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In this lesson, we will examine punctuation, including punctuation with quotation marks. We’ll also review how to identify incorrect punctuation in examples and practice questions in this lesson.
Punctuation marks tell us when to close a sentence (end punctuation), pause (commas), or use emphasis (dashes). In addition to these punctuation marks, we’ll also review colons, semicolons, hyphens, parentheses, brackets, apostrophes, and quotation marks.
We’ll just dive into the review about end punctuation. It’s short and sweet.
End Punctuation |
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Use . . . |
at the end of . . . |
Example: |
| Periods | all sentences except
exclamations and questions |
Periods are the most
common end-punctuation mark. |
| Exclamation Points | sentences that express strong
feeling or emphatic commands |
On your marks. Get set.
Go! |
| Question Marks | direct questions | What’s for dinner? |
Avoid using multiple end-punctuation marks.
Instead of: Did you really go to the South Pacific???
Use: Did you really go to the South Pacific?
Unlike the predictable end-punctuation marks, commas pop up everywhere in sentences. Commas help readers know when to pause and help clarify the meaning of a sentence. Without them, unfortunate sentences like this one occur:
While we cooked Uncle Albert prepared a chocolate torte.
Use a comma after a long introductory phrase, including a subordinate clause functioning as an adverb.
Instead of going to Dallas this year, we went to Albuquerque.
Because Cindi loved to study, she spent hours and hours in the library.
Ready to run, Daniel laced up his tennis shoes.
If meaning is not compromised, a comma is not needed after shorter introductory phrases. If meaning could be misconstrued, keep the comma.
Next week Marcus will begin the great American novel.
Use a comma before a closing subordinate clause that follows the main clause.
We climbed the summit at dawn, proving it could be done in a single day.
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction between independent clauses. This comma is not necessary if the two clauses are short and the meaning remains clear.
Use a comma: Passion flowers can bloom at any time during the growing season, but they predictably fill the hot months of July and August with color.
No comma needed: I recognized him and he walked away.
A comma is not needed between parts of a compound predicate, even when coordinating conjunctions are used.
Ryan went to the store and came back quickly.
Use a comma between short independent clauses.
We came, we ate, we saw.
Use a comma between items in a series.
Never underestimate the power of a light, a rope, and a bundle of sticks.
Chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pork and beans were the standards of my grandmother’s kitchen.
Use commas to set apart direct addresses.
Thank you, Albert, for the tomatoes from your garden.
Use a comma to set apart mild interjections and the words yes and no.
Well, who knew it would explode?
No, do not cross the street.
Use a comma after introductory conjunctive adverbs.
No one understands why Atlantis has never been found. Rather, it remains a mystery.
Use a comma to set apart the year in full dates. Notice that commas are not needed if the date is given in day/month/year format or if only the month and year are provided.
Jesse was born on May 20, 1981, the day before the family moved to Oregon.
After renovations were complete, Town Hall reopened on 21 March 1991.
Esther and George set off for California in January 1900.
Use a comma to separate parts of a full address or a place name. Note that commas are not used before zip codes.
I still remember the address I memorized in kindergarten; it was 701 Glenway Drive, Houston, Texas 77070.
Use a comma to set apart a title following a name.
Thanks go to Michelle Mayberry, D.D.S., for sponsoring our 10K run.
(Please note, though, that while this is true for the above examples, commas are no longer required after Jr., Sr., and the like.)
Use a comma after greetings and closures in formal letters.
Dear Mr. Richardson,
Sincerely,
Choose the sentence with the comma error.
Unlike the comma, some find it more difficult to “hear” when it’s appropriate to use a colon or semicolon.
Use a colon to bring attention to a list. Notice that a colon must follow a complete independent clause.
Remember to get everything on the grocery list: bananas, fizzy soda, eggs, and horseradish.
Most microprocessor factories have basic raw materials such as these: silicon, copper, and the technology to work with the tiniest circuits.
Use a colon between two independent clauses if the second sentence illustrates or summarizes the first. Note that a lowercase or uppercase word can follow a colon between two independent clauses.
Life is a candle: it can be extinguished without warning.
Many residents agree with this idea: All participants should contribute equally.
Do not use colons immediately after a dependent clause ending with a linking verb.
Instead of: My favorite colors are: indigo, navy, and midnight blue.
Use : My favorite colors are deep and dark: indigo, navy, and midnight blue.
Like colons, semicolons can be used to separate two independent clauses that are closely related. Notice that a coordinating conjunction could be substituted for the semicolon or colon.
Everyone thinks he wants what he deserves before he gets it; few people agree upon delivery.
In addition to separating independent clauses, semicolons can also separate other items from each other, such as phrases and list items.
Learning to change a tire requires learning about collecting the proper tools; jacking up the tire; removing the lug nuts and tire; replacing the new tire and lug nuts; and jacking down the car.
We confirmed the arrival of the bands Rock and Roll Kings; the Chili Cheese Dogs; and My Older Sister.
Finally, remember to avoid using semicolons before lists or quotations.
Identify the sentence with the colon error.
