3.11: More Punctuation Rules

More Punctuation Rules 

Colons [:]

               1. To introduce a list

You will need to buy the following items: books, pencils, notebooks, pens, and erasers.

People can get all kinds of materials from a library: books, videos, DVDs, CDs, cassette tapes, magazines, professional journals, etc.

The following people came to the party: Lisa, Linda, Veleda, Roz, Willa, and Liza.

               2. To indicate time

8:00 AM
7:45 PM
12:00 AM midnight

3. Formal salutation in a business or legal letter

Dear Mr. Bourret:
Dear Ms. Baldwin:
Dear Dr. Williams:
Dear Professor Johnson:
To Whom It May Concern:

              4. To introduce an appositive or an amplification of what you wrote before the colon

The death of a child is a parent’s worst nightmare: there is nothing worse.

The man was a miserable excuse for a son: he often robbed from his parents and was known to hit his mother.

She was the most beautiful woman I ever saw: when I looked at her, she always made me forget what I was thinking.

 

5. To separate the main title and the subtitle of a book

Deceived, Used, and Discarded: One Veteran’s Thirty-three Year Vietnam War Experience
English Grammar through Guided Writing: Parts of Speech
ExpressWays: English for Communication

6. To introduce a quotation longer than three lines (indented on both sides with no quotation marks)

In Mahdi Ahmed’s story “The Hanging Tree,” he writes:

I walked down the main street of the village.  Somehow it didn’t look     quite the same as I had remembered.  But then, thirty years can change    pictures in the mind which have been put there by a twelve-year-old boy.

In the middle of the village, I found a shopkeeper who had been a friend of my father’s.  He was nearly eighty years old, but his actions were those of a much younger man.  And his eyes were bright, even though the nearly coal-black skin of his face had become deeply wrinkled over the years.

7. In the Bible, the Koran, and other holy books to separate chapter and verse

Psalms 23:6
Corinthians: 1:8

D. Hyphens [-]

1.  To separate words carried over from one line of writing to the next (Separate words only at the end of syllables and do not separate a syllable of fewer than three letters.)

The man wrote his auto-
biography in three months.
A friend of mine wants to study anthro-
pology at the university.   

2. In some compound words or a series of words used as an adjective

I love forget-me-nots.  They are such lovely flowers.

Many times when doing business, we need a go-between to help make a deal happen.

I am a seventy-year-old man.
I looked up and saw a fast-moving truck heading for me

E. Dashes [-]

                 1.  To replace commas when too many commas already exist in a sentence

                         I had my books, a magazine, lots of tapes – some old, some new – a DVD, and a CD.

John, my old friend, Bob, a new friend, and Tony, an acquaintance from work – all good guys – came to the party.

2. To indicate a series of uninterrupted pages, days or numbers

Pages 55 - 91
Ages 15 - 25
April 4 - June 9, 2020

3. In telephone numbers, extended zip codes, and social security numbers

789-3693
[phone]
980-27-3767

4.  To set off an abrupt break or an interruption in a thought in a sentence

When the boy saw the chocolate, his first thought – if he even had a thought at all – was to eat it as fast as he could.

My plan for life when I was a boy – like I ever really had any plans ever – was to have a good time before I settled down.

After a hard night of drinking with his friends, Henry went to bed – if you call the living room floor a “bed.”

F. Apostrophes [’s]

1. In a contraction

Don’t do that.
He hasn’t spoken to her in years.
You mustn’t use bad language in class.

2.  To show possession

My sister’s dogs have a very good life.

I spoke to the boys’ parents last night.

Leticia’s sister speaks very good English.

3. To form the plurals of letters and numbers

The boy got three A’s and for B’s on his report card.

There are two P’s in Mississippi.

I had five 1’s, two 5’s, six 10’s, and two 20’s in my wallet.

G. Parentheses (( ))

1. To add extra, often unnecessary, information

I was with my friend Roger at a meeting last week.  (When we were younger, we had a lot of fun together.)  The meeting was about teaching English to foreigners.

I ate two cheeseburgers, a large order of fries, a milk shake, and an ice cream cone for lunch.  (I wonder why I am fat.)

2. To use numbers within a paragraph or in a list

There are a lot of reasons to study English.  (1) You need it to speak to most Americans.  (2) Everything is written in English in America.  (3) Almost all jobs require people to speak and write English.  (4) Your children will need help with homework.

I need to buy a lot of things tonight at Safeway:

(1)  coffee
(2)  bread
(3)  cheese
(4)  beer
(5)  meat
(6)  milk

H. Quotation Marks [“ ”]

1.  Direct quote at the beginning of a sentence

“I want to leave right away,” said the young mother.

“Take me with you,” cried her son.

“Why do you want to go”? she demanded.

2. Direct quote at the end of a sentence

Laughing, he looked at her and said, “You are a very funny girl.”

She replied, “Maybe it is you who make me say funny things.”

Smiling, he whispered, “I’m really a clown at heart.”

3. Direct quote split in the middle of a sentence

“You are,” he shouted, “an idiot.”

“I,” said the startled boy, “am not an idiot.  You are the idiot here.”

“I am far from an idiot,” he sneered, “very far from an idiot.”

4. To indicate that a word is used sarcastically or incorrectly on purpose 

I love it when my dog “sings” to me when she wants to come in.

He did “just great” on the exam.  He got a 45%.

He “forgot” to pay when he left the store and ended up getting arrested.

She is really so “smart.”