Transcript punctuation - WordPress.com

PUNCTUATION
PUTTING IT ALL INTO
PERSPECTIVE
WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT
THESE IMAGES?
PERSPECTIVE, CLARITY, AND
COMMUNICATION
An image can easily be viewed
in more than one way.
Written communication can
also be misinterpreted or
vague if authors are not
careful and specific.
Grammar, punctuation and
mechanics, help to ensure that
the writer is clearly understood
by their reader.
BUT DOES PUNCTUATION REALLY
MATTER?
LET’S HELP JACK UNDERSTAND JILL’S TRUE
FEELINGS
Jill has written Jack a letter, but
has left out all of the
punctuation.
Jack is now confused about
Jill’s true feelings.
Take a look at the letter and see
if you can help Jack make
sense of Jill’s intentions.
JILL REALLY DOESN’T LIKE
PUNCTUATION
BUT DOES SHE STILL LIKE JACK? CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING:
Dear Jack I want a man who knows what love is all about
you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not
like you admit to being useless and inferior you have
ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no
feelings whatsoever when we're apart I can be forever
happy will you let me be yours Jill
HELP JACK SORT OUT JILL’S TRUE FEELINGS BY ADDING PUNCTUATION TO
THE LETTER
THE GOOD
Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You
are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not
like you admit to being useless and inferior. You
have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I
have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I
can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Jill
THE BAD
Dear Jack:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about
you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are
not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.
You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For
you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're
apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Jill
A QUICK RECAP OF THE BASICS
1. PERIODS
- ONE OF THE THREE PUNCTUATION MARKS USED TO END A
COMPLETE SENTENCE.
- ALSO USED TO INDICATE ABBREVIATIONS OF MONTHS (JAN.,
FEB., MAR.), ADDRESSES (AVE., ST., RD.), INITIALS (J.P. MORGAN),
MEASUREMENTS AND TIME (LB., OZ., HR., MIN., YR., A.M., P.M.,)
2. QUESTION MARKS
- CAN ALSO BE USED TO END A COMPLETE SENTENCE, BUT ONLY
WHEN A QUESTION IS BEING ASKED. THIS ONE IS KIND OF A NOBRAINER, RIGHT?
3. EXCLAMATION POINTS
- THE THIRD PUNCTUATION MARK THAT CAN END A COMPLETE
SENTENCE. EXCLAMATION MARKS SHOULD BE USED TO
CONVEY HIGH ENERGY OR EXCITEMENT. I LOVE PUNCTUATION!
I HAVE NO COMMA SENSE!
The comma is the most frequently used (and abused)
form of punctuation in the English language.
MISSING
COMMA
TURNS COOK
INTO
CANNIBAL!
A COMMA COULD MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
AN INTERNET PREDATOR AND THE BEST A-TEAM
HERO EVER!
COMMAS ARE THE HARDEST
WORKING PUNCTUATION SIGN
EVER!
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction
(REMEMBER FANBOYS) that introduces an
independent clause
FOR EXAMPLE:
Build a man a fire, and he’s warm for a day.
Set a man on fire, and he’s warm for the rest of
his life.
Use a comma after conjunctive adverbs*
FOR EXAMPLE
To steal an idea from one person is plagiarism;
however, to steal ideas from many is research.
Use a comma after an introductory clause
FOR EXAMPLE
If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy
her friends?
HELPFUL HINT: look for the subject and the verb in a sentence. If
something comes before both the subject and the verb, it’s probably
an introduction.
* A conjunctive adverb is an adverb that does the job of a conjunction. They link
two sentences and show how the two are related. Here are some conjunctive
adverbs: however, finally, furthermore, indeed, meanwhile, nevertheless,
therefore, unfortunately.
Use a comma in lists or between consecutive
adjectives that describe the same noun
FOR EXAMPLE
I used to be a beautiful woman. But now,
everything has drooped, expanded, or turned a
funny color.
OR
Happiness is having a large, loving, close-knit
family that lives in another city.
A TRICK TO REMEMBER: Use a comma if you can switch the order
of the adjectives and the sentence will still make sense.
OTHER COMMON PLACES FOR
COMMAS
1.
2.
3.
4.
AFTER AN INTERJECTION (Alas, Egad, Yolo,)
AFTER GREETINGS AND BEFORE CLOSINGS IN LETTERS (Dear John,)
BETWEEN CITIES AND STATES
WITH DIRECT QUOTATIONS (“It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an
eye,” said the teacher, “and then it’s just fun you can’t see.”
5. BETWEEN REPEATED WORDS (Blah, blah, blah. Grammar is so boring.)
6. BEFORE AND AFTER AN APPOSITIVE (An appositive explains who or what a
noun is. For example: Our student teacher, Ms. Sardella, is the greatest
student teacher ever.)
Confused? Overwhelmed? Ready to jump out of a window
screaming? Don’t worry. Here’s a tip to remember: in many
cases, commas occur where you would pause for a little
breath when saying a sentence out loud. Therefore, if you
feel like you might just pass out from lack of oxygen, you
probably need a comma!
SEMICOLONS
Use a semicolon between two complete sentences
that are very closely related.
FOR EXAMPLE
I am from Europe; it’s where the history comes from.
Remember those conjunctive adverbs? You need to
use a semicolon before one of them.
FOR EXAMPLE
It’s important to be sober when taking an exam;
indeed, many careers in the subway-guitar-playing
industry have been founded on a lack of
understanding of this simple fact.
COLONS
Use a colon when you want to suggest that an
example will follow.
FOR EXAMPLE: This is an example of how a
colon should be used.
You should also use a colon before a list.
FOR EXAMPLE
Many people meeting him for the first time
formed three impressions: that he was
English, that he was intelligent, and that he
was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on
nitrous oxide.
Can I quote you on that?
The most common use of quotation marks is the
enclose what someone says.
FOR EXAMPLE
“It would seem that you have no useful skill or
talent whatsoever," he said. "Have you thought
of going into teaching?”
OR
“What’s a philosopher?” she asked. “Someone
who’s bright enough to find a job with no heavy
lifting,” he replied.
In or Out?
Here are a few tricks to remember when punctuation goes
inside or outside of the quotation marks:
1.Commas and periods always go inside the quotation mark.
2.Colons and semicolons always go outside the quotation
mark.
3.Questions and exclamations can be tricky. If only the
quotation is a question or exclamatory remark, then the
punctuation goes inside. If the whole sentence is a question
or exclamatory remark but the quotation itself is not, then
the punctuation goes outside.
He asked, “Is that you?”
OR
VS
I think he’s the one who yelled, “Fire!”
Are you the girl who asked, “Is that you”?
OR
I was furious when he said, “Drop dead”!