Punctuation
Why do we have rules? We have rules in order to avoid ambiguities and errors.
When you’re at school you may have been told that punctuation is there to tell you when
to breathe. While this was its original purpose, it has progressed to being a tool to help
you demonstrate structure and logic in your writing. This, in turn, helps the reader to
understand your writing.
Incorrect punctuation leads to distorted statements.
I hate habitual liars like you; I find them detestable. WRONG
I hate habitual liars; like you, I find them detestable. CORRECT
King Charles 1 prayed half an hour after he was beheaded. WRONG
King Charles 1 prayed. Half an hour after he was beheaded. CORRECT
Unnecessary commas - putting a comma where it is not needed – leads to mistakes.
What is this thing called, love? WRONG
What is this thing called love? CORRECT
Leaving commas out leads to ambiguity (confusion).
In short long-johns are practical things to wear. WRONG
In short, long-johns are practical things to wear. CORRECT
Leaving commas out also changes what you think you are saying.
Sausages which are far from fat free, pose a problem for dieters.
Sausages, which are far from fat free, pose a problem for dieters.
2
The Full Stop
PURPOSE (1) You can use full stops to show when a sentence has finished.
Each simple sentence should only contain one idea which should make sense on its own,
e.g. It was bitterly cold. The ice lay thick on the pond. However, it was awfully
funny when we got to see the ducks falling on their arses.
If you want more than one idea in a sentence there are two ways to achieve this.
1.
COMPOUND SENTENCES:
This is where you combine two or more sentences to make one. This can be acheived by
using a conjunction word, e.g. and/but/or.
• I like to wear wellies. Bob likes to dig. We get together to do some gardening.
• I like to wear wellies,, Bob likes to dig,, so we get together to do some gardening.
2.
COMPLEX SENTENCES:
Alternatively, you can have a main sentence (i.e. something that makes sense on its own)
and tag on some bits that add to the sentence but wouldn’t make sense on their own
(useful if you want to reduce your word count and can vary your writing style). We have
an example, below, of turning two sentences into one.
• Bob likes to wear women’s clothing. He prefers to wear a nice, floral, tea dress.
• Bob likes to wear women’s clothing, preferably a nice, floral, tea dress.
PURPOSE (2) You can use full stops to show that you have abbreviated something.
In his paper, Aqueducts of our time, I. P. Freely stated that there were
many glorious examples within the E. U. and the Americas.
PURPOSE (3) You can use 3 full stops (ellipsis) to signify omitted details.
When I asked him if he wanted a cuppa he ended up telling me his entire life
story, “I had a cuppa back in 1973, while I was having a hair cut, and then in
1974… and bringing you right up to date…”
3
THE COMMA
•
You can use a comma for setting apart names and persons.
Are you meeting him tomorrow, John?
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that.
•
You can use a comma to separate words in a list.
Please put your shoes, coats, gloves and any valuables, in the lockers provided.
•
You can use a comma to enclose additional thoughts or qualifications.
The party, except for the small problem with the disco, was one of the best I
had been to.
Sausages, which are far from fat free, pose a problem for dieters.
These last two examples use commas to separate words, phrases or clauses which are not
essential to the sense of the sentence or main clause. For this you use two commas.
RULE 1.a
Where a phrase or clause does not define or qualify the subject
indicate that it is non-essential by isolating it with a pair of commas.
4
Some more examples –
My car, which is a lovely green colour, is the fastest one.
Mr. Green, who had a tattoo of Kylie Minogue on his left buttock, paused before he
entered the room.
Watch out for commas being misused. What about this one?
The two lead actors, who appear in ‘Grease’, won their respective roles after many gruelling
years in musicals.
The two commas tell us that the phrase who appear in ‘Grease’ is non-essential information. But if
you rewrite it without this phrase it doesn’t make sense. So the sentence should read:
The two lead actors who appear in Grease won their respective roles after many gruelling years
in musicals.
RULE 1.b
Where a phrase or clause defines or qualifies the subject
weld it to the subject by omitting the commas.
•
Can you change the meaning of these sentences by moving, removing or adding
commas?
