25-03-2021

Exercise: Punctuation Exercise. Put in semicolons, colons, dashes, quotation marks, Italics (use an underline), and parentheses where ever they are needed in the following sentences. The men in question Harold Keene, Jim Peterson, and Gerald Greene deserve awards. To use English punctuation correctly, remember to always capitalize the first letter of a sentence, as well as the names of specific people, places, and things. Also, make sure you end a sentence with a period unless the sentence is a question, in which case you should end it with a question mark. What this handout is about. This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation: semicolons (;), colons (:), and dashes (—). After reading the handout, you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing. 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. Following their correct usage will make your writing easier to read and more appealing. What does punctuation mean? The act of punctuating; specif., the act or practice of using standardized marks in writi.


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punctuation

Punctuation refers to the specific markings, signs and symbols that are used in and around sentences to give them structure and to allow for correct understanding and comprehension.
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punc·tu·a·tion

(pŭngk′cho͞o-ā′shən)n.1.
a. The use of standard marks and signs in writing and printing to separate words into sentences, clauses, and phrases in order to clarify meaning.
2. The act or an instance of punctuating.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

punctuation

(ˌpʌŋktjʊˈeɪʃən) n
1. (Linguistics) the use of symbols not belonging to the alphabet of a writing system to indicate aspects of the intonation and meaning not otherwise conveyed in the written language
2. (Linguistics) the symbols used for this purpose
3. (Linguistics) the act or an instance of punctuating
Punctuation
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

punc•tu•a•tion

(ˌpʌŋk tʃuˈeɪ ʃən)
n.
1. the practice or system of using certain conventional marks or characters in writing or printing in order to separate elements and make the meaning clear, as in ending a sentence or separating clauses.
3. the act of punctuating.
[1530–40; < Medieval Latin pūnctuātiō marking, pointing]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

punctuation

  • em dash, en dash - The em dash is the long dash used in punctuation whose length is based on the width of the letter M; the en dash is shorter (the width of an N) and the hyphen is even shorter.
  • punctual - From Latin punctum, 'point,' it can mean 'pertaining to punctuation,' or 'of or relating to a point in space.'
  • square brackets, parentheses, braces - Square brackets were formerly called crotchets, round brackets are commonly called parentheses, and curly brackets are called braces; the punctuation called brackets derives from the bookshelf type, implying that, in writing, these marks 'lift up' a section of a sentence.
  • stigmeology - The art of punctuation.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Noun1.punctuation - something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
break, interruption - some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity; 'the telephone is an annoying interruption'; 'there was a break in the action when a player was hurt'
2.punctuation - the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases
orthography, writing system - a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
mark - a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation); 'his answer was just a punctuation mark'
ampersand - a punctuation mark (&) used to represent conjunction (and)
apostrophe - the mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word
brace - either of two punctuation marks ({ or }) used to enclose textual material
square bracket, bracket - either of two punctuation marks ([ or ]) used to enclose textual material
angle bracket, bracket - either of two punctuation marks (`<' or=' `='>') used in computer programming and sometimes used to enclose textual material
comma - a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence
exclamation mark, exclamation point - a punctuation mark (!) used after an exclamation
hyphen, dash - a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text
parenthesis - either of two punctuation marks (or) used to enclose textual material
full point, full stop, period, stop, point - a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations; 'in England they call a period a stop'
interrogation point, question mark - a punctuation mark (?) placed at the end of a sentence to indicate a question
inverted comma, quotation mark, quote - a punctuation mark used to attribute the enclosed text to someone else
semicolon - a punctuation mark (`;') used to connect independent clauses; indicates a closer relation than does a period
separatrix, virgule, solidus, slash, diagonal, stroke - a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information
swung dash - a punctuation mark used in text to indicate the omission of a word
3.punctuation - the use of certain marks to clarify meaning of written material by grouping words grammatically into sentences and clauses and phrases
hyphenation - connecting syllables and words by hyphens
grouping - the activity of putting things together in groups
orthography, writing system - a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
إسْتِعمال علامات الوَقْف والفَواصِلوَضْعُ عَلامَاتُ التَّرْقِيم
tegnsætning
välimerkkivälimerkkien käyttö
interpunkcijapunktuacijarazgodak
greinarmerkjasetning
句読
postavljanje ločil
เครื่องหมายวรรคตอน
noktalamanoktalama işaretlerini koymanoktalama işaretlerinin kullanımı

punctuation

[ˌpʌŋktjʊˈeɪʃən]
B.CPDpunctuation markNsignom de puntuación
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

punctuation

[ˌpʌŋktʃʊˈeɪʃən]nponctuationfpunctuation mark

Punctuation Definition

nsignem de ponctuation
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

punctuation

nZeichensetzungf, → Interpunktionf; punctuation markSatzzeichennt, → Interpunktionszeichennt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

punctuation

[ˌpʌŋktjʊˈeɪʃn]n (Gram) → punteggiatura, interpunzionef
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

