Punctuation

Many people are confident and proficient writers but when it comes to punctuating
their prose their self-assuredness starts to crumble. There really isn’t any reason to
get all wimpy about it because punctuation isn’t that difficult. Seriously. Don’t let the
“Rules of Punctuation” stifle your flow. Here you can develop a feel for how
punctuation works.

The Period
Without question, the period is the most commonly used punctuation mark. That’s
because every sentence needs one and knowing where to place it is rather
straightforward; they go at the end of a complete sentence that is a statement.

I sat beside her on the couch and she told me about her vacation plans.

You also use a period after an indirect question.

Paul asked where his running shoes were.

And finally, if the last word in the sentence ends in a period, don’t add another
period.

Matthew just received his Ph.D. He is my nephew.

The Colon
If you haven’t been using colons in your writing you may want to reconsider. The
colon is one of the most helpful and easy to understand of all the punctuation marks.
You just have to remember one thing: it introduces. Colons can introduce just about
anything: a word, a phrase, a sentence, a list, or a quotation. Did you notice that in
the two preceding sentences colons were used to introduce first a sentence and
then a list? It’s that easy.

Here are some other examples:

Max has only one thing on his mind: food.

Max has only one thing on his mind: his next meal.
Max has only one thing on his mind: he wants to eat.
Max has three things on his mind: cheeseburgers, fries, and milk shakes.

In the above sentences a colon was used to introduce various things: a word, a
phrase, a sentence, and a list. Try incorporating colons in your writing because they
provide emphasis. When a reader sees a colon they have stop, and so they pay
more attention to what comes next.
The Semicolon
The semicolon is another important tool to have in your writing arsenal. This
punctuation mark is primarily used to connect two sentences. But keep in mind the
sentences must have similar content. Good writers always string together complex
thoughts and show how they relate. A semicolon is the perfect way to join two
sentences, or ideas, so your reader understands the relationship. For example:

Patricia is a great singer; she hits every note.

Notice that the second part of the sentence comments on the first. Obviously, the
example could have been written as two separate sentences but the relationship
wouldn’t be as emphatic that way. That’s because with a semicolon the reader
doesn’t have to come to a full stop so, therefore, the relationship seems much
closer.

Don’t use a semicolon if your second sentence begins with a conjunction. In this
case the conjunction and comma replaces the semicolon.

The Comma
The comma signals the reader to pause, just as flashing traffics light tell drivers to
slow down. There are four ways to use commas.

Use commas to separate items in series. All you have to do is place a comma
between each item of the list.

I went to supermarket to buy eggs, bread, milk, and chocolate.

Easy enough, right? The sticky part is whether to include the comma between the
last two items. Actually, you have the option of putting it in or leaving it out. Modern
writers believe the conjunction takes the place of the comma but it’s still acceptable
to use one.

You can also use commas between two sentences. Usually a semicolon is used
for that purpose but you can use a comma and conjunction to link the two together.

James will be traveling to Japan with us, and he has agreed to pack lightly.

Frequently, we use commas to attach more information to the front or back of

a sentence. The preceding sentence is a good example of what this means. A
comma was placed after the conjunctive adverb frequently.

Although she is tone deaf, Mary had no fear during open mike night.

The Apostrophe
Apostrophes let the reader know that a word is either a contraction or a possessive.
To form a contraction such as can’t, you’re, or don’t, simply collapse the two words
that make it into one and use an apostrophe in place of the missing letter.

Do not – don’t.

In most cases you make a possessive by simply adding an apostrophe s to the end
of the noun. The confusing part is what to do when a noun is plural and possessive.
In that case, you place the apostrophe after the s rather than before.

Bakers – bakers’

What do you do if you need to make a possessive of a singular noun that ends in s?
Just add an apostrophe s or just an apostrophe. Either is acceptable.

Charles – Charles’s or Charles’

This has been an overview of the most useful punctuation marks you will use as a
writer. Though you should now have a good feel for how to use them, you may want
to keep a good grammar book on your desk for when you run up on a particularly
perplexing problem. And remember, punctuation isn’t hard so don’t let it nibble away
at your writing confidence. You can punctuate with the best of them!