He had large, bright, green eyes.
She liked Jim, who played the drums, better than Jeff.
Helen was a pretty, smart young woman.
Overnight fans had painted messages on the road outside his house.
Cliff entered the room with his wife and his books in a carrier bag.
5
EXERCISE 1
Insert commas where appropriate in the sentences below.
Tick any sentence that does not require commas.
1
The Vatican City which is the official home of the Pope is the world's
smallest country.
2
He carried the cat and the flowers in water into the lounge.
3
The human body has 636 muscles each with its own name.
4
He drove to the vet’s with his girlfriend and the hamster in the cage.
5
Penicillin which was discovered by Alexander Fleming has saved
millions of lives.
6
He wanted to give all his money to charity which seemed very
reasonable to me.
6
EXERCISE 2
Full stop, comma or nothing?
1.
I took a deep breath then I opened the door I peered nervously round the room
2.
I don't feel hungry I have already eaten a Mars bar.
3.
Having already eaten a Mars bar I don't feel hungry.
4.
Jane carried her basket to the checkout she placed a tin of salmon and a
packet of biscuits on the conveyor belt she checked she had enough money to
pay for them she had used most of it to pay her rent.
5.
While the postman was delivering the parcel the dog attacked him and ripped
his jacket.
6.
The old tramp peered out from under the archway he produced a bottle from
his pocket took a long swig from it and began to sing he then slowly sank to
the ground.
7.
The branches swayed one cracked and fell to the ground it narrowly missed
the car.
8.
He was tall dark and handsome but he was also very arrogant no-one liked
him.
9.
The lecture will be about Management Theory it starts at two o'clock.
10.
John has lost weight he hardly eats at all anymore.
7
The semicolon
Use a semicolon to indicate a longer pause than a comma,
especially where two sentences are connected in meaning.
•
Remember, a semicolon is used to join sentences which are closely related in
meaning. They may share a common subject or topic.
e.g. The ship juddered;; a rock loomed ahead and the captain tried to steer around it.
The snow had fallen heavily all day;; you couldn’t see the edges of the path.
•
Use a semicolon to stand in place of an obvious conjunction (a joining word).
e.g. I hate football; I like rugby. Compare this with, ‘I hate football but I like rugby’.
The semicolon places more emphasis on the contrasting statements.
•
Use a semicolon before words like
‘yet’
‘nevertheless’
‘however’
‘therefore’
also’
‘otherwise’
‘sometimes’.
This is used for effect as it attracts the reader’s attention.
e.g.
He was a fool;; nevertheless, he was loved by his family
and
Put the necklace back;; otherwise I shall call the police.
Remember a semicolon is used to join two closely related sentences
into one longer sentence. They may share a common subject or topic.
Punctuate the following, using semicolons.
1
A Bactrian camel has two humps a dromedary has a single hump.
2
Kerry hesitated as she went to slam the car door she checked the keys were in her pocket.
3
Her operation had to be cancelled this was a sensible decision as she had a cold.
4
The workforce walked out they could not tolerate the situation any longer.
8
Colon
•
•
A colon is used to separate two statements when the second statement amplifies /
explains / elaborates on / gives a reason for the first.
Because a colon can introduce an explanation or summary, if you are unsure whether
to use one or not, it might help to think of the colon as an equals sign (~).
•
A colon typically replaces ‘that is to say’, or ‘namely’, or ‘therefore’.
•
Colons also introduce lists.
•
Colons to explain, expand, summarise.
Here the colon is used to indicate that something will follow – an example, an
explanation or a summary.
Examples:
Henry was a good king: he was commanding, brave and treated his subjects fairly.
I have never liked cabbage: it is too soft, unattractive in colour, and smells terribly.
•
Colons for lists.
The commonest use of the colon is to introduce a list. The colon indicates to the reader
that something will follow.
Examples:
I have seen several plays at the Repertory Theatre recently: ‘Anthony and
Cleopatra’, ‘Saturday, Sunday, Monday’, ‘Cider with Rosie’ and ‘Translations’.
I disapproved of three aspects of his lecture: his incorrect reference to York, the
poor quality of his slides and his loud, booming voice.
