GRAMMAR BUILDER - PUNCTUATION - CHEAT SHEET

FULL STOPS

Ø  Each time you change an idea in your work, you need to put in a full stop then start a new sentence.

Ø  If you don’t want to use a full stop, you need to use a joining word to join the two ideas together correctly. (It was really hot last Tuesday so Mum took us to the beach.)

·         If the word has been shortened, but the abbreviation ends with the last letter, you DON’T have to use a full stop. Dept- Department   St- Street

·         You DON’T have to use a full stop after measurements.  Kilogram- kg  centimetre- cm

·         You DON’T have to put a full stop after dates.  March- Mar   September- Sep

·         When giving the initial of a person’s name, you DO put in full stops.  Mr. S. L. James  Mrs L.V. Langford

·         You DON’T use full stops to shorten the name of a country.  United States of America -  USA

·         You DO use full stops when writing qualifications.  Bachelor of education-  B. Ed.

EXCLAMATION MARKS, COLONS AND SEMICOLONS

Ø  Use exclamation marks at the end of a word or sentence to:

o   Show we feel strongly about something

o   Say something urgent

o   Give a command

Ø  Colons usually introduces:

o   A list of things

o   An explanation

o   A quotation (when a writer repeats someone’s words to make a point)

Ø  Semicolons are used like a joining word to combine two sentences that are similar in meaning.  (Tom never goes to the movies; he prefers to hire videos.)

COMMAS

Ø  Use when you want a brief pause without talking about something new.

·         Use to separate lists of words

·         DON’T put a comma before the word and.

·         Use to separate the first part of a sentence from the rest. Helps to make the meaning clear. If I don’t feel better by tomorrow, I won’t be going to work.

·         Use to separate extra information from the rest of the sentence.  Our house, which we have just bought, is near the beach.   The commas allow for the added information which isn’t needed for the sentence to make sense.

·         Use when speech is about to be introduced.  The doctor said, “I will call you when I receive the X-rays.”

·         Use when a person is spoken to directly, you use a comma to separate their name from the instruction.  Amy, please come here.        Please come here, Amy.

APOSTROPHES

Ø  The apostrophe is used in two ways:

1. To show what belongs to something or someone (possession).  The book belongs to John= John’s book
2. In a contraction. When two words are shortened to one.  He is= He’s

• DO NOT use apostrophes anywhere else. DON’T be tricked into using an apostrophe just because you see an ‘s’ at the end of the word.
• DON’T add the apostrophe to the object that belongs to someone or something: the cats whiskers’ (incorrect).   The cat owns the whiskers so the apostrophe should be attached to the cat NOT the whiskers of the cat: the cat’s whiskers (correct).

CONTRACTIONS

Ø  A contraction is when you make two words into one.  I am= I’m

·         Always leave the 1^st word as it is but remove a letter or letters from the 2^nd word.  Use an apostrophe to show where the letters were.

v  ONE EXCEPTION:  Will not DOES NOT become willn’t.  USE won’t. 

v  LEARN THIS!

o   The contraction it’s (it is) is easy to remember but what about the word its?

o   It’s= it is:  it is wrong to say the dog wagged it is tail.  You would use its in this instance.

GRAMMAR - PUNCTUATION - WHAT ARE PUNCTUATION MARKS?

Punctuation Marks
Punctuation marks are symbols that are used to aid the clarity and comprehension of written language. Some common punctuation marks are the period, comma, question mark, exclamation point, apostrophe, quotation mark and hyphen.

Punctuation Mark	Symbol	Definition	Examples
apostrophe	'	An apostrophe is used as a substitute for a missing letter or letters in a word (as in the contraction cannot = can't), to show the possessive case (Jane's room), and in the plural of letters, some numbers and abbreviations. Note: groups of years no longer require an apostrophe (for example, the 1950s or the 90s).	I can't see the cat's tail. Dot your i's and cross your t's. 100's of years.
colon	:	A colon is used before a list or quote. A colon is used to separate hours and minutes. A colon is used to separate elements of a mathematical ratio.	There are many punctuation marks: period, comma, colon, and others. The time is 2:15. The ratio of girls to boys is 3:2.
comma	,	A comma is used to separate phrases or items in a list.	She bought milk, eggs, and bread.
dash	—	A dash is used to separate parts of a sentence.	The dash is also known as an "em dash" because it is the length of a printed letter m — it is longer than a hyphen.
ellipsis	...	An ellipsis (three dots) indicates that part of the text has been intentionally been left out.	0, 2, 4, ... , 100
exclamation point	!	An exclamation point is used to show excitement or emphasis.	It is cold!
hyphen	-	A hyphen is used between parts of a compound word or name. It is also used to split a word by syllables to fit on a line of text.	The sixteen-year-old girl is a full-time student.
parentheses	( )	Parentheses are curved lines used to separate explanations or qualifying statements within a sentence (each one of the curved lines is called a parenthesis). The part in the parentheses is called a parenthetical remark.	This sentence (like others on this page) contains a parenthetical remark.
period	.	A period is used to note the end of a declarative sentence.	I see the house.
question mark	?	A question mark is used at the end of a question.	When are we going?
quotation mark	"	Quotation marks are used at the beginning and end of a phrase to show that it is being written exactly as it was originally said or written.	She said, "Let's eat."
semicolon	;	A semicolon separates two independent clauses in a compound sentence. A semicolon is also used to separate items in a series (where commas are already in use).	Class was canceled today; Mr. Smith was home sick. Relatives at the reunion included my older brother, Bob; my cousin, Art; and my great-aunt, Mattie.

NOW…WRITE A SENTENCE SHOWING THE CORRECT USE OF EACH OF THE ABOVE.

PUNCTUATION EXERCISES

1.       DELETE incorrect punctuation and add correct punctuation where necessary.

(a)    You need only one thing in life, luck.

(b)   ‘Henry give me a hand with the dishes,’ pleaded Henrietta.

(c)    Cats communicate with their owners dogs talk to other dogs.

(d)   The book, that won the award, was incomprehensible to me.

(e)   He turns twenty one today.

(f)     The twins father was so proud.

(g)    We waited for the rain it didn’t come.

(h)   I love writers such as, Carver, Salinger, and Hemingway.

2.       PUNCTUATE this passage. Add capitals and paragraphs.

as the power dressed daughter knows best new woman strides down Collins st and into the 90s i flatten myself against a shop window and ponder the place of the passive in the next decade must i buy a  leather satchel and pad my shoulders to survive i doubt if the trappings of success can make a snapdragon out of a shrinking violet coming from an age when the meek were blessed and father knew best when children were seen and not heard and only seen if sanitized and smiling when pushy was frowned on and stepping back applauded I still balk at the high jumps of life.