Punctuation

1. Punctuation

2. Semicolons • Use a semicolon between independent clauses that are closely related in thought and are not joined by and, but, for, nor, or so, or yet. • Terrence is a musician; he plays four instruments. • If there is not a close relationship between the clauses, do not join them with a semicolon. Write the sentences as separate sentences. • Nantucket is an island; it has an airport. (wrong) • Nantucket is an island. It has an airport.

3. Semicolons • Use a semicolon between clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb or a transitional expression. Use a comma after the conjunctive adverb or transitional expression. • Conjunctive: I was full; however, I ate more. • Transitional: I am annoyed; in fact, I’m angry. • Use a semicolon between items in a series if the items contain commas. • I want to visit Paris, France; Venice, Italy; and Vienna, Austria.

4. Daily Practice One • Some of the sentences contain closely related ideas that should be combined with a semicolon…others should remain as two separate. Either combine the sentences, or label them as correct. • 1. The soup is gone. Should I make more? • 2. Many events have been scheduled. For example, there are two concerts coming up. • 3. Jules is the yearbook editor. His father works for a newspaper.

5. Colons • Use a colon to mean “note what follows.” For example, use a colon before a list of items, especially after such expressions as as follows and the following. • Examples of plays by Eugene O’Neill are as follows: The Hairy Ape, Desire Under the Elms, and Long Day’s Journey into Night. • Do not use a colon before a list that serves as a direct object or an object of a preposition. • We served fish, a salad, and yams. --(Direct obj) • I have lived in Peru, New York, and Tyler, Texas.-- • (object of a preposition).

6. Colons • Use a colon between independent clauses when the second clause explains or restates the idea of the first clause. • The weather was perfect for sailing: The sky was clear, and the wind was strong. • Use a colon between the hour and the minute (4:20), between chapter and verse of Biblical references (Exodus 1:2), between a title and subtitle(Charles Drew: Surgeon and Teacher), and after the salutation of a business letter (Dear Mr. DeSoto:).

7. Daily Practice 2 • Insert colons where they are needed in the following sentences. • 1. Hikers need the following sturdy boots, light clothing, and a waterproof jacket. • 2. My paper was entitled “The Rain Forest Harvest of Shame.” • 3. The actor gave me advice Learn your lines, be on time, and don’t get emotional.

8. Italics and Underlining • Italics are printed characters that slant to the right. • When you are writing or typing, indicate italics by underlining. When you are using a computer, you can use italics. • Use italics (underlining) for titles of books, plays, long poems, films, periodicals, works of art, record albums, long musical compositions, television series, ships, and aircraft. The words a, an, and the before a title are italicized only when they are part of the title.

9. Italics and Underlining • Use italics (underlining) for words, letters, and figures referred to as such and for foreign words that have not been adopted into the English language. • In French, and enfant terrible is a person whose unruliness causes embarrassment.

10. Daily Practice 3 • Write down which words should be underlined or italicized. • 1. The Titanic was supposedly “unsinkable”; yet, the ship sank in 1912. • 2. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musicals South Pacific and Carousel. • 3. I often have difficulty keeping the words affect and effect straight in my mind.

11. Ellipsis Points • Use ellipsis points (…) to mark omissions from quoted material and pauses in a written passage. If the quoted material that comes before the omission is not a complete sentence, use three points with a space before the first point. • Original: Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing. • With Omission: Winning…is the only thing.

12. Ellipsis Points • To show that a full line or more of poetry has been omitted, use an entire line of spaced periods. • To indicate a pause in a written passage, use three ellipsis points with a space before the first point. • “Let’s see, …where was I?” Alexis said, trying to find her place.

13. Daily Practice 4 • Rewrite these quoted passages, omitting the parts that appear in italics. Use ellipsis points to indicate where the material has been omitted. • Open your eyes to the opportunities around you. Never give up and never say “I can’t.” • “Donnie came over. He has a ticket for you. He left a note on the door.” 3. Wishes, even those that seem impossible, can come true.

14. Hyphens • Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line. Do not divide a one-syllable word. • Divide a word only between syllables. • Divide a word that is already hyphenated only at the hyphen. • Do not divide a word so that one letter stands alone.

