English Punctuation Guide

(based on The Penguin Guide To Punctuation by R. L. Trask)

Why punctuate right? Many people have made successful careers without ever learning the difference between a colon and a semicolon. Perhaps you consider punctuation a deeply personal matter - a mode of self-expression. Or you regard it as an inconsequential bit of decoration. Yet it is an aspect of written English not unlike spelling. Poor punctuation makes life difficult for the reader. But it isn’t very difficult to get it right.

Names of punctuation marks:

. full stop/period

? question mark

! exclamation mark (inf. bang, shriek)

, comma

: colon

; semicolon

’ apostrophe

- hyphen

-- dash

“/’ quotation marks/inverted commas (single/double quotes)

() parentheses/round brackets

[] square brackets

… ellipsis, suspension/omission marks

& ampersand

1. full stop

ü used at the end of a complete statement

ü do not connect two statements with a comma

Norway has applied for EC membership, Sweden is expected to do the same.

Norway has applied for EC membership, and Sweden is expected to do the same.

Norway has applied for EC membership. Sweden is expected to do the same.

2. question mark

ü used at the end of a direct question

ü do not use it at the end of indirect questions

She asked if I had a pen she could borrow.

3. exclamation mark

ü used after an exclamation, esp. one beginning with what or how

ü do not use it in formal writing unless it’s absolutely necessary

ü acceptable combinations:!!!/?!/?!!

4. comma

A. listing comma

ü can be replaced by and/or

Br. X, Y and/or Z

Am. X, Y, and/or Z

My favourite opera composers are Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and Gilbert and Sullivan.

B. joining comma

ü used to join two complete sentences with one of the words and, or, but, yet, while

The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, while the Dutch are famously good at it.

however, therefore, hence, consequently, nevertheless, thus

C. gapping comma

ü used to show that one or more words have been left out to avoid repetition (is not strictly necessary)

Italy is famous for her composers and musicians, France, for her chefs and philosophers, and Poland, for her mathematicians and logicians.

D. bracketing/isolating comma

ü used to set off a weak interruption that can always be removed without affecting the sense of the sentence

These findings, we would suggest, cast doubt upon his hypothesis.

Rupert Brooke, who was killed at the war at the age of 28, was one of our finest poets.

Yet, outside that door, lay a whole new world.

She groped for her cigarettes, and finding them, hastily lit one.

ü do not use it with restrictive/defining clauses as they can’t be left our of a sentence without affecting its sense

Many Germans who are not satisfied with the national railroad service went to protest. (restrictive/defining clause)

Margaret Thatcher, who hated trains, refused to consider privatizing the railways.

ü if a weak interruption comes at the end of or beginning of a sentence, only one comma is used.

I think we can say that we’ve done well, all in all.

Unlike most nations, Britain has no written constitution.

ü weak interruptions may contain sentences starting with although, though, even though, because, since, after, before, if, when, whenever

Columbus is usually credited with discovering America, even though the Vikings had preceded him by several centuries.

5. colon

ü used to separate a general statement from following specifics (explanation, identification)

Africa is facing a terrifying problem: perpetual drought.

I propose the creation of a new post: School Executive Officer.

ü the order of general statement and specifics can be inverted

Saussure, Sapir, Bloomfield, Chomsky: all those have revolutionized linguistics in one way or another.

ü minor uses:

- when a book has title and subtitle

Oak Furniture: The British Tradition

- when passages form the Bible are cited

KINGS 15:14-22

- when ratios are written down

Among students of French women outnumber men by more than 4:1.

- when time is indicated

Am. 2:10, 11:30

Br. 2.10, 11.30

6. semicolon

ü joins two complete sentences when

- they are too closely related to be separated by a full stop

- there is no connecting word which would require a comma (and/but)

- special conditions requiring a colon are absent

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. (Dickens)

ü connecting words requiring a preceding semicolon are however, therefore, hence, thus, consequently, nevertheless, meanwhile

The two warring sides have refused to withdraw from the airport; consequently, aid flights have had to be suspended.

Lisa is upset. Gus is having a nervous breakdown.

Lisa is upset; Gus is having a nervous breakdown.

Lisa is upset: Gus is having a nervous breakdown.

