Punctuation Summary
Diagnostic
Punctuation Diagnostic: a tool to help you identify specific points that need review
Quiz 1: beginning – intermediate
Quiz 2: intermediate – advanced
Punctuation Marks
Apostrophes: marking contractions and possessive nouns
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Aux Verb Contractions
- Word Contractions –
- Common Nouns–Poss
- Proper Nouns–Poss
- Other Possessives
- Pronouns–Poss
- Common Mistakes –
- Practice 1 – complete sent.
- Practice 2 – edit sent.
Also see Possessive Nouns (practices)
He's here. He'd be here if he could. He'll be here.
goin', don't, 'til, day 'n' night
The student's/ students', class's/ classes' textbook.
It is James's, Joneses' house.
It is Jack and Jill's, Jack's and Jill's house.
It's theirs (their home). There's its home.
My friend's computer
My boss's office
The children's room
A day's journey
My parents' computer
The Lincolns' bedroom
The Williamses' new home
Bulleted Lists: punctuating items in vertical lists
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Job applicants will need to have:
- a high-school degree
- a bachelors degree
- two years of experience
- three recommendations
Bulleted List Practice: finding errors in vertical lists
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Job applicants will need:
- have a high-school degree,
- a bachelors degree,
- at least two years of experience,
- and three recommendations.
Capitalization: using uppercase and lowercase letters
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Proper Nouns – names, titles, groups, countries, trademarked names, languages, buildings, planets, ships
- Beginning a Sentence
- First Person Pronoun – I
- Other Cases – months, days of the week, holidays
- Unusual Cases– biology, music, math and law terms, art and architecture movements
- Resources
- Common Mistakes
- Practice 1 – complete sent.
- Practice 2 – edit sent.
Also see Hyphens – capitalization in headings
capital &
lowercase
He took an Aspirin and lay down. (Trademark Bayer AG)
I took some aspirin to get rid of my headache.
Colons: explaining or illustrating
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Colon vs. Semicolon
- Introductory Phrases-Lists
- Time & Proportions
- References in Mail
- Capitalization w/ Colons
- Practice 1 – complete sent.
- Practice 2 – correct / incorrect.
- Practice 3 – edit
Also see Hyphens – capitalization in headings
He always took the same taxi: a yellow cab with Internet access.
My duties at Tzonga were as follows: planning, purchasing, organizing, and collecting.
My duties at Tzonga were, for example: planning, purchasing, organizing, and collecting.
Comma Uses: separating and setting off elements in a sentence
Beg.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Separating Elements
- Introductory Words
- Aside comments
- Commas Splice
- Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
- Practice 2 – edit sent.
Because a flock of sheep needs protection, the shepherd guards them.
The shepherd guards the flock of sheep because they need protection.
Comma Series: punctuating elements in a series
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Elements in a Series – nouns, verbs, phrases, etc.
- Ellipsis in a Series
- Comma before "and"
- Word Play
- Common Mistakes
- Practice 1 – edit sentence
- Practice 2 – complete sent.
See clauses with commas at bottom of this page.
He drinks pops and punches. (verb, noun, noun)
He drinks, pops, and punches. (verb, verb, verb)
Comma–comments: commas, parentheses and dashes; inserting comments within sentences
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Jay, my adventurous friend, is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay (who is fearless) is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay — can it be true — is kayaking to Alaska
Dashes(Em dash): setting elements off from the rest of the sentence
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Edward Lee — father, actor, businessman, and mayor — is running for office again.
For Example / That is to say: adding examples or clarification
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Calcium is in green leafy vegetables, for example, broccoli, kales, arugula, and spinach.
There is calcium in vegetables such as broccoli, kales, arugula, and spinach.
Cruciferous vegetables (i.e., Brassicaceae) have flowers shaped like a cross.
Hyphens & Capitalization in Headings: linking words to clarify meaning
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Two footstools sold for a half-million dollars at Sothebys.
Two-foot stools sold for a half-million dollars at Sothebys.
Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Treatments
President-Elect / -elect Barack Obama
trans-American (but transatlantic, transcontinental)
Italics: including titles of major works, and other terms in your writing
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Major Work Titles
- Film Titles
- Paintings & Photographs
- Web & Game Titles
- Word Terms
- Foreign Words
- Science & Math
- Aircraft
- Resources
- Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
- Practice 2 – complete sent.
- Practice 3 – edit sent.
The opera Rigoletto was written by Giuseppe Verdi.
Pablo Picasso's most famous proto-Cubist works are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937)
The best known video game, Mario Bros., features two plumbers.
Leprosy was caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
Parentheses: adding explanations and clarification to sentences
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
Parentheses (often overused) enclose explanations or clarification.
The American Kayaking Association (AKA) has a newsletter.
Periods: marking sentence ends, abbreviations and decimals
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Sentence Division
- Abbreviations
- Numbers
- Web Extensions
- Common Mistakes
- Resources
- Practice 1– correct/incorrect
- Practice 2– edit sent.
The UA flight will arrive at LAX on Sat., Sept. 21, at 6:00 p.m. PST.