15. Hyphens • Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and with fractions used as modifiers. • Forty-eight actors two-thirds full • Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex-, self-, and all-; with the suffix –elect; and with all prefixes that precede a proper noun or a proper adjective. • Ex-president self-conscious all-pro • Governor-elect pro-American

16. Hyphens • Hyphenate a compound adjective when it precedes the noun it modifies. Do not use a hyphen if one of the modifiers is an adverb ending in –ly. • A well-written poem a thoroughly enjoyable play

17. Daily Practice 5 • In each phrase below, hyphenate the appropriate word. • 1. a wooded island in the mid Pacific • 2. a self fulfilling prophecy • 3 a fully lined jacket • 4. twenty senators elect

18. Apostrophes • The possessive case of a noun or a pronoun shows ownership or relationship. TO form the possessive case of a singular non or an indefinite pronoun, add an apostrophe and an s. To form the possessive of a plural noun ending in s, add only the apostrophe. • Bird’s nest The birds’ nest • A year’s pay two years’ pay

19. Apostrophes • Plural nouns that do not end in s form the possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s. • Children’s book the geese’s nest • Form the possessive of only the last word in a hyphenated word, in the name of an organization or business firm, or in a word group showing joint possession. • My mother-in-law’s car Al and Bob’s dog • Johnson and Johnson’s ad

20. Apostrophes • However when a possessive pronoun is part of a word group showing join possession, each noun in the word group is also possessive. • Al’s and my dog….his and Anica’s cousin • Use an apostrophe to show where letters or numbers have been omitted in a contraction. Do not confuse contractions with possessive pronouns. • Who’s calling It’s hot outside.

21. Daily Practice 6 • Rewrite the following phrases using possessive nouns and pronouns • A vacation of two weeks. • The home of Rosa and Lucas • A dance by her and Jiro • The nest of the mice • The teacher of her children • Trophies of amateurs

22. Dashes • Use a dash to indicate an abrupt break in thought. • This book-perhaps you’ve already read it-is excellent. • Also, use a dash to mean namely, in other words, that is, and similar expressions that come before an explanation. • Five dollars-the exact price of a ticket-is missing from my bag.

23. Parentheses • Use parentheses to enclose material of minor importance in a sentence. Be sure that the material could be omitted without losing important information or changing the basic meaning or structure of the sentence. • Tom Cruise (my favorite actor) was on television last night. • Lana (she married my brother) has offered me a summer job.

24. As shown in the example, punctuation marks are used within parentheses when they belong with the parenthetical matter. However, a punctuation mark is not placed within parentheses if the mark belongs to the sentence as a whole. • Dan brought my ticket. (What a nice guy!)

25. Brackets • Use brackets to enclose and explanation within quoted or parenthetical material. • The actor exclaimed, “This [award] means a lot to me!” • Lou Gehrig (baseball player [1903-1941])was a courageous man.

26. Daily Practice 7 • Write D if the italicized words should be set off by dashes. Write P if they should be set off by parentheses. Write B if they should be set off by brackets. • 1. Kirk Douglas born IssurDanielovitchhas been a popular movie star for years. • 2. W. C. Fields don’t you love his movies? was born in Philadelphia. • 3. Harry Lillis Crosby (commonly called “Bing” 1903-1977) was a baritone. • 4. Diana Ross a former member of the Supremes starred in a film version of Billie Holiday’s life.

27. Quotation Marks • Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation-a person’s exact words. Place quotation marks at both the beginning and the end of a direct quotation. Begin the direct quotation with a capital letter unless it is only part of a sentence. • He jumped in to the taxi and said, “Follow the car!”

28. Quotation Marks • When the expression identifying the speaker interrupts a quoted sentence, the second part begins with a small letter. • “I’m confident,” Luis said, “that we will win the championship.” • A direct quotation is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point. It is never set off by a period. • Gloria said, “There’s a special exhibit at the museum.” • “What is it?” I asked.

29. Quotation Marks • Commas and periods are always placed inside the closing quotation marks, and colons and semicolons are always placed outside the closing quotation marks. • He said, “No, I won’t”; I, on the other hand, said, “Yes, I will.” • Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside the closing quotation marks if the quotation is a question or an exclamation. Otherwise they are placed outside the closing quotation marks. • Hank asked, “Where are you going?” • What kind of an answer is “I don’t care”?

30. Daily Practice 8 • Add quotation marks as needed to the following sentences. Many will also require the insertion of end marks. • 1. She ran down the street yelling, Wait for me • 2. Plain women, said Katherine Hepburn, know more about men than beautiful ones do • 3. Who said, Beauty seen is never lost • 4. I describe my aunt Luna by saying, Her words are candy, but her actions are cod liver oil.