Transcript The Punctuation Police

The Punctuation
Police
Strike Back
(also the spelling and grammar
police)
By EJ Woolaston
The Apostrophe
’
This is an
apostrophe
How to Murder an
Apostrophe:
Fish and chip’s sold
here
WRONG
Fruit shop:
Banana’s for sale
WRONG!
When should you use
an apostrophe?
• For contractions e.g. don’t,
couldn’t, isn’t, it’s, haven’t
doesn’t
Problem contractions
• There’s - there is
• They’re - they are (not there or
their)
• You’re - you are (not your)
• Should’ve ( not should
of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Use an apostrophe
• For ownership
e.g.William’s hair,
Hannah’s curls,Jake’s
laughter.
Singular Nouns
• E.g. (one) father
Apostrophe before s
I.e. my father’s house
Plural nouns
• E.g. girls (more than one)
• Apostrophe after s
• E.g. the girls’ hockey team
Exceptions:
Its
ITS
• Do NOT use an apostrophe in
its if it is to show ownership.
• E.g. The horse raised its head.
It’s
• Do use an apostrophe
when it’s is used as a
contraction.
• E.g. It’s freezing out there!
Other exceptions
• Apostrophe before s when
plural does not end in s
• Women - the women’s dresses
• Children - the children’s clothes
• Men - the men’s shirts
An English professor wrote
the words:
“A woman without her man
is nothing”
on the board and asked
students to punctuate it.
All of the males in the
class wrote:
A woman, without her
man, is nothing.
All the females in the class
wrote, quite correctly:
“A woman: without her,
man is nothing.”
So…..
PUNCTUATION IS
POWERFUL.
And another thing …..
Punctuating Dialogue
• New line/paragraph for each
new speaker.
• Inverted commas around all
that is said including full stop.
For example
• He said, “You ought to be congratulated.”
• Note placement of full stop (and comma).
• “Next week,” said the teacher, “you are going
to have an awfully important exam.”
• Note placement of commas.
TIP: AVOID USING:
Too much dialogue in creative writing,
especially under test conditions
because:
• It’s hard to do well.
• It means you are not building character
and setting through effective
description.
While we’re at it ………
• Try not to misuse conjunctions.
• Do not begin sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’
or ‘because’.
• These are joining words - they go in the
middle of a sentence.
When is a sentence not a
sentence?
When there is no verb (or doing
word). E.g. “A tanned body with pool
bleached hair, blue eyes with the twinkle of
determination in them.”
ASK:
DOES THIS MAKE SENSE BY
ITSELF?
When is a sentence not a
sentence?
• When it does not contain a
complete thought. E.g.
“When I asked her.”
When is a sentence not a
sentence?
When is begins with a conjunction. E.g.
The man was wet. Because it was raining.
It was raining. So the frogs were happy.
The crocodiles were swimming fast towards
them. But the ducks weren’t watching.
WRONG!
How do you know when a
sentence ends?
• There is a complete thought.
• The next set of words also expresses a
complete thought.
• There is a distinct pause before next
set of words if read aloud.
For example:
The boy stood on the burning
deck and piteous were his
cries. His mother slapped him
across the face with a wet fish
and that soon shut him up!
However
A more common mistake is to continue a
sentence which is complete e.g.
The boys were running happily in the rain with
their dogs while their sisters played
comfortably inside/full stop here the dogs
were also happy but the cats were warm and
dry.
How many times has a teacher had to add a
full stop to your draft?
Capitalisation
Always capitalise:
• the first word of every sentence
• days of the week (Sunday) and months of the year
(February)
• The names of people (Elizabeth) and places
(Ipswich)
• The main words of a title e.g. Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom
The comma
• Use a comma to separate a series of three items.
e.g. I take my diary, workbook and two pens to class
every lesson.
• Use a comma after an introductory cohesive tie. e.g.
However, Therefore, For instance, In conclusion,
• Use a comma for names or information added into a
sentence. E.g. My brother, Harry, is twelve. His
teacher, who is tall, likes to play basketball.
Spelling
Common errors
• Remember the rules such as ‘i’ before
‘e’ except after ‘c’ e.g. believe, receive.
(There are many exceptions!)
• Watch for silent letters e.g. ghost,
wrecked, knocked
Spelling
Common errors
• Watch out for homophones - words that
sound the same but are spelt differently e.g.
your, you’re their they’re there aloud,
allowed right write rite sight site
would wood
Spelling
Common errors
Look out for words with double letters,
especially more than one set of double
letters, and make sure you get them all
correct. e.g.
accommodation, necessary, bigger,
better, swimming, possible, challenge
Commonly misspelled
words
desperate, sentence, thief, February,
definitely, doesn’t, coming, library,
except, examine, assignment, tonight,
beginning, because, thorough,
different,a lot (two words!), argument,
committed, conscience, conscious
Commonly misspelled
words
Embarrass(ment),equipment, existence,
foreign, gauge, grateful, guarantee, height,
humorous, leisure, lightning, maintenance,
miniature, mischievous, neighbour,
noticeable, occasionally, possession,
principle/principal (the principal is your
pal…),recommend, referred, restaurant
Commonly misspelled
words
relevant, rhythm, separate, sergeant, twelfth,
vacuum, weird.
Note all the obnoxious exceptions to the ‘i’
before ‘e’ rule!
You need to learn these words in preparation
for the QCST and for LIFE. Go over them at
least 10 times before QCST.
Tips
1. Thoroughly edit your own work before the
end of tests and exams.
2. Read the work aloud (in your head). Does it
sound OK?
3. Cover everything but the line you are
proofreading with a blank piece of paper.
Read slowly.
Tips
• Use your finger to point to each word
and punctuation mark one at a time.
• Proofread for spelling first then
proofread for punctuation then for
grammar.
DON’T just skim read!
Good Luck!
Remember, how well you do in the QCST
is not so much inspiration as
perspiration. That is, it is not all
intelligence. Skill plays a huge role in
improving your result so practicing skills
is very important.