punctuate

(ˈpaŋktʃueit) verb
to divide up sentences etc by commas, full stops, colons etc. leestekens aanbring يُشَكِّل الجُمْلَه، يضَع علامات الوقْف والفَواصِل في الجُمْلَه слагам препинателни знаци pontuar vyznačit interpunkci interpunktieren sætte tegn χωρίζω προτάσεις με σημεία στίξης puntuar kirjavahemärgistama نقطه گذاری کردن jakaa lauseita välimerkeillä ponctuer לִפסוֹק बीच में रोकना írásjelekkel ellát memberi tanda baca nota greinarmerki punteggiare 句読点をつける (문장 등을) 구두점으로 끊다 dėti skyrybos ženklus likt pieturzīmes membubuh tanda baca leestekens aanbrengensette skilletegn stawiać znaki przestankowe علامه ايښودل pontuar a pune semne de punctuaţie ставить знаки препинания vyznačiť interpunkciu postavljati ločila staviti znake interpunkcije interpunktera คั่นด้วยเครื่องหมายวรรคตอน noktalama işaretleri koymak, noktalamak 以標點分開,加標點於 ставити розділові знаки رموز اوقاف لگانا chấm câu 以标点分开,加标点于
punctuation noun
1. the act of punctuating. leestekens aanbring تَشْكيل الجُمَل، وَضْع علامات الوقْف والفواصِل пунктуация pontuação rozčlenění na části die Interpunktion tegnsætning στίξηpuntuación kirjavahemärgistus تقطه گذاری varustaa välimerkein ponctuation מְנָקֵד विरामादि विधान írásjelek kitevése pemberian tanda baca greinarmerkjasetning punteggiatura 句読 구두점 사용 skyrybos ženklų dėjimas pieturzīmju lietošana membubuh tanda baca het aanbrengen van leestekens tegnsetting stosowanie interpunkcji ټكى ايښودل pontuação (punere a semnelor de) punctuaţie расстановка знаков препинания rozčlenenie na časti postavljanje ločil stavljanje znakova interpunkcije interpunktion การคั่นประโยค noktalama işaretlerini koyma 標點 розставляння розділових знаків رموز اوقاف کے لگانے کا عمل sự chấm câu 标点
2. the use of punctuation marks. leestekens gebruik إسْتِعمال علامات الوَقْف والفَواصِل пунктуация pontuação interpunkce die Interpunktion tegnsætning στίξηpuntuación kirjavahemärgistamine نشانه گذاری välimerkkien käyttö ponctuation לְנֵקד विराम चिह्नांकन विधान központozás penggunaan tanda baca greinarmerkjasetning punteggiatura 句読 구두법 skyryba, punktuacija interpunkcija penggunaan tanda baca interpunctietegnsettinginterpunkcja علامه ايښودل pontuação punctuaţie пунктуация interpunkcia uporaba ločil upotreba znakova interpunkcije interpunktion การใช้เครื่องหมายวรรคตอน noktalama işaretlerinin kullanımı 標點法 пунктуація رموز اوقاف sử dụng dấu câu 标点法
punctuation markChecker
any of the symbols used for punctuating, eg comma, full stop, question mark etc. leesteken عَلامَة التَّرْقيم препинателен знак sinal de pontuação interpunkční znaménko das Satzzeichen tegnsætning σημείο στίξης signo de puntuación kirjavahemärk نشانه های نقطه گذاری välimerkki signe de ponctuationניקוד विराम-चिह्न írásjel tanda baca greinarmerki segno d'interpunzione 句読点 구두점 skyrybos ženklas pieturzīme tanda baca leestekenskilletegn znak przestankowy دټكى ايښودلو نښانى sinal de pontuação semn de punctuaţie знак препинания interpunkčné znamienko ločilo znak interpunkcije skiljetecken, interpunktionstecken เครื่องหมายวรรคตอน noktalama işareti 標點符號 розділовий знак وقف کي کوئي علامت dấu câu 标点符号
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

punctuation

وَضْعُ عَلامَاتُ التَّرْقِيم interpunkce tegnsætningZeichensetzungστίξηpuntuación välimerkkien käyttöponctuation interpunkcijapunteggiatura 句読 구두법interpunctietegnsettinginterpunkcjapontuaçãoпунктуация interpunktion เครื่องหมายวรรคตอนnoktalama dấu chấm phẩy标点符号
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

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Quotation marks and adjacent punctuation

Though not necessarily logical, the American rules for multiple punctuation with quotation marks are firmly established. (See here for a brief explanation of the British style.)

Commas and periods that are part of the overall sentence go inside the quotation marks, even though they aren’t part of the original quotation.

Correct

“The best investments today,” according to Smith, “are commodities and emerging-market stocks.”

Incorrect

“The best investments today”, according to Smith, “are commodities and emerging-market stocks”.

Unless they are part of the original quotation, all marks other than commas or periods are placed outside the quotation marks.

Correct

She provides a thorough list of problems in her most recent article, “Misery in Paradise”; she doesn’t provide a solution.

Incorrect

She provides a thorough list of problems in her most recent article, “Misery in Paradise;” she doesn’t provide a solution.

PunctuationCorrect

Wasn’t it Dickens who wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”?

Incorrect

Wasn’t it Dickens who wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?”

Punctuation Meaning

For more on the proper use of multiple punctuation at the end of a sentence, see here.