Commas (,)

Commas indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence.

They tell readers to pause between words or groups of words, and they help clarify the
meanings of sentences. commas depend much more on recommendations and
usage than on many rules and mechanical conventions. They prevent
misunderstanding, so they should be used at logical places.

Commas are used to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses (sentence parts) in a
series.
The class includes freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

Practice will be held before school, in the

afternoon, and at night.
Commas are used after an introductory dependent clause (a group of words before the
subject of a sentence that do not form a complete sentence).
Because she wanted a good grade, she stayed up late to work on her paper.

If your friends enjoy Chinese food, they will love this restaurant.
Commas indicate that introductory words and phrases moved from the end of the sentence./
are used to set off introductory words, introductory adverbial, participial, or infinitive
phrases, and longer introductory prepositional phrases.
Before he was a professor, he was a missionary.

From: He was a missionary before he was a professor.

Incidentally, I was not late this morning. (word)

Hoping for a bigger fish, Rob spent three more hours fishing. (phrase)

By the time she crawled into bed, she was too exhausted to sleep.

Commas are used between independent clauses (complete sentences) joined by a

coordinating conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
My friends went to chapel on Monday morning, but I went to Kaleo on Wednesday night.

My dog had fleas, so we gave him a bath.

This is the street, but I dont know the number of the house.

Note: no comma is used unless each statement is independent. Example: You will
police the area and maintain a fire watch.

Commas set off nonessential phrases or clauses (the phrase can be removed without changing
the sentences overall meaning) or appositives (words or phrases that rename a noun).
My professor, who is really strict, said to turn the paper in by midnight.

From: My professor said to turn the paper in by midnight.

The man, I think, had a funny laugh.

Tanya, Debbie's sister, gave a brilliant speech last night.

Commas separate paired adjectives that describe a noun. You need a comma between
adjectives that could go in any order theyre not cumulative and could go in any order
theyre not cumulative and could be separated by the word and. Do not use a comma
between adjectives that need to be in a particular order, (cant be reversed). / To separate
coordinate or equal adjectives in a series

Yes: The coffee shop makes huge, delicious muffins.

Yes: I love my red APU sweatshirt.
No: I will bring my giant, biology book.
Yes: I will bring my giant biology book.

a loud, sharp blast

To prevent misreading
Undressing, the child ran into the bathroom.

Semicolons (;)
Semicolons separate clauses or phrases that are related and that receive equal emphasis. You
can go your whole life without using them, or you can impress your readers by using them
correctly!

Semicolons join two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related if no
coordinating conjunction is used. Semicolons signal to a reader that the information in both
sentences should be taken together.
Megan said she was tired; she had stayed up late doing homework.

We were planning to go get coffee; however, he wanted to go to Donut Man.

Michael seemed preoccupied; he answered our questions abruptly.

Semicolons help avoid confusion between items in lists where there are already commas.
She traveled to Dublin, Ireland; Valencia, Spain; and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Semicolons are used before a conjunctive adverb (transition word) that joins the clauses of a
compound sentence (independent statements)
The emergency room was crowded; however, Warren was helped immediately.

I submitted a request six months in advance; still, I did not receive a permit in
time for the departure

Quotation Marks ()

Quotation marks show the beginning and end of a quotation or title of a short work. When
citing, the quotation and punctuation rules change

Quotation marks enclose the exact words of a person.

C.S. Lewis said, God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is
not there.
Do not use quotation marks around a paraphrase or summary. or a summary of the author's
words
C.S. Lewis said that happiness and peace can come only from God.
Quotation marks set off the titles of magazine articles, poems, reports, and chapters within a
book. (Titles of books, magazines, plays, and other whole publications should be underlined
or italicized.)
"The Talk of the Town" is a regular feature in Time magazine.
Place periods and commas inside quotation marks.
The Writing Center consultant said, Heres a handout on commas.

Aida said, Aaron has a blue shirt.

Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks.
They call Jon Wallace J-Dub; hes the president of APU.

He calls me his "teddy bear"; I'm not a bear.

Place question marks or exclamation points inside the quotation marks if they punctuate the
quotation only.

If the sentence itself is asking a question or exclaiming, the question mark or exclamation
point sits outside of the quotation marks.
Its such a good reminder of Gods power when He asks Moses, Who decides whether
people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?
(Exodus 4:11).

Who said, The apple doesnt fall far from the tree?

Apostrophes ()

Apostrophes show possession and indicate where a letter has been omitted to form a
contraction.

To show possession, add an apostrophe and an s to singular nouns or indefinite pronouns that
end in one or body.
Jennys book
The Joness car
Somebodys laptop
The waltzs tempo
Add only an apostrophe for plural possessive nouns ending in s. Remember that the
apostrophe placement depends on whether there is more than one noun: students books (one
student), students books (more than one student).

