that is not essential to the understanding of the sentence, a comma is placed either side of the phrase. Without these commas the information is treated as essential.
Direct address Commas are always used when someone is spoken to directly, by name. The placement of the comma depends on where the name appears in the sentence. The commas go on either side of the name when the name appears in the middle of the sentence. If the name starts the sentence then a comma follows the name. If the name comes at the end of the sentence then a comma is placed before the name. Comma Commas can also be used to separate the clauses in direct speech please see parts of speech (direct speech) for a further definition of this use. Commas are used to separate elements in a sentence. Commas clarify information be separating words, phrases or clauses. They are used to organise information into group, sorting it so a sentence is understood correctly. The main roles of the comma 1) Commas in a list My interests are walking, flowers, birds and gardening. 2) Commas for clarity When Lisa visited the garden, she saw a
The main roles of the comma 1) Commas in a list Commas are used to separate words or phrases in a list. A good way to test if the comma is in the correct position is to replace it with one of the conjunctions and or or. If the sentence doesn t make sense with the conjunctions and or or, don t add the comma. 2) Commas for clarity Sometimes, a sentence begins with a clause, phrase or word that s sets the scene and leads the way to where the main action begins in the second half of the sentence. A comma is placed after the introduction (dependent clause) to make the reader pause and anticipate the main information. An introduction could be a word such as However, a phrase such as Three years ago or a clause If this happens. flower. Independent clause is shown in bold and dependent clause is underlined. 3) Commas for joining Walkers turn left, joggers turn right, but cyclists go straight on. Other uses for the comma Commas in pairs (parenthesis) A flower, like a sock, can be stripy. The main clause is underlined (although broken) and the extra information is shown in bold. Direct address Grandma, let s eat. Let s eat, Grandma 3) Commas for joining Commas are used with conjunctions to join two or more main clauses to make a sentence. The
comma before the last main clause is followed by a coordinating conjunction: (FANBOYS) For And Nor But Or Yet So Other uses for the comma Commas in pairs (parenthesis) Like a pair of brackets, if a sentence is interrupted by additional information that is not essential to the understanding of the sentence, a comma is placed either side of the phrase. Without these commas the information is treated as essential. Direct address Commas are always used when someone is spoken to directly, by name. The placement of the comma depends on where the name appears in the sentence. The commas o on either side of the name when the name appears in the middle of the sentence. If the name starts the sentence then a comma follows the name. If the name comes at the end of the sentence then a
comma is placed before the name. Dash Commas can also be used to separate the clauses in direct speech please see parts of speech (direct speech) for a further definition of this use. Dash is also known as punctuation for parenthesis. Dashes perform the same job as brackets, surrounding additional information in a text. The goods train - which was late - was full of Christmas presents. It was a long wait the longest I d ever had. Ellipsis Whereas brackets are always used in pairs around the extra text a single dash can be used if the additional information comes at the end of a sentence. A pair of dashes must be used if the additional information comes in the middle of the sentence. An ellipsis indicates that a sentence is unfinished. An ellipsis represents text omitted from a sentence. Wait, I forgot to tell you Could I?