9
Exercise your colon !
•
Insert colons to introduce these lists.
1
There was a variety of vehicles in his drive a caravan, a vintage
car, a classic motorbike and a brand new Rolls Royce.
2
She read three books during the Christmas holiday 'The Naked
Ape', '500 Mile Walkies' and 'Spycatcher'.
3
He applied to four universities Cardiff, Kent, Leicester and
Surrey.
•
Put a colon where appropriate in the sentences below.
1 The whole area was dark and deserted no street lights, no house
lights, nothing.
2 There was no doubt about it he was dead.
3 There was a sign on one of the doors 'Closed until further
notice'.
4 She had been smoking marijuana and taking other drugs since
she was thirteen. “Now,” said Mrs Turner, “she had gone on to
something worse heroin.”
•
By taking out two words and using a colon, try to make the sentence below into
one sentence.
The rainbow has seven colours. They are red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo and violet.
•
By using a colon, try to reduce the sentence below from three sentences to two.
The dodo was a big flightless bird. There are no dodos left alive
today. They are extinct.
10
EXERCISE 3
Comma, Semicolon or proper Colon?
1.
There is no cure for influenza you just have to let it run its course.
2.
There is a good explanation for the poor quality of your work late nights and too
much alcohol you must mend your ways.
3.
The unfortunate pedestrian who was hit by a runaway dustcart earlier in the week is
suing the local council but it is doubtful whether she will be successful the council are
denying responsibility.
4.
The course will consist of four modules economics maths statistics and finance there
will also be the opportunity to visit the stock exchange which as you know is in London.
5.
There are reasons to explain the serious flooding it has rained heavily everyday for the
last three weeks there have been high winds causing smaller rivers to be blocked by
debris and fallen trees the planning authority for some reason allowed six hundred
houses to be built on the old flood plain.
6.
The office block which was gutted by fire last month will be totally refurbished the
work will take a year to complete it is expected to cost several million pounds.
7.
Given the high cost of rail travel it is reasonable to expect a comfortable seat I was
forced to stand for most of the journey between London and Peterborough
8.
The students who joined the course late were given three weeks in which to complete
their assignment the girls who were more intelligent finished first.
9.
There is no reason at this point in time to panic there must be a sensible explanation
for this chaos though I cannot imagine what it might be.
10.
The academic year is divided as you know into two parts semester one and semester
two.
11.
The visit to the pizza factory will commence at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon
students should make their way half an hour before this time to the minibus which will
be outside the main entrance.
12.
Personally I am disappointed even shocked by the result of the election perhaps the
votes have been miscounted.
11
The Apostrophe
The apostrophe is used to show that a letter or letters has been missed out
Example:
•
Do not = don’t
it is = it’s
I shall = I’ll
they have = they’ve
The apostrophe is used to show possession, that something belongs to someone or
something else. In this case, think of the apostrophe as a mark which means ‘of’.
To show a single possessor the apostrophe comes before the
s.
Peter’s car.
To show more than one possessor the apostrophe comes after the s.
The drivers’ cars.
Examples
The boy’s
boy’s bike = one boy possesses the bike / the bike of the boy
The boy’s
boy’s bikes = one boy owning more than one bike / the bikes of the boy.
The boys’
boys’ bike = more than one boy share one bike / the bike of the boys.
The boys’
boys’ bikes = several boys each have a bike / the bikes of the boys
The dog’s
dog’s bone = one dog possesses the bone / the bone of the dog.
The dog’s
dog’s bones = one dog has several bones / the bones of the dog.
The dogs’
dogs’ bone = more than one dog share only one bone / the bone of the dogs.
The dogs’
dogs’ bones = more than one dog each have a bone / the bones of the dogs.
12
Some exceptions . . .
•
If the single noun (which is doing the possessing) already ends in the letter ‘s’, then
the apostrophe will come after this ‘s’, with or without a further ‘s’:
e.g. the dress’ material,
•
Charles’ grandmother.
While most nouns become plural by adding an ‘s’, there are others which change their
lettering instead.
e.g. ‘man’ becomes ‘men’, ‘child’ becomes ‘children’, ‘baby’ becomes ‘babies’.