Periods, colons, and semicolons all have the ability to stop a sentence in its tracks, but for very
different purposes. In this lesson, learn how and why we use them in our writing.

The Period
In America, we call the tiny little punctuation mark that ends a sentence a period, but in other
English-speaking countries they call it a 'full stop', which is probably a better description of the
period's purpose. We don't need to spend much time discussing what a period does, since you
already know: it lets the reader know a sentence is finished. Full stop.

The Colon
The colon, as you can see, is a little different. It looks like two periods stacked on top of each
other. When an old Greek dude named Aristophanes of Byzantium invented this system of
punctuation, there were originally three dots looking like this, each with a separate meaning.

The English colon originated from the Ancient Greek three-dot colon.
The high dot, periodos, indicated a complete thought - that is, the full stop - while two lower dots
were called kolon and telia, and both indicated that only part of a complete thought was being
expressed. Since English borrows its tricks from many languages - ancient Greek included - this
vestige of punctuation remains. Only now, two dots means we're left with only part of a complete
thought, while a single dot (the period) tells us the thought is ended.
The colon, therefore, is a way of letting the reader know there's more to come to further
illustrate a thought after the main clause. This is usually in the form of a list, as follows. 'Dennis
brought along several items with which to win the lady's heart: flowers, fresh fish, a record of
death metal sea chanteys, and a tuba.' The sentence could end after 'heart,' but the colon adds
the additional information of what kind of items Dennis brought.
Similarly, a colon can be used to introduce not just lists, but entire clauses that add important
additional explanation. For instance, 'Today was turning out like one of his nightmares:
everyone was frowning and no one was wearing any pants.' In this case, the colon introduces
the information of what one of his nightmare was like.
Colons are also used to title or subtitle works, which is really just another way of adding
additional information related to the focal point of the sentence. As in, The Zombie Who
Wouldn't Eat Brains: A Children's Story. The first half of the sentence is the title, while the colon
introduces additional information in the subtitle, which is that the book is a children's story.

The Semicolon
Author Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, 'do not use semicolons...all they do is show you've been to
college.' He meant that as a chastisement to young fiction writers for being too pretentious and
not plain-spoken enough in their writing, but since you're following this course, you're either in
college or trying to get into college. So, you can do much worse than learn how the semicolon is
used! And whether are not they're good for fiction, the semicolon can be very helpful in your
formal writing.
So, the basics...a semicolon is used:

 To connect two independent clauses that are closely related to each other
 To connect transitional words and phrases within a sentence
 To keep items in a list that have internal punctuation separate

We'll address each one-by-one.

Connecting Two Independent Clauses

An independent clause is a clause with at least one subject and one verb that can stand on its
own as a sentence. That means independent clauses can end with a period and still be
grammatically correct. The independent clause can also be connected to dependent clauses or
other independent clauses to form longer sentences. When connecting two independent
clauses you can use a comma with a conjunction or a semicolon. When you choose to use them
is a decision of style, so let's look at a few examples.
'Cecilia's favorite animal was the narwhal. She loved it mostly for its unicorn horn.'
'Cecilia's favorite animal was the narwhal, and she loved it mostly for its unicorn horn.'
'Cecilia's favorite animal was the narwhal; she loved it mostly for its unicorn horn.'
Each of these sentences is perfectly correct grammatically, but the way they appear on the
page - more than the way they sound when I read them - makes a different impact on the
reader. In the first example, there's a definitive break making the two ideas separate, even if
they're thematically connected. In the second example, the conjunction actually makes the
sentence feel a little stiffer, as if the writer is trying to jam the two ideas together. In the third,
where the semicolon comes into play, it reads aloud basically the same as the first sentence but
without the full stop of the period and subsequent capitalization of the word 'she.' So, the
relationship between the two clauses is much chummier. That is, they seem like they belong
together. Technically, you can always use a semicolon to unite two independent clauses, but
you should really only use it when you want to suggest this kind of specific intimate relationship.