Punctuation Rules
One of the most important things to be observed in writing is punctuation. Punctuation is marks used in writing to separate sentences and clauses and to make clearer and more understandable sentences.
There are 14 punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar. They are the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parentheses, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis.
Here the rules the punctuation rules in writing:
- Period – the Period (.) is used when ending a sentence.
Example: Mary is the most outstanding student in her class.
- Comma– the Comma (,) is used when separating items or words in a list.
Example: My favorite fruits are apples, bananas, and grapes.
- Question Mark– the Question Mark (?) is used at the end when asking a question.
Example: What did you do last weekend?
- Exclamation Mark– the Exclamation Mark (!) is used at the end when emphasizing a strong feeling or emotion.
Example: I am super excited about our trip next Saturday!
- Semi-Colon- the Semi-Colon (;) is used when linking elements of a sentence.
Example: My mother is a nurse; my father is an engineer.
- Colon– the Colon (:) is used when introducing a list.
Example: You have two choices: finish your projects today or fail your course.
- Quotation Mark– the Quotation Mark (“) is used when showing what is being said.
Example: “I love to study just like you, Jose,” said Mary.
- Apostrophe– the Apostrophe (‘) is used when showing ownership or missing letters.
Example: Mary’s bag is from a luxury brand.
- Hyphen– the Hyphen (-) is used when putting words together.
Example: Her eleven-year-old daughter loves to read poems.
- Parenthesis, Bracket, Braces– ((),[],{}) are used when setting off less important details in a sentence.
Example: The three students (Mary, Albert, and John) are at the top of their class.
- Ellipsis– the Ellipsis (…) is used when showing parts of sentences that are left out.
Example: To be continued…