Here, the plural noun takes apostrophe and ‘s’, unless the plural ends in an ‘s’ already,
in which case add only an apostrophe.
e.g.
the man’s shoes the men’s shoes
the child’s swing the children’s swing
the baby’s mittens the babies’ mittens.
Note: if this is confusing, there is an easy way to check if you have put your
apostrophe in the right place.
Simply check that what is before the apostrophe is the full name of the
possessor or possessors. i.e. ‘the babie’s toys has to be incorrect, because
the full name of the possessors, ‘babies’ in this case, is not in front of the
apostrophe. ‘The men’s club’ is obviously correct because the possessors are
‘men’, not ‘mens’.
13
EXERCISE 4
When do you need an apostrophe (and where?
1.
The organisations survival depends on current market forces.
2.
The Human Resources Department is concerned with the employees legal rights,
their developmental needs, and also their line managers annual appraisal.
3.
Crane operators have been recruited through advertisements placed in the last
few months issues of leading construction magazines.
4.
Analytical job evaluation involves breaking certain jobs down into their
component parts, such as skill, responsibilities and working conditions.
5.
The prospect of recession, where demand for the firms products may fall
steeply, has a harmful effect on prospective investors confidence.
6.
The companys accounts listed the main costs incurred throughout that years
operations.
7.
The hotels regular clients tend not to be discouraged by the weathers
unpredictability on this stretch of East Yorkshires coastline.
8.
The Lord Mayors chains disappearance was of interest to the countys police
force who were pursuing investigations into various thefts in the towns central
business district.
9.
Traditional payment systems distinguish between wages for manual jobs and
salaries for non-manual work.
10.
This evenings lecture on business strategies will be based on extracts taken
from several journals detailing experts findings on the subject.
11.
If you can remember the 60s you weren’t there!
14
Full Stops
.
Ellipses
…
BASIC
Commas
,
Semicolons
;
Colons
:
Apostrophes
’
Ending sentences
A unit that makes sense on its own should end in a full stop.
To denote
abbreviations
e.g. B.F.G. (Big Friendly Giant) and p.m. (post meridian), D. H. Lawrence
Omissions
However, you don't use them when it's a very common abbreviation (e.g. Dr, Mr, BBC)
or if they can be pronounced as a word (e.g. AWOL, NIMBY).
Particularly useful in long quotes when only using certain parts of the quote.
Trailing off
Has the same meaning as etc. (etcetera)
Items on a list
Joining sentences
e.g. My favourite foods are scampi and chips, steak pies, custard, mushrooms,
bananas and sausages.
e.g. The Vatican City, which is the official home of the Pope, is the world's smallest
country.
e.g. Jill asked, "Where's my pie?"
"There's your pie," replied Bob.
However, some people prefer colons, e.g.
Jill said: "Where's my pie?" (N.B. using a colon wouldn't work in the Bob sentence)
A Bactrian camel has two humps; a dromedary has a single hump.
Separating items on
a list
Joining sentences
(special)
Introducing lists
My favourite musicians are: The Darkness, because they’re cheesy; The Beatles, they
permanently changed pop music; Joni Mitchell; and The Spice Girls, as feminist icons.
i.e. where the second sentence justifies/expands upon the first sentence, e.g. Henry
was a good king: he was commanding, brave and treated his subjects fairly.
The rainbow has seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Contractions
To be avoided in academic writing, e.g. didn’t, can’t it’s (short for it is)
Possession
One thing
possessing
Numerous things
owning
Irregular plurals
SubSub-clauses
In sentences with
direct speech in
them
Things already
ending in S
The apostrophe goes BEFORE the S, e.g. this is Mike’s book on
anthropology.
The apostrophe goes AFTER the S, e.g. it was the ants’ trail that led
back to their nest.
Treat as if singular (e.g. men’s magazine, the mice’s noses, the people’s
choice) unless they already end in an S (e.g. babies’ bottles, ladies’
clothing).
either, apostrophe goes after the S or add on an additional S e.g.
