Punctuation Quick Guide

7/30/2019 Punctuation Quick Guide

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PUNCTUATION

Cheat Sheet

LA 3Mrs. Reed


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End Marks/InternalMarks

1. End marks: (. ! ?) Marks end of thought in INDEP. clauses2. Internal: ( , ; : - ) Marks pauses/emphatic points

a.Semi-Colons ( ; )a. Independent and Independent Clause connector

b. Conjunctive Adverbs(I was tired; therefore, I took a nap.)

c. Separate groups that contain commas(too many commas= messy; use semi-colons toclean-up)

b.Colons: ( : )a. Starting a list


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b. Introduction in letterc. Introducing quotesd. Between a title and subtitle

(Writers Inc: A student handbook)

c. Commas: ( , )a. Dependent & Independent connector

(introductory clause, interruption clause,afterthoughts)

b. Independent and Independent Clause-CATCH: MUST INCLUDE CONJUNCTION ( FANBOY)

c. Taking a breath/break in the sentenced. Before names, dates, addresses, Interjections

(Hey ,)e. Direct Address

(But, Mother Gibbs, one can go back)f. Lists or a seriesg. Separate contrasted information, separate adjectives, or

when renaming something(Benson, our uninhibited and enthusiasticterrier, )

d. Hyphens ( - )a. Compound words

(great-great-grandfather)b. Join a letter to noun/participle

(Y-turn; T-shirt)

c. Between numbers and fractions (21-99)Hyphens Continuedd. Special series

(4-person cabin)e. Join numbers, like datesf. Divide a word

(see pg. 496 for word division rules)g. Prevent confusion

(re-create, not recreate the image)h. Create new words

(self-, ex-, all-, etc.)i. Form an adjective

(oven-safe handles)

e.DASHES ( -- )a. Indicated by TWO hyphens, without spacing before and

afterNOT THE SAME AS A HYPHEN

b. Sudden breakc. Introductory series

(A good book, a comfortable chair these )d. Parenthetical material


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(A single incident a tornado that came withoutwarning changed)

e. Interrupted Speech (dialogue)f. For Emphasis

f. Apostrophes ( s )a. Contractions

When you take something away, youll want to addthe .

b. Form plurals for abbreviated #s, letters, signs, etc.Bs, +s

c. Singular Possessive The ships escape plan

d. Plural Possessive The cats litter box; the bosses orders

e. Compound nounsFather-in-laws birthday

f. Indefinite pronounsEveryones, somebodys

g. Express time or amountA pennys worth a thousand words

h. Shared possessionHoshi, Linda, and Nakivas water skis (all three ownthe same skis)Hoshis, Lindas, and Nakivas water skis (each owntheir own)


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Quotations: ( )1. Punctuate things: Titles of songs, poems, short stories, one-act plays,

lectures, episodes of radio/TV programs, chapters of books, unpublished works, electronic files, articles in magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, or

online sources.

2. Special Words Scare quotes- Technically, these are allowed. They are

commonly misused, though, so use with care. Mrs. Reedmight have towelllets not go there.

o Distinguish a word that is being discussedo A word in unfamiliar slango A word being used in a special way


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YOU MAY USE ITALICS in place of these scare quotes.Please do.

PLACEMENT:1. But where do they go?

ALWAYS place period and commas INSIDEo Exception: If the punctuation is not part

of the quote (sentence continues, itisnt a question when alone, etc.)

Who said, "Fame means when your computer

modem is broken, the repair guy comes out toyour house a little faster"? ! or ? go inside if its in the quote; outside if it is part of the

sentence!

2. Long Quotations: More than 4 lines? Follow these steps:

o Indent 10 spaces from the left margin.o No quotation marks, unless in the quote itself.

Double-space the quote (unless Mrs. Reed saysotherwise).

3. Quoting a Quotation (& dialogue) Single quote marks for quote within the quote

For tomorrow, said Mr. Botts, readUnlighted Lamps.

Use double quote marks to distinguish a quotationwithin a quotation within a quotation.. Inception ,

anyone?


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4. How to Mark Quoted material Place before and after direct (verbatim) quotations.

In quote, put brackets around ANYTHING (includingpunctuation) that is not in the actual quote)

Original: Conservation pundits point to it as a classicexample of the inability to provide good government service.

Quotation: Conservation pundits point to it [the U.S.Postal Service] as a classic example

Special Punctuation:1. Italics /Underlining:

a. In titles for:i. Magazines, newspapers, Pamphlets, books, full-

length plays, films, videos, radio and TV programs,book-length poems, ballets, operas,

ii. paintings, long musical compositions, CDs,iii. Legal cases, and the names of ships and aircrafts.

b. Special UsesInstead of quotation marks

c. Foreign wordsNot in English

d. When Italics are not possible, UNDERLINE

2. Parentheses ( )a. Set off Explanatory Material


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a. When it interrupts normal sentence structureBenson (our dog) sits in our

b. ? and ! within parenthesisIvan at once concluded (the rascal!) that I had

b. With full sentencesa. When adding a sentence within another full sentence

i. Do NOT capitalize or use a period insideAnd, since your friend wont have theassignment (he was just thinking aboutcalling you), youll have to make

3. Diagonal/slashesa. Show a choice

a. Between two words/giving optionsb. Quoting poetry

i. When more than one line, use a slash for each endfor each line, with a space on both sides

I have learned not to worry about love; / but tohonor its coming

4. Ellipsis ()a. Show omitted words

a. To show when one or more words are being removed fromthe quote

b. At the end of a sentencei. If words are omitted at the END of a sentence, use an

ellipsis after the period, marking the sentenceconclusion.

c. To show a pause (emphasis)

4. Brackets [ ]a. Set off clarifying information

Theyd [the sweat bees] get into your mouthb. Set off added words

Adding comments to quotes. [groan]No punctuation needed

c. Around a correction, addition to quotesBrooklyn alone has 8 percent of lead poisoning

[victims] nationwide, said Marjorie Moore.a. Place brackets around the letters sic (Latin for as such)-

this means that there is an error in the materialWhen Im queen, mused Lucy, Ill show theseblockheads whose [sic] got beauty and brains.


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Punctuation Quick Guide