Table Of ContentThe Farlex Grammar Book
Volume II
Complete English Punctuation Rules
Perfect Your Punctuation and Instantly Improve Your
Writing
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ISBN-10: 1537513907
ISBN-13: 978-1537513904
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Preface
Punctuation is essential to learning how to write. Only when we master
punctuation can we begin to perfect our writing. More than a dozen unique
punctuation marks are used in modern English, and each mark can change the
structure and meaning of our chosen words in both drastic and subtle ways.
When we speak, we control this meaning by pausing or changing the inflection
of our voice; when we write, however, the only way to convey this meaning is
through the correct use of punctuation marks.
This guide covers all the ways punctuation shapes the English language as it is
written today. Because of how varied the usage of punctuation marks can be, it’s
crucial to understand exactly how each mark can (or cannot) be used.
Each chapter in this guide focuses on a different punctuation mark, providing
clear examples that show not only how to use it correctly, but how to identify
and avoid common mistakes as well. Since many punctuation marks overlap
with one another in how they are used, this book contains many cross-references
to make it clear when and why one mark might be preferable over another.
Once you have mastered the basic rules of punctuation, your writing will
become much clearer, better structured, and more precise. You’ll be able to add
more nuance and variety to your writing without worrying about whether you’re
using the correct punctuation. With this guide, you will have no doubt.
Editor’s Note
This book is written according to the standard styles and spellings used in
American English. While major differences between American and British
English are usually addressed, some information in the book might not coincide
with the styles, tendencies, or preferences of other English-speaking
communities.
Table of Contents
About the publisher
Preface
Editor’s Note
English Punctuation
Periods
Exclamation Points
Question Marks
Commas
Semicolons
Colons
Hyphens
Dashes
Slashes
Apostrophes
Parentheses
Brackets
Quotation Marks
Ellipses
Other Signs and Symbols
Quiz answers
Index
Thank You
More from Farlex
English Punctuation
Punctuation refers to the specific markings, signs and symbols that are used in
and around sentences to give them structure and to allow for correct
understanding and comprehension.
Providing structure
If we think of words as bricks that build a sentence (arranged in a certain pattern
according to English grammar), punctuation could be thought of as the mortar
that holds the bricks together. Without punctuation, our writing would just be a
continuous stream of words that lacked structure, pacing, and, ultimately,
meaning. For instance, let’s see how this same paragraph would look without
any punctuation:
if we think of words as bricks that build a sentence arranged in a certain
pattern according to English grammar punctuation could be thought of as
the mortar that holds the bricks together without punctuation our writing
would just be a continuous stream of words that lacked structure pacing
and ultimately meaning for instance lets see how this same paragraph
would look without any punctuation
While it’s possible to discern some of the meaning, it becomes remarkably
difficult to understand what is being said when no punctuation marks are used.
Providing internal meaning
In addition to providing overall structure and clarity to sentences, punctuation
can also provide nuanced internal meaning as well; that is, sentences that have
the exact same words can have different meanings depending on which
punctuation is used (or misused). Let’s look at some sets of examples that
illustrate this idea:
“Brackets are also used to distinguish parenthetical information that appears
within a larger set of parentheses. (Informally, though, it is quite common
to simply use a second set of parentheses.)”
“Brackets are also used to distinguish parenthetical information that appears
within a larger set of parentheses. (Informally, though; it is quite common
to simply use a second set of parentheses.)”
Here, by changing the second comma after though to a semicolon, we’ve
changed what informally refers to: In the first example, it is referring to the use
of a second set of parentheses as being informal; in the second example, it is the
use of brackets that is now being described as informal.
Now let’s look at two examples involving more complex punctuation changes:
“If we look at our sales team’s report, an increase in consumer confidence,
an upturn for our July figures, and successful budget cuts indicate a very
promising second half of the year.”
“If we look at our sales, teams report an increase in consumer confidence—
an upturn for our July figures—and successful budget cuts indicate a very
promising second half of the year.”
The second sentence’s meaning is now different from that of the first in three
ways:
1) By placing a comma after sales and removing the apostrophe from
team’s, the information is no longer a part of the sales team’s report.
Instead, teams becomes the subject of the verb report, of which an increase
in consumer confidence is the direct object.
2) By placing em dashes around an upturn for our July figures, it changes
the information from being part of a list to instead describing an increase in
consumer confidence.
3) Finally, because of these changes, successful budget cuts is now not a