Charles' or Charles's
15
Hyphens
-
MORE ADVANCED
Brackets
Quotation
marks
Italics
To make two words one
entity
e.g. big-headed, small-minded
To tag on certain
prefixes
e.g. anti- co- ex- mid- non-
It is also used to
indicate a common
second element
Round ones ( )
e.g. two-, three-, and fourfold
Square ones [ ]
References
(using
footnotes)
References
(using end
notes)
Editorial
clarifications,
additions &
omissions
In academic writing brackets are often frowned upon if commas can be used instead. However,
there are occasions when commas aren't heavy enough and with out them the sentence would be
ambiguous, for example: She went with Anne, her best friend and the lady next door.
e.g. For citations of particular parts of the document the page numbers etc. may be given after the
year in parentheses (British Standards Institution 1989, p.2).
e.g. For citations of particular parts of the document the page numbers etc. may be given after the
year in parentheses [1].
Then [1] British Standards Institution 1989, p.2 appears in the reference section.
e.g. Following which we all went out for some pie [at The Old Grey Mare?].
“The first noticeable product of the Hellenic civilization was [clearly] Homer.”
“To understand Plato […] it is necessary to know something of Sparta.”
Direct speech “ ”
e.g. “Hello there,” she said.
Quotes “ ”
Bertrand Russell believed that, “To understand Plato […] it is necessary to know something
of Sparta” (History of Western Philosophy).
He was generally regarded as 'the lesser of two evils'. This version has the advantage that it
demonstrates that you may not necessarily agree with this opinion.
General phrases
phrases ‘ ’
not attributed to a
specific author
Referring to titles,
names, etc.
In his book History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell states that, “Christianity, at first, was
preached by Jews to Jews as a reformed Judaism.”
Emphasis
e.g. However, that was years ago.
Sarcasm
e.g. Gosh, you’re so cunning. However, sarcasm has no place in academic writing: besides, it’s quite
difficult to discern the difference between italics being sarcasm and being used for emphasis in the
written form.
When citing passages of text that are more than 40 words long you should use italics. These also
require an indentation and are separated from the main passage by a hard return before and
afterwards.
Quotations
Capitals
Additional
Information
When starting a
sentence
Proper nouns
Someone's title
title
e.g. In the beginning…
e.g. someone's name (Bob), country (France), language (German), academic subject (Maths), a
town's name (Hull), etc.
e.g. Dr Jones is a doctor; St Michael is a saint; King Charles was a king.
avoid if possible
NOT ACADEMIC
16
Exclamation
marks
!
Question
marks
?
Dashes
—
Others
/@~&\%
Often used to show alarm or derision, their use in academic writing is inappropriate. If you wish to show alarm or
derision there are other tools that you can use, for example: short, staccato sentences; harsh punctuation (e.g.
using colons and semicolons instead of conjunction words); or use alliteration to add emphasis.
Question marks are used in direct questions. Generally, these should be avoided during academic writing.
Therefore, if you wish to pose a question in an essay it is advisable to reword it so that it is no longer a direct
question.
These can be used to replace numerous punctuation marks, e.g. speech marks, full stops, commas, colons and
semicolons. However, unlike their look alike the hyphen these are not appropriate in academia.
Unless you’re referring to something where these symbols are explicitly used (e.g. Helpdesk@hull.ac.uk) they
should not be used in academic writing, e.g. you should use and not &, per cent (in body of text) not % (only
acceptable in tables, graphs etc.)
Hyphen Exercises
Use hyphens to re-write these more succinctly:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
a boy with fair hair
a girl who is twelve years old
a flight that takes eight hours
a course that lasts three days
a man who looks suspicious
eyes that look sad
= a fair-haired boy
=
=
=
=
=
For which of these cases are hyphens necessary?
1.
my great grandfather
2.
a swimming pool
3.
a break in
4.
a waiting room
5.
a hold up
6.
forty four pies
7.
his ex wife
8.
a non smoker
ReRe-wording direct questions exercises;
1.
How does Dickens use imagery to demonstrate morality?
2.
What references does Hawkins make to The Simpsons?
3.
Why was it necessary to dissolve the rump Parliament?