Proper Punctuation
From The Writerium - the wiki for writers
- The period (.) goes at the end of a sentence.
- The comma (,) is used to separate independent clauses.
- The apostrophe (') is used to indicate possessive forms or to indicate that part of the letters in a compressed word were dropped.
- The colon (:) precedes a list after an independent clause, or is used to separate an explanation, rule, or example from a preceding independent clause.
- The semi-colon (;) is used to join independent clauses in compound sentences.
- The quotation mark (") goes around dialog, outside of other punctuation marks.
Contents |
Examples of Proper Use
The Period
The period is used like this. Easy as pie.
The Comma
In matters of separating clauses, a comma must be used thus:
The comma is used in dialog like so:
"Nice weather," he said. (Note that he is uncapitalized. The comma nor quotes do NOT end the sentence - the period does.)
It's also used to separate list items.
- Correct: I like many fruits! My favorites are oranges, cherries, and grapes.
- Incorrect: I like many fruits! My favorites are oranges, cherries and grapes.
However, some British writers will omit the last comma--only do this if you are from the UK! American grammar's standard is a comma after every word in a list.
The Apostrophe
Probably the most misused punctuation mark in existence. It is normally used to indicate possessive forms.
- Correct: "That is the dog's bone."
- Incorrect: "We washed many dog's today." (Should be dogs.)
In the case of the words it's/its, however, the rules are different.
- Correct: The octopus probed the rock with its tentacles.
- Correct: It's got blue hair. (Contraction of it has.)
- Correct: It's a nice day. (Contraction of it is.)
The Colon
How do we start basic instructions on using a colon? Like this:
- Correct: My friends all came to the party: Tabitha, Annie, Greg, Linda, and Bill.
- Correct: She made up her mind: she was going to wear the black satin dress.
The Semi-Colon
Probably a tragically-underused bit of punctuation. The semi-colon is sometimes dropped in favor of a misused comma.
- Correct: I haven't lost it; I just misplaced it.
- Incorrect: I haven't lost it, I just misplaced it.
More Info:
The Quotation Mark
Used for wrapping around dialog, like so:
- "I'm Dave," he said.
Sometimes it's used around a single word to indicate a sense of "so they say" or "so-called."
- The ride was advertised as "exciting," but it was pretty dull.
- They say that fruit juice is a "healthy" alternative to soft drinks, but it has so much sugar added to it that you might as well drink pop and take a vitamin pill.
The quotation mark is NOT used for emphasis or in place of bold or italic letters.
- Incorrect: I looked at her dress. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. "I "love" that dress!" I said. (Love should be italicized or bolded.)
If you MUST use symbols to accentuate a word, then asterisks are generally considered acceptable, EG:
- IRCUser: I *love* that dress!
More Info:
