by. Lesson 1, Rules of Punctuation
The lessons in this book serve four purposes. First, they let the students use the learning and memory skills they have learned up to this point. Second, they help students improve their spelling skills. Third, they help students learn to use punctuation in writing. And fourth, the lessons help students recognize words faster and increase reading speed. ..Rule 1:. Use a period to end a declarative sentence. (A declarative sentence makes a statement.) Examples: The sun shines brightly. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 attracted great numbers of settlers to that land.
..Rule 2:. Use a period to end an imperative sentence. (An imperative sentence commands or requests) Examples: Put the book back on the table. Please do as I ask.
..Rule 3:. Use a question mark to end an interrogative sentence. (An interrogative sentence asks a direct question) Examples: Can anyone come early this evening?
..Rule 4:. Use an exclamation point at the end of an exclamatory sentence or any strong exclamation. (An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling) Examples: What a day this was! (a sentence) What! (not a sentence)
..Rule 5:. Use a period after initials that stand for names. Examples: J.W. Brooks Don G. Martin W. Sherman Hall
..Rule 6:. Use a period to show an abbreviation. In most written work, avoid abbreviations. However, there are a few exceptions: Examples: a) Use the abbreviations Mr., Ms., Dr., and St. (Saint) before a name. Use the abbreviations Jr. and Sr. after a name. (Miss is not an abbreviation; use no period after it.) You may use Mrs. only if you know for sure the woman is married. Use Miss if the woman is unmarried or if she is retaining her maiden name for professional reasons. Mr. and Mrs. Jones - Dr. Smith and Miss Joyce Lee Mr. Lloyd Byers, Jr. - Henry Johnson, Sr. - St. Laurence b) To indicate the time, use the abbreviations A.M. or P.M., but do so with figures only. Good: I arrived at 11:40 A.M. - Poor: I arrived in the A.M.
..Rule 7:. Use a period with figures to show (a) decimals or (b) dollars and cents.
Examples: 6.4 (six and four tenths)
$3.60 (three dollars and sixty cents)
..Rule 8:. Use a comma or commas to set off a noun in direct address. A name used in speaking directly to a person is a noun in direct address, also called a noun of address. Examples: • Is this the place, Mother? • Laura, are you coming?
• I hope, John, that you will like the play.
..Rule 9:. Use a comma or commas to set off an appositive. (An appositive is a noun or pronoun that stands next to another noun and means the same person or thing) Examples: • Our team coach, John Daily, is a senior this year. • Our coach is a senior, John Daily. If an appositive word is made up of a group of words, the entire group is set off: Paris, the capital of France, is on the Seine River.
Do not use commas if the appositive is closely tied to the word that it explains: My brother Will is taller than I am.
..Rule 10:. Use commas to set off words inserted but not really needed. Examples: • That book, by the way, is mine. • You, of course, are welcome.
..Rule 11:. Use a comma after an introductory such as oh, yes, no, or well.
Examples:
Yes, I know him. Oh, I haven’t decided. Well,everyone is ready.
..Rule 12:. Use a comma or commas to separate the exact words of a speaker from the rest of the sentence.
Examples: • Mother said, “Thanks for mopping the floor.” • “It hasn’t been mopped yet,” replied Susan. • “Then,” answered Mother, “maybe you’ll mop it.” Do not use commas if the sense of the sentence calls for some other mark of punctuation.
“What a lot of dishes!” exclaimed Sue. “Will you help me?” she asked.
..Rule 13:. Use commas after the various parts of an address. (House number and street form one part, state and ZIP code form the other.) Example: Write me at 306 East King Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611, from now on. If the address ends the sentence, use no comma after the last part.
Example: Is his address 10 Elm Road, Mobile, Alabama?
..Rule 14:. Use commas after the parts of a date. (The month and the day form a single part.) Examples: We arrived home on March 11, 2009, just after dark. If the date ends the sentence, omit the closing comma. Examples: We arrived home on March 11, 2009.
..Rule 15:. Use commas to separate three or more items in a series.
Examples: • Books, pens, pencil, and papers have been put away.
• Jack opened the door, tiptoed in, and shut it softly.
..Rule 16:. Use no comma if the items are joined by and or or.
Example: Butter and eggs and milk made up part of his diet.
..Rule 17:. Use a comma before the conjunction that connects the two parts of a compound sentence.
Example: Ted is outside playing ball, but Mary is in the house.
