ponctuation in english improve your english

ponctuation in english improve your english

Punctuation Mark	Use to...
( . ) Period	End a sentence: Dinner was delicious.
( ? ) Question Mark	End a sentence and denote inquiry: What time is it?
( ! ) Exclamation Point	End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for that tree!
( , ) Comma	Denote a break within a sentence or direct address of a person or group: Mary, listen to me. Separate any of the following: - Two or more adjectives: He is a charming, attentive listener. - Items in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour. - The name of a city from the name of a state: I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. - Two independent clauses: The waiter still hasn’t taken our order, and the play starts in five minutes. - Direct quotations: Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”
( ; ) Semicolon	Separate two related but independent clauses: I asked Anne to look at my computer; she has a knack for them. Separate a series of items that already contain commas: - For our wedding colors, I chose white, the color of innocence; red, the color of passion; and yellow, the color of lemons. - I have lived in Detroit, Michigan; Paris, France; and Sydney, Australia.
( : ) Colon	Introduce a list. For Christmas, I would like the following presents: a hula hoop, a hippopotamus, and my two front teeth. Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
( - ) Hyphen	Add a prefix: Trans-Atlantic flights are costly. Create compound words: Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. Write numbers as words: I have lived in this house for thirty-three years.
(– or —) Dash	Make a brief interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical phrase: Johnny asked me—with a straight face, I might add—if he could borrow the car for the weekend.
( “ ) Double Quotation	Enclose a direct quotation: “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”
( ‘ ) Single Quotation	Denote possession: I believe that is Allen’s pen. Denote contraction: I know it’s his because of the distinct monogram. Denote a quotation within a quotation: He told me just last week, “I do enjoy this monogrammed pen. My wife said, ‘Allen, it isn’t like people go around mistaking your pens for theirs all day.’”
( ( ) ) Parentheses	Indicate clarification: Please bring home some real butter (as opposed to margarine). Indicate an afterthought or personal commentary: Anyone can edit Wikipedia (not that there’s anything wrong with that).