Punctuation is used in writing to indicate sentence structure and pacing. Common punctuation marks include commas, periods, question marks, exclamation points, ellipses, apostrophes, quotation marks, hyphens, parentheses, colons, and semicolons. Each mark has a specific purpose, such as ending a sentence or indicating a quotation. Consistency in comma usage is important. Hyphens join compound words, while parentheses move text away from the main body. Colons introduce a logically connected sentence, and semicolons connect independent clauses.
Punctuation is a set of symbols used in writing to help indicate something about sentence structure or to help readers know when to change the pace or stress of their speaking. Depending on the style of writing and the language used, punctuation may serve one of these purposes more than the other. Common units of punctuation in English and many other languages include the comma, period, apostrophe, quotation marks, question mark, exclamation mark, parenthesis, dash, dash, ellipsis, two periods and semicolons. Each of these units means a different thing, and some can have multiple meanings depending on the context.
The period or period, question mark, exclamation point, and ellipsis all serve to end a sentence. A period is the default terminal punctuation mark, used to end a sentence without conveying any additional meaning. A question mark indicates that the previous sentence takes the form of a question and can also be read to change the tone when reading aloud to reflect this. An exclamation point indicates that the preceding sentence is in some way exciting or extremely important, and should be given special emphasis if read aloud. An ellipsis indicates that part of the sentence is omitted; this can be used to refer to a theoretical proposition, in which case it usually implies a break in the voice when read aloud, or it can indicate that an actual part of the sentence is omitted, often used when quoting long passages or quotations .
The comma is used for a variety of different purposes in punctuation. In general, it is considered stylistically necessary that all commas in a sentence serve the same function, to avoid confusion on the part of the reader. A comma can be used to separate units of a sentence such as an introduction or parenthetical thought, to separate items in lists such as this one, to lead a sentence into a quotation, and to separate independent clauses joined by a word such as “and” or “Still”. Commas also have a number of less common uses, too numerous to list in detail.
An apostrophe can be used as a punctuation within a word to indicate an omitted letter, as in contractions such as don’t or e’er. It can also be used to show that a noun is possessive, as in Harry’s name or the relentless waves of the Seven Seas.
Quotation marks are used as punctuation to indicate quotations within text or to compensate for a word or phrase such as ironic or non-standard usage. The most common type of quotes are double quotes, such as: “There’s a lot to like about that,” she said. Or: I wouldn’t say I “lost” my job the other day. Single quotation marks, which are a type of punctuation similar to an apostrophe, can be used for quotations within quotation marks, as in the case of: “As the Bard said, ‘To be or not to be, that is the question,’ ” He said wisely.
Hyphens are used for a number of different purposes, often to connect specific items. A number dash is used to connect numbers, for example in a telephone number. An en dash is used to connect elements that are within a range, such as page numbers. A dash is traditionally used to separate a thought from the flow of the sentence – like this – almost in a parenthetical way. In some modern style guides, the dash is taking on the role of thought separator in formal writing. A citation dash is a unit of punctuation that looks approximately the same as the em dash, used to cite the source of a quote in text.
Hyphens are punctuation marks that look similar to hyphens, but are shorter and are used to join compound words that have not yet become independent words or that are used adjectivally.
Parentheses are used to move text somewhat away from the main body. The main type of parenthetical punctuation used in writing is the parenthesis, with the others being used to indicate parenthetical thoughts within a set of parentheses or for specialized uses depending on the style.
A colon is a unit of punctuation typically used to introduce a following sentence that is in some way logically connected to the previous sentence. Thus, colons can be found that serve as punctuation to introduce a list, to compensate for something that is a consequence of the fact stated in the previous sentence or to bring in a quote.
A semicolon is a unit of punctuation used to connect two independent clauses. It is usually used when a period is thought to create too strong a break between sentences, but a comma is too weak a break. Often, semicolons are also used in place of the comma in lists that use commas for purposes other than offsetting list items, to avoid confusion.
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