WRITING MECHANICS: PUNCTUATION

A QUICKIE REVIEW

The Period, Exclamation Point and Question Mark…You tell me!

Used at the end of a sentence, and to indicate an abbreviation.

Used to indicate emphasis or strong emotion.

Used after direct questions.

The Semicolon Used to join to closely related sentences:

Julie plays the piano; Mark plays the drums. I will arrange for a guest speaker; Arlene will

take care of the refreshments.

The test for correct semicolon use is to see whether a period would be grammatically correct in its place. If not, the semicolon has been misused.

This is the reason semicolons appear before words of transition such as however and therefore.

Words of Transition The following

words are NOT subordinators (e.g. but), though they can have the same meaning. You cannot use them to combine sentences.

Accordingly, Also, Anyhow, As a result, At the same time, Besides, Consequently, For example, Furthermore, Hence, Henceforth, However, In addition, Indeed, In fact, In other words, Instead, Likewise, Meanwhile, Moreover, Nevertheless, On the contrary, On the other hand, Otherwise, Still, That is, Then, Therefore, Thus.

Words of Transition

Do not try to use a word of transition to join two short sentences. This results in a run-on sentence. I felt sick therefore I stayed home. I felt sick, therefore I stayed home. I felt sick; therefore I stayed home. I felt sick. Therefore, I stayed home.

The Colon Used after formal introductory statements.

They alert the reader as to what follows. Formal lists:

When evaluating an applicant, consider the following: employment history, education, and references.

Formal assertions: A letter refusing credit should be positive: you

hope to continue business on a cash basis. Quotations:

Secretary’s World reports: “Secretaries are members of the fastest-growing job group (average job openings are expected to expand to 325,000).”

More Colon Uses Salutations:

Dear Mr. Richards: Between title and subtitle:

Quid Pro Quo: Something for Something

The Comma Indicates a pause. Their use is

determined by sentence structure and meaning. S V, coordinator S V:

Sam speaks, and Bill listens. subordinator S V, S V:

When Sam speaks, Bill listens. Careful! When the subordinator is in the

middle, there is usually no comma: Sam speaks as Bill listens.

For And Nor But Or Yet So

Who what where when why Which whether whileIfSince so thatHowAs after althoughBefore becauseOnceUnless untilThan that though

More Comma Uses Used after an introductory expression, such

a word of transition: Indeed, Sam likes to dominate all conversation.

Used after an introductory phrase: In general, Bill likes to be silent. As interesting as it sounds, it doesn’t tempt me.

Used to separate items in a series or list: To look your best, feel your best, and be your

best require a personal program of sound diet and exercise.

Comma Rules Do NOT use if a coordinator appears before

each item: I am tired and hungry and annoyed.

A special case would be when adjectives are listed before a noun: The store employs courteous, knowledgeable,

helpful salespeople. But CHECK: if you can’t insert ‘and’

between the words, there is no comma: They offer the lowest retail prices in town.

More Comma Ideas Contrasted Elements:

The chairman of the board, not the stockholders, made the decision.

Parenthetical Expressions: The affidavit, I think, is ready to be typed. It is, in fact, a convincing legal argument.

Appositives The president of the company, Rafa Hadoman,

started out as a sales trainee.

‘I think’ can be removed from the sentence without

altering the meaning.

The president and Rafa Hadoman are one and the same person.

The Hyphen Used to join two or more words into a

compound: Do-it-yourself instruction booklets. A wait-and-see attitude.

Used with compound numbers and fractions: Thirty-eight, four-fifths

Used with prefixes such as ex-, all-, self-, and pro-.

Material garnered from Barron’s Business English, 4th Edition, by Andrea B. Geffner.