Add an apostrophe and an -s for plural possessive nouns that do not end in -s.

Add an apostrophe and an -s for singular possessive nouns that end in -s.
My parents car the musicians instruments

The men's department, my children's toys

Chris's cookbook, the business's system

Do not use an apostrophe with possessive personal pronouns.
yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, whose, its
Apostrophes are also used in contractions, two words which have been combined into one, to
mark where the missing letter or letters would be.
I am=Im
cannot= cant
I have= Ive
they are= theyre
let us= lets
you are= youre,
hes/shes/its=it is
Colons (:)
Colons follow independent clauses and call attention to the information that comes after.

Colons come after the independent clause

(complete sentence) and before the word, phrase, sentence, quotation, or list they are
introducing.
Word: Lately, I have had only one thing on my mind: graduation.

Phrase: Lately, I have had one thing on my mind: graduating from college.

Clause: Lately, I have had only one thing on my mind: I cant wait to graduate.

List: Lately, I have had several things on my mind: homework, papers, grades, and finals.

The speaker quoted a popular saying: We grow too soon old and too late smart.

Never use a colon after a verb that directly introduces a list.

Incorrect: The things on my mind are: homework, papers, and finals.

Correct: The things on my mind are the following: grades, papers, and finals.

Correct: The things on my mind are homework, papers, and finals.

To separate two independent clauses (complete sentences) when the second one
summarizes or explains the first
Faith is like love: it cannot be forced

Hyphens (-)
Hyphens are used to form compound words or join word units. They are also used to join prefixes, suffixes,
and letters to words.

Use hyphens with compound numbers from twenty- one to ninety-nine and with fractions
used as modifiers.
Forty-two students

Three thousand five hundred and sixty-seven students

Two-thirds majority (Two-thirds is an adjective, here.)

Two thirds of the voters (Here, two is the adjective modifying thirds.)

Use hyphens in a compound adjective only when it comes before the word it modifies. There
are Exceptions, , some compound adjectives are always hyphenated, such as well-balanced;
look up compound adjectives in the dictionary if you are unsure whether or not to hyphenate
them.
a well-liked author/an author who is well liked

a world-renowned composer/ a composer who is world renowned

Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex-, self-, and all-; with the suffix elect-; and with all prefixes
before a proper noun or proper adjective.
all-star ex-mayor
pro-Canadian
senator-elect
non-European
self-control
self-image

anti-semite
Use a hyphen with compound phrases. Note: When describing ages, phrases that function as
adjectives will use hyphens, while numbers as adjectives will not use hyphens.
the nine-year-old, he is nine years old

Sister-in-law

All-or-nothing

Up-to-date
Also, note how hyphens can change meaning and use them accordingly.
a hot-water bottle (a bottle for holding hot water)

a hot water bottle (a bottle of water that is hot)

to re-press a shirt (to iron again)

to repress bad memories (to keep down)

Dashes (-)
Dashesoften confused with hyphensconnect groups of words to other groups of words to
emphasize a point, or show that the information is unessential, or to attach information at the
end. Usually, the dash separates words in the middle or at the end of a sentence.

Parentheses ()

Parentheses set off elements within a sentence that are related to the sentence but
nonessential.
Parentheses set off additions or expressions that are not necessary to the sentence. They tend
to de-emphasize what they set off. They are often seen as less academic in tone.
We visited several European countries (England, France, Spain) on our trip last year.

The progress report (Form #78) is submitted each week

Parentheses enclose figures/letters in a sentence enumerating parts.

Grades will be based on (1) participation, (2) in-class writing, and (3) exams.
When the group inside the parentheses forms a complete sentence but is inserted inside a
larger sentence, no period is needed. However, if a question mark or exclamation point is
needed, it may be used.
The snow (she saw it as she passed the window) was now falling heavily.
When parentheses are used to enclose an independent sentence, the end punctuation belongs
inside the parentheses.
Mandy told me she saw Amys new car. (I saw Amys car before Mandy.) She said it was
nice.

Slash: To separate paired terms (use sparingly) Example: pass/fail

producer/director
Italics:
To indicate the titles of books, plays, magazines, long musical compositions,
works of art, movies, and television show series : I highly recommend The
Technique of Clear Writing, by Robert Gunning.
To indicate use of foreign words: And there I was, en dishabille
To indicate that the writer is referring to a word... rather than to the sense that it
conveys: He mistook was for saw. Can you spell precede? / The m looks like a w
Period. To indicate that letters are used as abbreviations Example: Dr. Carle D.
Reynolds
Three Periods--Ellipses () To indicate that a portion of quoted matter is omitted
Example: To receive, obey, and pass on