Quotation Marks: marking quoted speech, titles of minor works and terms
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
- Quoting Speech
- Quoting Questions
- Ellipsis
- [sic]
- Blockquote
- Minor Works
- Unusual Terms
- Common Mistakes
- Resources
- Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
- Practice 2 – complete sent.
- Practice 3 – edit sent.
He said, "Time is money."
"What does that mean?" he asked.
Don't you agree "Time is money"?
Jim Dale performs eleven different voices for characters in "Lord Voldemort's Request" in the audiobook recording of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Semicolons: punctuating joined phrases
Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Speakers
The sandwich choices include tomato, bacon and lettuce; cheese, ham and lettuce; peanut butter and jelly.
He didn't want help; he didn't ask for it. (nor)
We needed to have a security report; otherwise, we wouldn't go.
The inner city has small narrow streets; for example, two cars cannot pass on a street in the old town.
Related (clauses with commas)
FANBOYS: joining independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions
Beg.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- FANBOYS — for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
- Conjunction types
- Common Mistakes
- Punctuation
- Beginning a sentence — and, but
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – edit sent.
She danced and waved a fan. (conjunction)
She danced, and he played the flute. (coordinating conjunction)
But / But still: stating contrast or contrary outcome
Beg.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- But/But still
- Contrast — but, while, whereas, on the other hand, in contrast to, however
- Contrary Outcome — but, still, yet, nevertheless, regardless, in spite of, despite
- Punctuation
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – multiple choice
like sugar in my coffee, whereas Edward likes black coffee.
I like sugar in my coffee in contrast to Edward who likes none.
One the one hand, I like sugar in my coffee.
On the other hand, Edgard does not!
I shouldn't eat sugar, but still I do.
Though I shouldn't eat sugar, I do.
I shouldn't eat sugar. Nevertheless, I do.
So Phrases: expressing purpose, cause-effect, or result
Int.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- So that/so…that
- Because/So
- Punctuation
- so…could
- So expressions
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – multiple choice
The baby reached up so that he could get some candy.
He has to pull down on the lever in order to get some candy to come out.
The baby got nothing, so he cried.
Too / Either: adding a positive or negative comment
Beg.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- Too/Either
- Positive/Negative
- Short Responses
- Common Mistakes
- But not too
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
I am eight today, and my cousin is too.
I am not a child, and my cousin isn't either.
I am excited. Me too! (informal) /
I am too!
I am not worried. Me either! (informal) / I am not either!
Nobody helped me. Me either. (negative pronoun)
We barely understand it. Me either. (negative adverb)
.
Both and: joining sentence elements with paired conjunctions
Beg.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- Addition — both…and, not only…but also
- Not only – aux. verb
- Punctuation
- Negative Addition — neither…nor
- Neither…nor
- Either…or
- Common Mistakes
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
Both the movie and the play were good.
Not only the movie but also the play was good.
Neither the movie nor the play was good.
Either the movie or the play was good. I can't remember.
But / But still: stating contrast or contrary outcome
Beg.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- But/But still
- Contrast — but, while, whereas, on the other hand, in contrast to, however
- Contrary Outcome — but, still, yet, nevertheless, regardless, in spite of, despite
- Punctuation
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – multiple choice
like sugar in my coffee, whereas Edward likes black coffee.
I like sugar in my coffee in contrast to Edward who likes none.
One the one hand, I like sugar in my coffee.
On the other hand, Edgard does not!
I shouldn't eat sugar, but still I do.
Though I shouldn't eat sugar, I do.
I shouldn't eat sugar. Nevertheless, I do.
Cause & Effect: indicating a causal relationship
Int.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- Consequently/Because
- Cause/Result expressions
- Cause "cuz"
- If only because
- Punctuation
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – multiple choice
She married at the age of thirteen because she had no other options.
She had no other options. Consequently, she married at the age of thirteen.
Illiteracy results from a poor childhood education.
A poor childhood education results in illiteracy.
Indeed / Even: emphasizing unexpected or extraordinary details
Int.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- Indeed
- In Fact
- Even/Even though
- Even if/Even though
- Common Mistakes
- Punctuation
- Practice 1 – multiple choice
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – multiple choice
His work is indeed more amazing than before.
His work is in fact more amazing than before.
His work is even more amazing than before.
After, Before, When: indicating time-relative activities
Int.. ESL, Native Speaker
- Present & Future Time Frames
- When vs. when
- Common Mistakes
- Past Time Frames
- Punctuation
- Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
- Practice 2 – multiple choice
- Practice 3 – edit sentence
When I [will] call the dog, she comes.
After I [will] call the dog, she comes.
Before I [will] call the dog, I open the door.
After I [will] make popcorn, we'll watch a movie.
When / While: indicating same-time activities
Int. ESL, Native Speaker
- Same-time Events — when, while
- Punctuation
- Common Mistake
- Grammar Notes
- Practice – multiple choice
When you called, he picked up his cell phone.
While he was talking on the phone, the baby slept.
Sentence Editing: correcting connector use
Int.– Adv. ESL, Native Speaker
- Review link – adding punctuation, removing wordiness, adding capitalization
- Practice – edit sent.
*Because I needed to miss a board meeting, so I notified the speaker.
Moved to Sentence Structure
