Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Punctuation

Punctuation Lessons
 Apostrophes. 
Apostrophes cause more errors than any other punctuation mark.Quick test
Using apostrophes
The apostrophe error with plurals (e.g. two cat's.)
Apostrophes in time (temporal) expressions (e.g. a year's salary)
Apostrophes replace letters (e.g. can't)
Apostrophes to show the plural of abbreviations (e.g. SOS's)
Apostrophes show possession (e.g. the dog's dinner, women's shower)


 Brackets. 
Brackets look unwieldy in official writing. This lesson on parenthesis explains when commas or dashes might be better options.A choice of parentheses (dashes & commas as alternatives)


 Colons.  
Used correctly, colons can make your writing succinct and effective.Colons to extend sentences (e.g. ...seen by two men: Jack and Tim.)
Colons in references (e.g. Para. 4: Section 2)
Using colons for introductions (e.g. ...with the following: a crow, a rook...)
Colons with bullet points
Colons with quotations (e.g. He joked: 'It must be Alan in the old tank.')


 Commas. 

The comma: grammar villain. Learn to use commas correctly.Quick test
After a sentence introductions (e.g. At four o'clock, she moved...)
After a transitional phrase (e.g. However, it is...)
After interjections (e.g. Yes, I know...)
Before conjunctions (e.g. ...the end, but only when...)
For parenthesis (e.g. Simon, the last man, saw...)
In lists (e.g. egg, milk and butter)
With a long subject (e.g. A, B and C, are required...)
With numbers (e.g. 2,232)
With quotation (speech) marks (e.g. He yelled, 'Get out!')
With the vocative case (e.g. I know what you mean, Simon.)


 Dashes. 
Dashes (long hyphens) are great for extending sentences or replacing brackets.Extend a sentence (with a dash if confused by colons & semicolons)
Parenthesis - a choice of parentheses (choose dashes, commas or brackets)


 Hyphens. 
Hyphens are mainly used to group words; e.g. free-range eggs.Hyphens in compound adjectives
Hyphens in compound nouns
Hyphens in prefixes
Alternatives to hyphens in compound adjectives (e.g. "Get out of here" eyes)


 Semicolons. 
When used correctly and sparingly, semicolons look tremendous.Before conjunctions (e.g. ...is true; but the other one...)
Before transitional phrases (e.g. ...she knew; however, it was...)
In lists (e.g. the master, aged 81; the servant, aged 19)
To extend a sentence (e.g. ...not hurt; one man injured his finger.)

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