PUNCTUATION

Effective Business Communication

by

Herta A Murphy

Herbert W Hildebrandt

Jane P. Thomas

PUNCTUATION

A change in punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. Using the conventions for period, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, exclamation mark, quotation mark, ellipsis, apostrophe, brackets, and so on - and using them correctly – shows that you know what you are doing when you write.

1. End Punctuation

The full stop at the end of every written sentence requires one of the three marks of punctuations: a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point.

Which mark you use at the end of a sentence depends largely on the meaning you wish to express:

• They won

• They won.

• They won?

• They won!

1.a. Period (.)

Periods at the end of sentences

Use a period at the end of a sentence, a mild command, or a polite request.

• The administration has cancelled the classes.

• Do not attempt to drive to school this morning.

• Please sit down.

Use a period, not a question mark, after an indirect question (a question that is reported but not asked directly).

• I wonder who made the decision. Use a single period to end the sentence

when an abbreviation containing a period falls at the end of a sentence.

• Her flight leaves at 6:15 a.m.

Periods with abbreviationsUse a period in most abbreviations.

Mr. Mrs. Ms. Kg.

Km. Yd. etc. e.g.

Dr. Atty. Mon. Jan.

Vol. Fig. Do not use a space after the periods in

abbreviations that stand for more than one word.

U.S. U.K. B.A. M.D. Do not use periods with acronyms (Words

formed from initials and pronounced as words) or with abbreviated names of

government agencies.

WAPDA NASA NATO FIA

FBI CIA IBM PTCL

1.b Question Marks (?) Use question mark at the end of direct questions.• Where is Regal Chowk?• How I can get there? Use a question mark or a period at the end of a polite request.

A question mark emphasizes politeness.

• Would you please sit down?Use a question mark for a sentence with a

dependent clause containing a question when the independent clause is a question.

Are you asking me which train to take?

(independent clause)

(dependent clause)

He wants to know how he can get to Times square.

(independent clause)

(dependent clause)

Use a question mark when a sentence ends with a tag question (one that is added at the end).

• This train goes to Karachi, doesn’t it?Use a question mark for a direct question

in quotation mark. The ? is enclosed within the quotation marks.

• “Have we missed the train?” She wailed.

Use a question mark after each question in a series of questions, even if they are not complete sentences.

Where did Mario go? Did he go to the library? To the auditorium? To the class?

Use a question mark after a group of words between dashes when it constitutes a direct question.

When the phone rang – was it 7:A.M. already? – I jumped out of bed.

1.c Exclamation Points (!)Use an exclamation mark to convey emphasis and strong emotion in sentences.Wow! It’s late!Stop the train!We have won the match!In a direct quotation, place the exclamation point inside the quotation marks.“Ouch!” my brother cried. “That hurts!”

Use an exclamation point after a group of words between dashes when it constitutes an exclamation.

They told me - I couldn’t believe it! – that I had won the lottery.

2. Commas (,)

Commas show how a sentence is divided into parts and how those parts are related.Use a comma to separate items in a series.

2. Commas (,)

Commas show how a sentence is divided into parts and how those parts are related.

2.a. Commas before coordinating conjunctions that join independent

clausesUse a comma before two or more independent clauses when they are joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, not, yet, so, nor etc).

•We must act quickly, or the problem will only get worse.

• The farmers ate lunch at 10:00, and afterwards they rested in the shade. The comma before the conjunction is often not used when the two independent clauses are very short and closely related.

• The sun rose and the fog lifted.Use a comma after an introductory phrase to separate it from the independent clause.

• To do the job properly, they need more time.

• Taking a cue from the instructor, the nervous student eased the car into the parking spot.Use a comma after an introductory adverb clause (a dependent clause beginning with when, because, if, and so on).

•When Elizabeth assumed the throne of England in 1558, the country was in turmoil.Use a comma after introductory interjections, transitional expressions, and adjectives and adverbs that need to be separated from the independent clause.

• Yes, we need to improve our parks.

• In facts, most students prefer to study the library.

• Surprisingly, they won the match.

2.b Commas to set off nonrestrictive elements

Restrictive elements are words that are considered essential to the meaning of the sentence. These are the integral part of the phrase. Nonrestrictive elements provide information that is not essential to the meaning of the word.

Do not use commas around a restrictive modifier (essential).

