Punctuation is the art of dividing sentences by points or stops so as to make the meaning clear.
Comma ,
Semicolon ;
Colon :
Full stop or Period .
Apostrophe '
Dash —
Brackets ( ) { } [ ]
Hyphen -
Parenthesis "( )" "—" " , "
Asterisk *
Note of Interrogation ?
Note of Exclamation !
Quotation marks " ____ "
Comma ,
❒ The Comma, the shortest and most frequently used of all marks, is used :
(i) Between words of the same Part of Speech, or phrases of similar character:—
Ram, Shyam and Jadu went there.¹
He entered the room, wrote a letter, and then left the place.
A dull, heavy sound was heard.²
A tall, fair-complexioned man came in.
[ Annotation:
1. But according to Fowler, the following forms may also be used:
Ram, Shyam and Jadu, went there.
Ram, Shyam, and Jadu went there.
2. "The comma should never come between the last adjective of a series and its noun."]
"Grammarians differ on many points, but on one they are all agreed that: it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules for punctuation.
A man's punctuation is part of his style. You cannot put style on the statue book, and you cannot pat punctuation within the four walls of logic. Style is growth it changes from one generation to another and fashions in punctuation change with it." –Good and Bad English by Frank Whitaker.
"Like language itself, it (i.e., Punctuation) has had its changes through the years; we no longer punctuate like Swift or Johnson or Hazlitt or Dickens. Some of the differences between the punctuation of today and that of three hundred (or even two hundred) years ago are fundamental; others are merely matters of fashion or degree." – Good English by G.H. Vallins, P. 102.
NOTE: (a) But when only two words or phrases of the same character are joined by and, the comma is not required:
Ram and Shyam went there.
(b) When words go in pairs, the comma is placed between each pair:
Rifles and bayonets, spades and axes, drums and trumpets, littered the ground.
(ii) Between repeated words:
I will never, never go there.
(iii) Between nouns or pronouns or phrases in apposition:
Kishore, my brother, said this.
Akbar, Emperor of India, invaded Mewar.
(iv) Before and after the Nominative of Address :
Friends, listen to me.
I ask you, boys, to behave properly.
(v) After an absolute construction:
The sun having set, we left the place.
Dinner over, the guests departed.
To tell you the truth, I consider him a fool.
(vi) To indicate the omission of a verb :
Virtue leads to happiness; vice, to misery.
(vii) To mark off adverbial clauses or phrases, and also participial phrases that might be expanded into clauses :
In order that you may succeed, I shall help you with money.
Sajal, after he had left the place, went direct to the Magistrate.
Ram, having returned home (after he had returned home), went to see him.
Disappointed of the prize (because he was disappointed etc.), he left the place.
NOTE: When the Adverbial phrase or clause follows the Principal clause, place, the comma is often omitted, particularly when the phrase or clause is a short one:
Ben I was glad when I saw you.
He came after I had left.
(viii) Before and after words, phrases or clauses, let into the body of the sentences:
This, then, is my story.
I shall, however, help you.
He came, to the surprise of all.
A tiger, 2 metres long, was shot dead.
(ix) Between co-ordinate clauses and different subjects connected by and or, between co-ordinate clauses with the same subject, connected by some other conjunction:—
He is ill, and his father too is away.
He is away now, but will return shortly.
NOTE: But when the clauses have the same subject connected by and, no comuna need be used:
I came and found him asleep.
(x) To mark off noun clauses and adjective clauses, only when there is more than one:—
I do not know where he is, when he will come, or what his present state is.
He stood first in the examination, got a scholarship, and has now joined the Presidency College.
NOTE: A single adjective clause is not separated from its noun or pronoun, unless it is rather lengthy:
The dog I bought has died.
But :
The man, who promised to help me if I would approach him, has gone away.
(xi) After a long and complex noun-clause used as subject :
That his brother who has done so much for the club will be elected its secretary, is known to all.
(xii) Often, to mark off a relative clause used in a continuative sense:
I saw your brother, who told me this, who told this.
(xiii) To mark off a quotation:
He said, "I can do it."
Semicolon ;
❒ The Semicolon (;) denotes a longer pause than the comma and is used between co-ordinate clauses:—
(i) When they are not joined by conjunctions:—
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
I have heard his statement; it is an improbable story.
(ii) When they are joined by conjunctions expressing contrast or inference like therefore, yet, then, however, so, otherwise:—
He is ill; therefore he cannot come.
He helped me to his best ; yet I failed in my attempt.
He did not work hard; so he could not succeed.
(iii) When the parts are divided by commas. (Here a semicolon is required, because the comma has been already used to indicate a smaller division):
The boy, who had stood first in the examination, was given a very good prize; and it is expected, this will encourage him to exert himself still more to keep up his position.
Colon :
❒ The Colon (:) denotes a longer pause than the semicolon, and is used:—
(i) After a statement, complete in itself, when it is followed by another statement, or series of statements, connected with it without a conjunction, by way of example (often with a dash), enumeration (often with a dash), cause, result, or contrast:—
Examples of nouns of common gender are: parent, sovereign, child.
Send me the following goods: a good pen, some paper, one knife.
They were without provision: they suffered a good deal.
He stood first: I stood last.
(ii) Sometimes to introduce a quotation (often with a dash) :
He said: "Of all my friends, you are the best."
Full Stop or Period .
❒ The Full Stop (.) indicates the close of a complete sentence and is used:—
(i) After the end of a complete sentence:
He has gone away.