7. apostrophe

ü used in contractions: it’s, she’d’ve

o’clock (of the clock)

Hallowe’en (Hallow even)

fo’c’s’le (forecastle)

cat-o’-nine-tails

ne’er-do-well

‘n’ (rock’n’roll)

generation of ‘69

ü used in unusual plurals

pizzas, Joneses, videos

The teacher put several 7’s.

Mind your p’s and q’s.

How many s’s are there in Mississippi?

Am. 1970’s Br. 1970s

ü used in possessives

‘s - singulars (Lisa’s)

- plurals with no s (children’s, women’s)

- singulars ending in s when pronounced (Thomas’s)

‘ - plurals ending in s (dogs’ tails)

- singulars ending in s when not pronounced (Socrates’ philosophy)

it’s = it is its ~ whose?

who’s = who is/has whose ~ mine

8. hyphen

ü used for word splitting at the end of a line (should be avoided when possible)

ü used in compound word including proper names (in Br.E. more often than in Am.E.)

land owners, land-owners, landowners

Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jean Paul Sartre

- consult a dictionary!

- use it correctly to clarify what you mean

She’s wearing a light green dress.

She-s wearing a light-green dress.

ü with prefixes

- should be used for easier reading

miniskirt but mini-aircraft

nonviolent but non-negotiable

- should necessarily be used before capitals/numerals

non-EU countries, anti-French feeling, pre-1500 English literature

- necessary when a prefix is added to a word containing a hyphen

bribe-taking -> non-bribe-taking politician

- necessary when a prefix is added to a compound word containing spaces

cold war -> post-cold-war world

ü used with pieces of words

The suffix -ize is spelled -ise in Britain.

Natalie is studying socio- and psycholinguistics.

9. dash

ü a pair of dashes separates a strong interruption from the rest of the sentence. If the interruption is at the end of a sentence. only one dash is used.

An honest politician -- if such a creature exists -- would never agree to such a plan.

The Serbs want peace -- or so they say.

ü if a sentence is broken off without being completed

“Nobody can shoot a bison from this dist--”.

ü used to indicate ranges

X -- Y = from X to Y = between X and Y

ü never use dash instead of colon or to introduce direct speech!

10. quotation marks

Br. ‘……’

Am. “……”

ü used to set off direct speech

President Kennedy famously exclaimed, “Ich bin ein Berliner!”

- full stops and commas come inside the quotes

“The only emperor,” writes Wallace Stevens, “is the emperor of ice cream.”

- only a word-for-word quotation can come inside the quotes

Thomas Edison declared that genius was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

According to Thomas Edison, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

Thomas Edison declared that “genius was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

- interruptions to the quotation are inserted in square brackets

“These two nations [America and Russia] seem to sway the destinies of half the globe.”

“The last dinosaurs died about 60,000 years ago [sic].”

- when a part of quotation is left out, ellipsis is used

ü scare quotes are used when the writer wishes to distance themselves from the word/phrase if it’s considered odd, inappropriate, colloquial, or to show irony and sarcasm

ü may be used in titles, though italics are preferred

ü used when writing about words

11. parentheses

ü used to set off an interruption instead dashes or commas

The Basque language is not (as the old legend has it) exceedingly difficult to learn.

ü introduce additional information, explanations

12. ellipsis

ü used to show that part of quotation has been omitted

ü used to show that a sentence was left unfinished (failed off into silence, unlike the abrupt ending with the dash)

ü should be avoided in formal writing

13. capitals in titles

approach 1: capitalizing the 1^st word + every significant word

approach 2: capitalizing the 1^st word + all words that require capitals for independent reasons (names, etc.)

The Silence of the Lambs / The silence of the lambs

The Da Vinci Code / The Da Vinci code

14. abbreviations

ü there are some widely acceptable abbreviations

Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, St

a.m., p.m.

BC, AD / BCE, CE (common era)

BBC, NATO and other well-known companies and organizations

ü other abbreviations should be avoided in formal writing. Take care to spell out the words (though there may be exceptional situations, like footnotes, where you are short of space).

ü Latin abbreviations are considered bad taste, especially when writers use them not knowing what they mean.

e.g. for example

i.e. in other words

viz. namely

sc. which means

c. approximately

cf. compare

v. consult

etc. and so forth (sounds vague and sloppy, offensive when applied to people)

et al. and other people

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