Using Punctuation marks in English Grammar

Punctuation marks have an important role to play in every language. They help us understand the meaning of sentences clearly.

Important punctuation marks to be considered:

1. Capital letters A B C D         6. Interrogation ?
2. Comma  ,                  7. Parenthesis []
3.Semicolon ;                 8. Dash/ Hyphen -
4. Colon :                 9. Note of exclamation !
5. Full stop  .                10. inverted commas “ "

1. A Capital letter is used for the first letter in a sentence  -  This is English class.

for a proper noun - Palani lives in Chennai.
the personal pronoun 'i'  -  I am a student.
the interjection e.g.,'Oh!'  -  Oh! What an idea!
after abbreviations -  M.A., M.Ed., M. Phii.,
after initials  -  Mr.K.Prabhu

2. The Comma represents the shortest pause. it is used ,
    to indicate a short pause after a word, phrase or clause.
a) He came, he saw and he conquered.
    to distinguish a phrase in apposition [about the subject].
b) Mr. Ramesh, the Secretary of the Association, is my brother.
    to indicate words of address.
c) Sir, I beg your pardon.
    to separate words, phrases or clauses inserted into the body of a sentence.
d) Jawahariai Nehru, who was our first Prime Minister, had great love for children.
    to separate quoted sentences.
e) He said, “i am sorry.”
    to separate ‘absolute’ constructions e.g., having stopped.
f) The rain having stopped, they resumed the game.
    to separate day and date, and date and year.
g) Monday, the 5"‘ August, 6"‘ September,1992.


3. The Semicolon indicates a longer pause than a comma. it is used to ;
    separate word groups within the sentence that are not joined by a ' conjunction.
The chief guest came; the principal greeted him; then he walked up to the dais.


4. The Colon marks a more complete pause than the semicolon. It is used:
    to introduce a list.
The major novels of Kaiki are: Ponniyin Selvan, Parthiban Kanavu and Sivagamiyin Sabatham.
    to introduce a phrase, a group of words or a sentence that explains elaborates what has been said.
The problem facing us is this: where shall we get the funds?


5. A Full Stop is used at the end of a statement or an imperative sentence. .
    We enjoy our English lessons. Finish your home work. '


6. The Interrogation mark is used after a direct question.
    Who is Mrs. Kiran Bedi?


7. Parentheses or brackets are used to separate an after thought or as from a sentence. ( )
    All boys [including the richer ones] are given free uniforms and books.


B. The Dash/Hyphen is used to mark a sudden interruption in a sentence a in certain compound words -
    Kumar met an old man he was a foreigner and he spoke a strange language
    Life — style ; long — forgotten


9. Inverted commas are used to enclose words actually spoken by someone.
    The students said, “Who is our new teacher?"


10. An Exclamation mark is used after an exclamatory sentence.
    May God bless you!
Note the use of comma in the following sentence:
e.g., Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the President of India, saw a peacock in his garden.