Exclamation mark Exclamation marks are used at the end of exclamations. An exclamation is a sentence that expresses a writer s strong emotions. It can also be used for emphasis. This is so unexpected! I love cheese! Be quiet and don t move suddenly! Full stop Hyphen A full stop ends a sentence. A full stop marks the end of a complete statement. It can also be used to show that a word has been abbreviated. Hyphens are used to either join or separate words or parts of words. Sometimes two terms need to be shown to be connected, so that they are treated as one. Alternatively, a separation between terms may need to be emphasised. A hyphen can be used for both these purposes. Prefixes Hyphens are sometimes needed in words with To end a sentence The undersea experiment ended. To show a word has been abbreviated. Leading scientist Dr. Fisher said, It was a great success. Prefixes Re-formed (the hyphen indicates the society formed again, without the hyphen the word reformed means changed for the better). Co-owner (This hyphen is needed to divided the two vowels coowner is hard to read) Self-service (The prefix self- is always linked with a hyphen) pre-roman (a hyphen follows a prefix before a capital letter) post-1500 (a hyphen follows a prefix before a
prefixes. Many need to be hyphenated to avoid confusion with words spelt in a similar way. A hyphen is also added when a prefix ending in a vowel is joined to a root word beginning with a vowel, in order to avoid having two vowels sideby-side. The prefix self- is always followed by a hyphen. Finally, a hyphen is needed when adding a prefix to a capitalised word or to a date. Verbs to nouns When a phrasal verb is made into a noun it is hyphenated. date) Verbs into nouns- phrasal verb For example the phrasal verb get together in Let s get together and talk about it. is not hyphenated but a hyphen is used when it becomes a noun: for a get-together. Writing numbers Hyphens are needed when writing numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Inverted commas Inverted commas indicate direct speech. Inverted commas are also known as quotation marks or speech marks. They are always used in pairs. Direct speech Spoken clause is shown in bold and the speaker clause is underlined Spoken clause followed by the speaker clause Do pandas eat meat? one visitor asked. Besides indicating speech or quotations, they can also signal unusual words. Direct speech Speaker clause followed by the spoken clause One visitor asked, Do pandas eat meat? In this position, the clauses must be separated by a comma.
Inverted commas surround direct speech (text that represents the spoken word). A sentence including direct speech has two clauses: the spoken clause (the spoken words) and the speaker clause (the part that tells us who said it). Correct punctuation of these two clauses depends on the order they are written in. They can be written in three different ways: spoken clause followed by the speaker clause speaker clause followed by the spoken clause the spoken clause can be interrupted by the speaker clause. Unusual words Inverted commas can be used to separate particular words or phrases within a text. These can be used to indicate that another author s words are being used, that the words are unusual or that the author does not take the expression seriously. The spoken clause can be interrupted by the speaker clause. Do pandas, one visitor asked, eat meat? When the speaker clause interrupts the spoken clause, it must be preceded and followed by a comma. Unusual words The zookeeper said that the panda show was thrilling, but three pandas were asleep. (the inverted commas here are used to suggest that he did not find the show thrilling). Quotations (single inverted commas) The zookeeper said, I wouldn t call pandas cuddly. The quote within a quote is shown in bold, the original speech is underlined.
Question mark Quotations (single inverted commas) Single inverted commas are used for quotations within quotations. Any double inverted commas within direct speech or a quotation are changed to single inverted commas to distinguish the words they surround from the rest of the speech or quotation. A question mark signals the end of a sentence that is a question. Direct question When did you last see the car? Direct question A sentence that asks a question and expects an answer. Indirect question Always ends in a full stop. This type of question states what has been asked. Embedded question Appears within a longer sentence. Tag question A question that is added to the end of a statement. Indirect question He asked me if I knew where the cat was. Embedded question Do you know where the cat is? Tag question You don t think I m responsible, do you? Rhetorical question Do I look like a cat thief?
Semi-colon Rhetorical question A question that is asked to stress a point, no response is expected. Semi-colons connect sections of the text that are closely related. Connecting two main clauses Mary was warm; it was pleasant. Semi-colons can be used to indicate a close relationship between main clauses or to separate complex items in a list. They also precede certain adverbs when they are used as conjunctions. Connecting A semi-colon is used to join two main clauses and show they are of equal importance and closely related. These clauses can stand alone as separate sentences or can be connected by a comma and a conjunction. Introducing lists Some cities were rainy: London, England; Paris, France; Texas, USA and Boston, England. Preceding adverbs June was hot; however, some cities were rainy. Introducing lists When a sentence contains a list in which some or all of the items contain commas, semi-colons are used to separate the list items. This makes
the sentence easier to follow. Preceding adverbs A semi-colon precedes certain adverbs, such as however, therefore, consequently and nevertheless, when they are used as conjunctions to connect clauses.