• Students who are late will be prohibited from taking the

examination. Use commas before and after

nonrestrictive modifier (non essential).

• Bus drivers, who are generallyunderpaid, work long hours to look after his family.

Use commas between items in a series.

•He studied all of the notes, newsletters and reports.

•He brought a calculator, a lap top and a cellular phone to the office party.

3. Semicolon (;)A semicolon tells the reader that what precedes it is complete, that what follows it is complete, and that both elements are equal in weight and closely related.Use a semicolon between two closely related statements.• A woman swam across the English Channel yesterday; She sat a new record.Use a semicolon with items in a series when the items have commas within them.

• Attending the meeting were Gloria, the Secretary; Johnson, the H.R.Manager; and Elizabeth, the financial manager.

4. Colon (:)

The colon indicates a more powerful stop within a sentence than does a semicolon.

• He has but one objective: success.

• The budget agreement erected a wall between the Mayor and the school board: the mayor controlled the money and the board controlled the policy.

Use a colon to emphasize a list that follows an independent clause. Such a clause often contains an expression such as the following (as follows).

• To save, proceed as follows: transfer the meat to a warm platter, arrange the cooked vegetables, ladle on some of the sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Use a colon to separate hours and minutes.

5. Apostrophe (‘)

is used primarily to show the possession form of a noun or a pronoun, to mark certain plural forms and to indicate where a letter has been dropped in contractions.To show possession.

• The Dean encouraged the student’s grades.

To show the possession of a plural noun ending in “s”, add only the apostrophe.

• He appreciated the attorneys’ advice.

For plural words not ending in “s”.

• The Governor Appreciated the children’s efforts.

To form plurals.

• the 1990’s or the 1990s

• their BMW’s or their BMWsWhen combining words.

• are not aren’t

• can not can’t

• have not haven’t

6. Quotation Marks (“aaaa”) (‘ aaaa’)

Quotation marks indicate that certain words you have used in your writing are not your own. They also distinguish certain titles, foreign expressions, and special terms from the main body of the text.Use quotation marks around a direct quotation, the title of a short work or report, and words used in a special sense.

•“Tom,” she said, “let’s go for swimming.”

Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside the quotation marks when the quotation marks apply to the entire quotation.

•The Market Manager asked, “What is truth?”

Question marks and exclamation points appear outside the final quotation marks when they apply to the entire sentence.

• What is “truth” ?

( truth is only part of the sentence)

Use quotation marks to set off dialogue.

• “Early parole is not the solution to the overcrowding,” the prosecutor

said. “we need a new jail.”

• The Chairman of the company asked, “How do you propose we pay for it?”

Periods and commas are always placed inside the quotation marks.

Colons and semicolons are always outside the quotation marks.

• The manager asked about “down time”; the supervisor told the manager

more than she wanted to hear.

7. Parentheses ( )Use parentheses to insert extra

information that your reader might want to know.

• He was a social worker for over 30 years (1950-1980).

• Plea bargaining (see page 67) was developed to speed the judicial process.• You are a careful writer (we know this

because you brought the book, and you are reading the preface).

8. Dash ( )Use a dash to indicate an abrupt change of thought or to clarify what follows.• We hope he goes far very far.• It is not often – may be twice a year – that I am asked to speak before a large group.

9. Hyphen ( - )Use a hyphen to express the idea of a unit and to avoid ambiguity.

• We are experiencing a small – shipmentproblem.

(The small shipment is a type of problem)

(If there is no hyphen, it seems that the shipment problem is small)

10. Ellipsis (…)

Ellipsis points are three periods, each preceded and followed by a space.

Use ellipsis when part of a sentence has been omitted from a direct quotation.

An ellipsis mark indicates that you have left something out of a quoted passage.

• Edward acknowledges, “You may feel that you are seeing things just fine and that it’s the drawing that is heard. But the opposite is true...”

• She walks in the beauty, like the night …………………………………............. And all that’s best of dark and bright

11. SlashThe slash is a slanted line used to separate lines of poetry quoted in text, to indicate alternative choices, and to separate figures in certain situations. Use a slash with no space before and after it to separate alternatives.• an event/or situation• a pass/fail grading system• the President and/or the Prime

minister

Use a slash to separate month, day and the year in date given entirely in figures.

• 07/03/2008Use a slash to separate the numerator and

the denominator in a typed fraction written entirely in figures.

Use a hyphen to separate a whole number from its fraction.

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