Standard marks to express meaning
By DARSHANIE PREMATILAKE
Punctuation marks are a set of standard marks used in writing. They help to express the meaning clearly.
In English grammar, around 20 punctuation marks are used. Some are common and some are used in specific conditions:
period (also known as full stop, stop, full point) (.), exclamation point (!), question mark (?)
comma (,), colon (:), semi-colon (;), apostrophe (’),
quotation marks or inverted comma (single' ', double “ ")
hyphen (-), en dash (_), em dash (__)
brackets ([ ]), parenthesis (( )), angle brackets (< >), braces ({ })
ampersand (&), swing dash (~), stroke (/), eclipse ( … )
Punctuation marks differ in their purpose and their location in a sentence.
Period, exclamation mark, and question mark are placed at the end of a sentence while the colon, semicolon, hyphen, and dashes are found in the middle. Apostrophe and quotation marks help to signify a specific section and denote words spoken by someone respectively while parenthesis, brackets and braces may include additional information.
Specifically, punctuation marks bring life to a written piece of work. They are so powerful, without which, our writings will be so boring and colourless.
See the following dialogue which appears in Friends at Thrush Green by Miss Read (1990). Please note that all punctuation marks except periods are removed in the first dialogue.
As soon as Bertha had gone Nelly counted the packets. There were nine left.
Have not sold any yet she asked the girl.
Give us a chance replied Rosa grumpily. You only brought them ten minutes ago.
Just check them commanded Nelly.
Rosa obeyed.
Nine she said stopped and stared at Nelly.
Surely she never she began awestruck.
Never you mind said Nelly. It is me and Mrs Peters problem. You just hold your tongue.
So lifeless … isn't it? Do you feel like continue reading? I don’t.
Now, look at the following, adorned with proper punctuation as found in the novel.
As soon as Bertha had gone, Nelly counted the packets; there were nine left.
‘Haven’t sold any yet?’ she asked the girl.
‘Give us a chance,’ replied Rosa grumpily. ‘You only brought them ten minutes ago.’
‘Just check them,’ commanded Nelly.
Rosa obeyed.
‘Nine,’ she said, stopped, and stared at Nelly.
‘Surely, she never …,’ she began awe-struck.
‘Never you mind,’ said Nelly. ‘It’s me and Mrs Peter’s problem. You just hold your tongue.’
The only difference between these two dialogues is the absence and presence of punctuation marks. The first does not use punctuation marks while the second use eight types of punctuation marks.
And, see the difference it has made!
In the second dialogue, all spoken words are separated with quotation marks; queries ended with question marks; the surprise emphasized with an eclipse and so on.
Punctuation marks help to set the ‘stage’. You can feel the atmosphere in a particular situation. Punctuation marks bring out the characters, their feelings, how they react … and, it is easy to read and understand what the writer intends to say.
Identify the different types of punctuation marks and use them correctly to improve your writing. Pay particular attention to punctuation marks before publishing your work. See whether the correct marks are correctly placed in your manuscript.
Or, get a freelance proofreader to do it for you!
Link: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/punctuation
In English grammar, around 20 punctuation marks are used. Some are common and some are used in specific conditions:
period (also known as full stop, stop, full point) (.), exclamation point (!), question mark (?)
comma (,), colon (:), semi-colon (;), apostrophe (’),
quotation marks or inverted comma (single' ', double “ ")
hyphen (-), en dash (_), em dash (__)
brackets ([ ]), parenthesis (( )), angle brackets (< >), braces ({ })
ampersand (&), swing dash (~), stroke (/), eclipse ( … )
Punctuation marks differ in their purpose and their location in a sentence.
Period, exclamation mark, and question mark are placed at the end of a sentence while the colon, semicolon, hyphen, and dashes are found in the middle. Apostrophe and quotation marks help to signify a specific section and denote words spoken by someone respectively while parenthesis, brackets and braces may include additional information.
Specifically, punctuation marks bring life to a written piece of work. They are so powerful, without which, our writings will be so boring and colourless.
See the following dialogue which appears in Friends at Thrush Green by Miss Read (1990). Please note that all punctuation marks except periods are removed in the first dialogue.
As soon as Bertha had gone Nelly counted the packets. There were nine left.
Have not sold any yet she asked the girl.
Give us a chance replied Rosa grumpily. You only brought them ten minutes ago.
Just check them commanded Nelly.
Rosa obeyed.
Nine she said stopped and stared at Nelly.
Surely she never she began awestruck.
Never you mind said Nelly. It is me and Mrs Peters problem. You just hold your tongue.
So lifeless … isn't it? Do you feel like continue reading? I don’t.
Now, look at the following, adorned with proper punctuation as found in the novel.
As soon as Bertha had gone, Nelly counted the packets; there were nine left.
‘Haven’t sold any yet?’ she asked the girl.
‘Give us a chance,’ replied Rosa grumpily. ‘You only brought them ten minutes ago.’
‘Just check them,’ commanded Nelly.
Rosa obeyed.
‘Nine,’ she said, stopped, and stared at Nelly.
‘Surely, she never …,’ she began awe-struck.
‘Never you mind,’ said Nelly. ‘It’s me and Mrs Peter’s problem. You just hold your tongue.’
The only difference between these two dialogues is the absence and presence of punctuation marks. The first does not use punctuation marks while the second use eight types of punctuation marks.
And, see the difference it has made!
In the second dialogue, all spoken words are separated with quotation marks; queries ended with question marks; the surprise emphasized with an eclipse and so on.
Punctuation marks help to set the ‘stage’. You can feel the atmosphere in a particular situation. Punctuation marks bring out the characters, their feelings, how they react … and, it is easy to read and understand what the writer intends to say.
Identify the different types of punctuation marks and use them correctly to improve your writing. Pay particular attention to punctuation marks before publishing your work. See whether the correct marks are correctly placed in your manuscript.
Or, get a freelance proofreader to do it for you!
Link: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/punctuation
“I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a
comma. In the evening, I put it back again.”
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
comma. In the evening, I put it back again.”
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
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