Like colons and semicolons, dashes separate parts of a sentence. Important note: on the keyboard, a dash is made with two hyphens side-by-side, like this: — . Many word processing programs will convert those to an em-dash. There should be no spaces before or after the dash.
Use dashes to set apart emphatic parenthetical information. Notice that dashes can be used to set apart appositives that contain commas.
Everything we were trying to achieve—whether you called it saving the rain forest or saving the planet—depended on this one decision.
Since the beginning of this project—a project that required more time, money, and experience than any other project attempted by this company—we’ve communicated clearly with each other.
Use dashes to add emphasis and to show interruptions.
Greg missed Carol’s smile—not to mention the $40,000 she owed him.
Mandy said, “The test results came back—are you listening to this? —and we’re all clear!”
As a final note, avoid overusing dashes.
Don’t use: But—why can’t we—we deserve it—and we want to go to the movies!
Like dashes, parentheses and brackets should not be overused. Parentheses and brackets set apart comments and detailed information from the rest of a sentence.
Use parentheses to separate side comments and detailed information. Notice that parenthetical remarks are punctuated as if they were part of the words they modify.
During Stella’s life (1888–1954), she helped repair over two hundred barns.
Please call me (555-1234) if you have any questions.
Use parentheses to set apart labels in a list.
Jack surmised that he had several options: (1) wait for Jill to come down the hill; (2) begin searching for her right away; or (3) eat his lunch and then make a decision.
Brackets are used in only a few specific cases.
Brackets |
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brackets to . . . |
Examples: |
| insert necessary information into direct quotations. | “[George Elliot] was indeed a woman.” |
| annotate accidental or purposeful errors in quoted materials. | The sign read: “No Childrens [sic] Allowed.” |
Apostrophes are used with possessive nouns and contractions.
Use an apostrophe to make most nouns possessive.
Possessive Nouns |
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To make these words possessive: |
do this: |
Example: |
| Singular nouns that don’t end in –s | add –’s | We went to Rachel’s house immediately. |
| Singular nouns that end in –s | add either –’s or just –’ | Dubois’ theory started the conversation. |
| Plural nouns that end in –s | add –’ | Both girls’ clarinets needed repair. |
| Compound nouns | make the last word possessive | Everyone recognized Millie and Kris’s grace. |
| Indefinite pronouns | add –’s |
This is everyone’s mess to untangle. |
Use apostrophes to highlight contractions and omissions in numbers.
We can’t say no again.
Remember the class of ’99?
Do not use an apostrophe to pluralize a noun or with possessive pronouns.
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Instead of . . . |
Use . . . |
| Many client’s leave satisfied. | Many clients leave satisfied. |
| Give the customer the last two lamp’s. | Give the customer the last two lamps. |
| Time has it’s way of healing. | Time has its way of healing. |
| That land has always been our’s. | That land has always been ours. |
Use quotation marks around direct quotations. Notice that direct quotations can be introduced with a colon or a comma.
My grandmother said, “You can do anything, not everything.”
Use these words to tell me how you feel: “I love you.”
Use quotation marks to set apart the titles of short works, such as songs, essays, book chapters, and short poems.
Emily Dickinson’s poem “There’s a Certain Slant of Light”
Langston Hughes’s poem “A Dream Deferred”
When Not to use Quotation Marks |
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Do not use quotation marks . . . |
Example: |
| around indirect quotations. | Jonathon insists that he always looks for the best in people. |
| around quotations longer than four lines. Instead, indent the selection. | Gwendolyn Brooks used poetic line breaks to capture the rhythm of an American English dialect and to emphasize the peril that its speakers faced. Her poem “We Real Cool” reads:
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| around the title of long works such as books, albums, and long poems. Use italics for these titles. | Shakespeare’s play Hamlet
Homer’s epic poem The Iliad |
Punctuation marks follow certain rules when they’re used with quotation marks.
If the quotation ends a sentence, put the period inside the final quotation mark. Note that if a page number or other reference is needed after the end of the quotation, the end punctuation is placed after the closing quotation mark and the parenthetical reference.
I could only quietly whisper, “Goodbye.”
Wilfred Owen opens his poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” with “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (72).
Place exclamation points and question marks inside quotation marks when they apply to the quotation; place them outside the quotation marks if they apply to the entire sentence.
Julie forced herself out of the plane with a loud command to herself, “Jump!”
Did Shakespeare really write that “the woods are lovely, dark, and deep”?
Place colons and semicolons outside quotation marks.
She penned a note to her sister that read “Remember to feed the cat”; however, the cat had been gone for over twenty years.
Use ellipses to indicate omitted material from direction quotations. The MLA standard, commonly used in high school and college English and liberal arts classes, has very specific requirements for ellipses and brackets.
Choose the answer that contains a quotation mark error.
Although not exactly punctuation marks, italics help readers distinguish related words and phrases from the rest of the sentence.
Italics set apart foreign terms that aren’t considered part of standard English.
Dia de los Muertos is my favorite day of the year.
We could use a little more gemutlichkeit in the world.
Do not use italics for foreign phrases that are considered standard English, such as “faux pas,” “blitzkrieg,” and “sushi.”