Punctuation Skills
PUNCTUATION SKILLS
Here are some important punctuation skills that will help you improve your writing
FULL STOP (.) place a full stop at the end of a sentence that is not a direct question or exclamation. Example: He walked quickly past the door. |
COMMA (,) Use a comma to show a natural pause in a sentence or to separate three or more items in a list. Example: No, there are no more seats left today. I bought a new hat, scarf, gloves and bag. |
SEMI-COLON (;) Use a semi colon to connect independent clauses in a compound sentence. Example: There were too many eggs in the mixture; the cake was bound to sink. |
COLON (:) Use a colon before a list of items or an explanation or an example. Example: I bought these items today: onions, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. Here is the reason why: I am going to prepare a stew tonight and need a range of vegetables. |
QUOTATION MARKS (") Use quotation marks to show direct speech. Example: "Here you are!" He said, "I wondered what happened to you." |
APOSTROPHES (') Use apostrophes where letters have been omitted, or to indicate possession. Example: I'll (I shall) go to the shops later today. That is the dog's blanket. |
EXCAMATION MARK (!) Use exclamation marks at the end of a sentence to show emotion such as anger, surprise or joy. Example: There was a loud bang! |
HYPHEN (-) Use a hyphen to join two words or divide a word that runs over from one line to the next. Example: Brand-new |
QUESTION MARK (?) Use a question mark at the end of a sentence to show that you are asking a question. Example: Do you like pasta? |