?= (Question Mark or Note of Interrogation)
➢ It is used at the end of an interrogative sentence like: What is your name please?
Where do you live? What does your father do? Is it a rose? Was he happy to see you?
➢ It is also used in brackets to express a doubt: His mother died of cancer (?).
➢ Generally you have to stop for a second after this mark.
! = ('Note of exclamation' or 'Exclamation Mark')
It is used to express strong feelings such as astonishment, delight, and anger.
For example:
➢ What a huge snake (it is)! Wow! What a great shot (it is)! Go now! If I were a bird!
. = ('Period'. another name 'Full Stop')
After this mark, one must have a pause. It is used at the end of Assertive, Imperative, and Optative sentences.
Example:
➢ Faridul is a good boy.
➢ Do not run in the sun for a long time.
➢ May Bangladesh live long.
It is also used in abbreviations:
Example:
➢ Ph.D.
➢ M.Phil.
➢ M.A.
➢ B.B.A.
, = (Comma)
A comma is used
➢ to separate the items in a list such as mangoes, oranges, jackfruits, etc.
➢ to address someone: Dear Rakib, Dear Sir, My dear friends, etc.
➢ to separate Introductory 'Yes, No, Well', etc. to separate an adverbial clause when used at the beginning of a sentence (If it rains, I will not go to school).
➢ Before the Quotation Mark (e.g. My mother said, "Where are you going?").
: = (Colon)
A colon is used
➢ after 'thus, as follows, the following' (The list is as follows: rice 5 kgs, lentil 1kg, potatoes 2 kgs, and milk 2 litres.).
➢ to separate two sentences of which the second clarifies the meaning of the first (I know Professor Motiar well: we lived together for five years.)
➢ to separate the speaker and their speech or words ( How can I help you, Sajjad?).
; = (Semi-colon)
A semi-colon is used
➢ to separate different sense groups of a sentence or a list (Our English teacher asked us to stop playing; to start working in the garden; and then to go home.)
➢ If the clauses in a compound sentence are not connected with a coordinating conjunction like and, but, etc. (To err is human; to forgive is divine).
“ ” / ‘ ’ = ( Quotation Marks or Inverted Commas)
Quotation marks are used
➢ to quote someone directly (My father said, "Help the poor.")
➢ Indicate the names of books (King Lear, Shesher Kobita).
➢ Highlight a word ('l' is a personal pronoun).
’ = (‘Apostrophe’)
It is used to
➢ form the possessives (Rahim's book, Children's Park, Boys' School, etc.).
➢ make contracted form (don't, isn't, wasn't, etc.).
➢ indicate omission of a letter ( 7 O' Clock).
➢ form a plural of a number and a letter (five ten's make 50, How many A's are there in this word?).
- = (Dash/hyphen)
It is used to
➢ indicate an sudden change in a sentence (If I had huge money - Of course I should not talk about money).
➢ To emphasise a previous idea (Pankaj is a good student - perhaps the best).
➢ form compound words (father-in-law). (This is the shorter form often known as 'Hypen').
(1) {2} [3] = (Brackets)
Brackets are frequently used in Mathematics. But they are also used
➢ to give some explanations of some words or ideas.
Example: Some teachers use realia (real objects) in their teaching.