(ii) After abbreviations and initials:
A.D.; M.A.; Esq. ; Mr.* ; Hon.; the Rt. Hon.; W.H. Jones; inst.*
[Annotation:
* But the modern usage is to write Mr, Dr etc. (see POD & COD). This omission of the full stop in abbreviations is recommended only when the first and last letters of the word are used in the abbreviation. (MEU).
So in the above examples, Mr, Rt, inst may be written without any full stop. "1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on, need no full points." (A.B.C. of Eng. Usage).]
NOTE: It is becoming increasingly common to omit full stops from abbreviations, especially when an abbreviation is used more frequently than the full version and is beginning to assume the status of a word: TUC, BBC, MP, RAF, USA, UNESCO, NATO, UNICEF.
Note of Interrogation ?
❒ The Note of Interrogation (?) or Question Mark is used after a direct question:
Where do you go?
Can he do it?
But it is not used after an indirect or dependent question:
He asked me where I was going.
If the introducing verb itself is interrogative, a question mark is placed after the reported speech:
Did she tell you why he went there?
NOTE: (a) When a question mark occurs in direct speech, it is placed within the inverted commas:
"What are you doing?" he asked.
(b) A question mark need not be used at the end of a long request when the sentence almost loses its interrogative force:
Will you please arrange an early meeting of the members and inform us.
May I request you to kindly look into the matter personally and take an immediate action.
Note of Exclamation !
The Note of Exclamation (!)
(a) is used after words or sentences to express an emotion or wish or apostrophe :
What a sight! How strange !
Bravo! my boy. God forbid !
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour.
(b) It also expresses what is unexpected of amusing:—
And you said you did not know him !
Quotation Marks or Inverted Comma " "
❒ Quotation Marks or Inverted Commas (" ") are used –
(i) to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation :
He said, "Go home at once."
NOTE: To introduce a quotation within another quotation a single inverted comma is used at either end:
The teacher said to the boys, "Never say, 'I can't.' "
Sometimes the process is reversed:
The teacher said to the boys, 'Don't say, "I can't" '.
(ii) Often to indicate a word or the title of a book :
The word "write" is a verb here.
I have read 'Hamlet'.
Apostrophe '
❒ The Apostrophe (') consisting of a comma placed above the body of a letter is used:—
(i) To indicate that some letter or letters have been left out:
Can't (for cannot);
it's (or it is);
e'en (for even);
won't (for will not);
Hon'ble (for Honourable).
(ii) To indicate the genetive case of nouns and certain indefinite pronouns:
Mary's book; men's duty; girls' school.
NOTE: The exceptions are:
(a) Mars'
(b) for goodness' sake; for con sciences' sake;
(c) girls' school (plural noun ending in 's);
(d) men's duty (plural noun without 's).
(iii) To pluralise letters and figures:—
(a) Cut your t's.
(b) Add two 5's (in modern English-add two 5s-is in use).
Dash —
❒ The Dash (—) is used:
(i) To mark an abrupt break in sentence:—
"Here lies the great—false marble, where? Nothing but sordid dust lies here."
(ii) Sometimes to mark words in apposition or explanation :
I have lost my all—health, wealth and reputation.
Ram, Patit, Bidhan—all these boys were present there.
(iii) To insert a parenthesis, two dashes are sometimes used-one before, and the other, after:—
He told us—and he wept as he did so—how he had lost his all.
At the age of five—such is the power of genius—he could read English quite well.
(iv) To indicate a hesitating or faltering speech : I—er—I—that is, I have failed.
Bracket ( ) { } [ ]
❒ Brackets [( )] are used:—
(i) To enclose a parenthesis like a pair of dashes:—
He learnt (such is the power of genius) the alphabet in one day.
(ii) To introduce an explanation (as is done by the dash) :
I have lost all I had in the bag (five rupees).
Hyphen -
❒ The Hyphen (-) is a shorter line than a dash (—) used:
(i) To form compound words: father-in-law.
(ii) To carry a word on from one line to another: abi-lity, cab-bage.
NOTE: (a) The rules are not definitely settled in the case of compound words.
But generally compound words that have become familiar do not require the hyphen: football, blackbird.
(b) The distinction should be carefully noted between separate words, and a compound of the same elements :
He got up the ladder.
It is a got-up affair.
"Associated words which are otherwise unhyphened gain hyphen (or hyphens) when they are used as attributive adjectives. Thus—out-of-date (or up-to-date) records. But 'the records are out of date.' "—Good English by Vallins.
Parenthesis "( )" "—" " , "
❒ (a) Parenthetic phrases or clauses are generally marked off by commas, dashes, or brackets.
"Commas mark a less definite break in the sentence then dashes. Brackets are often used when the parenthetical words are in the nature of a definition, or an explanation."
The sun is, so to speak, the lamp of the universe.
This is, I think, the bare truth.
If you are in the wrong-and I am sure you are, whatever you may say why don't. you admit it?
(b) "Sometimes the parenthesis enters slyly into the structure of a sentence, so much so that you cannot pluck it out without injuring the sentence":
"What do you think he answered to me?"
"Who, do you suppose, he was?"
"Do you think and do you suppose cannot be separated from the sentences without spoiling the interrogative construction. 'Who he was' is not interrogative; if interrogative, it should be who was he? Sometimes the clause is marked off by commas, sometimes it is not." — Yates.
Asterisks **
❒ Asterisks (**) denote that some words or clauses have been intentionally left out :
My brother ** at last succeeded in getting the post.
