Top secret punctuation tips

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
09 PARTS OF PUNCTUATION

• Punctuation Cheat Sheet
• Using Proper Capitalization
• Using End-of-Sentence Punctuation Marks
• Using Commas
• Using Colons and Semicolons
• Using Hyphens and Dashes
• Using Apostrophes
• Using Slashes
• Using Miscellaneous Punctuation Marks

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
CHEATSHEET
Add Your Title here
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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Proper Capitalization

• Always start a sentence with a capital letter.
• Use capital letters to start proper nouns and
  titles.
• Use capital letters for acronyms.

• Examples
• She invited her friend over after school.
• Genghis Khan quickly became the most powerful
  man in Asia.
• The CIA and the NSA are just two of the USA's
  many intelligence agencies.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using End of Sentence Punctuation Marks

• Use a period to end declarative sentences and
  statements.
• Use a question mark to end questions.
• Use an exclamation point to end exclamatory
  sentences.

• Examples
• The accessibility of the computer has increased
  tremendously over the past several years.
• What has humanity done about the growing
  concern of global warming?
• Eek! You scared me!

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Commas

• Use a comma to indicate a break or pause within a
  sentence.
• Use the comma when listing items in a series.
• Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives
  describing a noun.

• Examples
• Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, is the
  developer of the operating system known as
  Windows.
• The fruit basket contained apples, bananas,
  and oranges.
• The computer store was filled with video
  games, computer hardware and other electronic
  paraphernalia.
• The powerful, resonating sound caught our
  attention.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Commas

• Use a comma to separate one geographical area
  from another that is located inside.
• Use a comma to separate an introductory phrase
  from the rest of the sentence.
• Use the comma to separate two independent
  clauses.

• Examples
• I am originally from Hola, Tana River County,
  Kenya.
• After the show, John and I went out to dinner.
• Ryan went to the beach yesterday, but he forgot
  his sunscreen.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Commas

• Use a comma when making a direct address.
• Use a comma to separate direct quotations from
  the sentence introducing them.

• Examples
• Amber, could you come here for a moment?
• While I was at his house, John asked, "Do you
  want anything to eat?
• While I was at his house, John asked me if I
  wanted anything to eat.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Colons and Semicolons

• Use a semicolon to separate two related but
  independent clauses.
• Use a semicolon to separate a complex series of
  items.
• Use the colon to introduce a list.

• Examples
• People continue to worry about the future
  our failure to conserve resources has put the
  world at risk.
• I went to the show with Jake, my close
  friend his friend, Jane and her best friend,
  Jenna.
• The professor has given me three options to
  retake the exam, to accept the extra credit
  assignment, or to fail the class.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Colons and Semicolons

• Use a colon to introduce a new concept or
  example.
• Use a colon to separate parts of a title.

• Examples
• There's only one person old enough to
  remember that wedding grandma.
• Fred's favorite movie was The Lord of the
  Rings The Fellowship of the Ring, though Stacy
  preferred its sequel, The Lord of the Rings The
  Two Towers.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Hyphens and Dashes

• Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to some words.
• Use hyphens when creating compound words from
  several smaller words.
• Use a hyphen when writing numbers out as words.

• Examples
• Cara is his ex-girlfriend.
• The up-to-date newspaper reporters were quick
  to jump on the latest scandal.
• There are fifty-two playing cards in a deck.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Hyphens and Dashes

• Use a dash when making a brief interruption
  within a statement.
• Use a hyphen to split a word between two lines.

• Examples
• An introductory clause is a brief phrase that
  comes yes, you guessed it at the beginning of
  a sentence.
• This is the end of our sentence or so we
  thought.
• No matter what else he tried, he just
  couldn't get the novel's elect- -rifying surprise
  ending out of his head.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Apostrophes

• Use the apostrophe together with the letter s to
  indicate possession.
• Use the single quotation mark within a regular
  quotation to indicate a quotation within a
  quotation.

• Examples
• The hamster's water tube needs to be
  refilled.
• In the pet store, the hamsters' bedding
  needed to be changed.
• These children's test scores are the highest
  in the nation.
• Friends of hers explained that it's her idea,
  not theirs, to refill the hamster's water tube
  and change its bedding.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Apostrophes

• Don't use apostrophes with s to make a plural
  noun from a singular.

• Examples
• Ali said, "Anna told me, 'I wasn't sure if
  you wanted to come!'
• CORRECT - apple ? apples
• INCORRECT - apple ? apple's

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Slashes

• Use the slash to separate and and or, when
  appropriate.
• Use the slash when quoting lyrics and poetry to
  denote a line break.
• Also use the slash to replace the word and to
  join two nouns.

• Examples
• To register, you will need your driver's
  license and/or your birth certificate.
• Row, row, row your boat / Gently down the
  stream. / Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, /
  Life is but a dream.
• "The student and part-time employee has very
  little free time." ?
• "The student/part-time employee has very little
  free time."

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Miscellaneous Punctuation Marks

• Use the double quotation mark ( " ) to enclose a
  direct quotation, whether spoke by a person or
  taken from a written source.
• Use parentheses to clarify.

• Examples
• "I can't wait to see him perform!" John
  exclaimed. According to the article, the value of
  the dollar in developing nations is "strongly
  influenced by its aesthetic value, rather than
  its face value.
• Steve Case (AOL's former CEO) resigned from
  the Time-Warner board of directors in 2005.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Miscellaneous Punctuation Marks

• Use parentheses to denote an afterthought.
• Use parentheses for personal comments.

• Examples
• You will need a flashlight for the camping
  trip (don't forget the batteries!).
• Most grammarians believe that parentheses and
  commas are always interchangeable (I disagree).

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
Using Miscellaneous Punctuation Marks

• Use brackets to signify an editor's note in a
  regular piece of writing.
• Use braces to denote a numeric set in mathematics.

• Examples
• "The blast was absolutely devastating,"
  said Susan Smith, a local bystander at the scene
  of the incident.
• The set of numbers in this problem are
  1, 2, 5, 10, 20
• Choose your favorite utensil fork, knife, spoon
  and bring it to me.

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CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH PUNCTUATION
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