..Rule 18:. Use a comma after an introductory dependent clause. (A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence.) The comma shows that the natural order of the sentence has been changed. Example: After the bell rang, the room grew quiet. The sentence would not need a comma if written in its natural order. Example: The room grew quiet after the bell rang. ..Rule 19:. Place quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker.
Examples: • David said, “My plans have been changed because of rain.” • “My plans have been changed because of rain,” said David. When the words that identify the speaker come between the parts of a quotation, put quotation marks around each part. Example: • “My plans,” said David, “have been changed.” If part of a quotation is a new sentence, use a capital letter. Example:
• “My plans have been changed,” said David. “Here are my new plans.”
..Rule 20:. Use no quotation marks with an indirect quotation. Example: They said that you were not going home at the time.
..Rule 21:. Use quotation marks around titles of short stories, articles, songs, poems, themes, and chapter titles. Example: This chapter is called “Improving your Writing Skills.” If the title comes at the end of a question or an exclamation, the quotation marks go inside the question mark or exclamation point. Examples: • Have you read that new book, “The River Runs South”?
• How I enjoyed reading the book, “The Skip-A-Day Diet”!
..Rule 22:. Use single marks for a quotation within a quotation. Examples: • Ruth replied, “Alan said to me, ‘Wait here.’”
• “Yes, ‘The Red Sky at Night’ was written by Bill Bigelow,” said Debbie.
..Rule 23:. In writing conversation, begin a new paragraph for each change of speaker. Examples: • “What are you doing after school?” asked Jean. • “My mother bought me two new CD’s,” replied Lucy. “Would you like to hear them after school?” • “I’d like to very much,” said Jean.
..Rule 24:. Use a colon to write the time in figures.
Example: Lunch hour is from 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
..Rule 25:. Underline titles of books, newspapers, and magazines. In print such titles appear in italic type. Examples: • Handwriting: Have you read the Call of the Wild? • Typewritten. We read the Honolulu Advertiser every day.
• Printed: Has the Honolulu Advertiser sponsor that event?
..Rule 26:. Underline names of ships, planes, and trains. In print such names may appear in italic type, as shown below. Examples: • Ship: Father sailed on the Olympic. • Plane: They call their plane The Ugly Duckling.
• Train: Is the Pride of Aloha on time on time today?
..Rule 27:. Use a hyphen in spelling out numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, to indicate the division of a word at the end of a line, or to indicate a missing or implied element (as in long- and short- term). term is missing Example: During the year Bill collected money on twenty-nine of fifty-two bad checks.
..Rule 28:. Use a hyphen to combine two or more words that form an adjective in front of a noun. Examples: • Your I-like-danger attitude worries me. • He has a down-and-out look. Note: Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line. Example: • The people who drove arrived six hours be-
fore the people who came on the bus.
..Rule 29:. Use an apostrophe in writing contractions. The apostrophe shows that a letter or letters have been omitted. The commonest contractions are made of (1) a pronoun and a verb or (2) a verb and the word not. Examples: a. you are = you’re (The apostrophe takes the place of a.) b. do not = don’t (The apostrophe takes the place of o.) Some contractions stand for more than one pair of words. Examples:
• He’s (He is) here now. • He’s (He has) been delayed.
..Rule 30:. Write won’t and can’t as the contraction of will not and cannot.
Examples:
will not = won’t
cannot = can’t
..Rule 31:. Use the contraction o’clock (of the clock) in indicating time: Example: Be there at four o’clock.
..Rule 32:. Form the possessive of any singular noun by adding an apostrophe and an s. Do not change any letters, and do not add or leave off any letters. Examples: • the car's right side • Charles's house • Bobby's book
• a hard day's work
..Rule 33:. To form the possessive of a plural noun, first write the plural. Then do one of two things: A. If the plural does not end in s, add ’s, just as in the singular. Examples: Plural Nouns: women firemen Plural Possessives: women's coats firemen’s hats B. If the plural does end in s, add only an apostrophe at the end of the word. Note: Some possessive nouns can be confused with a plural form of the same noun. Examples: • We have two Joe’s in our class. • Joe’s classroom is next to mine. To avoid confusion, say the word and ask the question what? Joe’s what? (classroom) since classroom answers the question what, you know Joe’s is a possessive.
Joe’s what? (nothing) Since nothing answers the question what, you know Joe’s is plural.
..Rule 34:. Use an apostrophe and s, to form the plural of the following: (1) figures (2) letters (3) signs (4) words referred to as words. Examples: • How many 4’s are there? • Your t’s look better than your z’s. • Put /’s after the last part of the web addresses. • You used too many but’s in that sentence. |