Punctuation

Punctuation

The word Punctuation has been derived from the Latin word Punctum which means a point. Grammatically, it means
the right use of putting in Points or Stops in writing. Punctuation marks are symbols used in writing to separate
sentences and clarify meaning. They help indicate pauses, stops, emphasis, tone, structure, and relationships
between ideas in written language. Without punctuation, writing can become confusing or lose its intended
meaning.

By the end of this unit, the students will be able to:

Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation,

and spelling
when writing in different varieties of texts.
Observe hyphenation conventions.
Produce legible work that shows the correct spelling of the conventions of punctuation and
capitalization.

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Common Punctuation Marks are:

Ends a sentence.
1 Full Stop or Period .
She is reading a book.
Indicates a pause or separates items in a list.
2 Comma ,
I bought apples, bananas, and oranges.
Shows possession or contraction.
3 Apostrophe Comma ’
It’s John’s book. (It is)
Connects closely related sentences.
4 Semicolon ;
She was tired; however, she kept working.
Introduces a list, explanation, or quotation.
5 Colon :
He has three goals: to learn, to grow, and to lead.
Ends a question.
6 Question Mark ?
Where are you going?
Shows strong emotion.
7 Exclamation Mark !
What a beautiful view!
Indicate spoken words or quotes.
8 Quotation Commas (Double) “ ”
She said, “I’m happy to be here.”
Indicate quote within a quote, or in some regional styles
9 Quotation Commas (Single) ‘ ’
She said, “I heard him shout, ‘Help me!’ before he disappeared.”
Indicates a break in thought or adds emphasis.
10 Dash —
He was tired — completely exhausted.
Connects words or parts of words
11 Hyphen -
well-known, mother-in-law, twenty-one
Add extra information.
12 Parentheses ( )
He finally answered (after thinking for a while).
Indicate beginning of a sentence, Proper Noun or title.
13 Capital Letters A, B…
He is a good boy. Ali is an intelligent student.
Indicate pause, omission or unfinished thoughts.
14 Ellipsis …
“I was just thinking… maybe you’re right.”

Explanation of various Punctuation Marks with Examples

Full Stop (.)

1. It represents the greatest pause and separation. It is used to mark the end of a
declarative or an imperative sentence, e.g.
• I love Pakistan from the core of my heart.
• Work hard lest you should fail.
2. It is used in abbreviations e.g.
• Dr.
• Prof.
• Col.
• Mr.
Comma (,)
It represents the shortest pause, and is used as:
1. To separate a series of words in the same construction e.g.
• Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia failed to form a new Islamic bloc.
• He lost lands, money, reputation and friends.
• It was a sumptuous, stupendous and memorable journey.
2. To separate each pair of words connected by and e.g.
• We should be pious and humble, peaceful and serene.

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• High and low, rich and poor, wise and foolish, must all die.
3. To mark off a Noun or Phrase in Apposition e.g.
• Iqbal, our national poet, was born at Sialkot.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor General of Pakistan, died in 1948.
4. To mark off words used in addressing people e.g.
• Come here, Minahil.
• How are you, Arbab?
5. To mark off two or more adverbs or Adverbial phrases coming together e.g.
• Now, at this moment, she is hale and hearty.
6. Before and after a Participial phrase, provided that the phrase might be expanded into a
sentence, and is not used in a merely qualifying sense e.g.
• The Team Pakistan, having performed marvellously, returned homeland.
7. Before and after words, phrases or clauses, let into the body of a sentence e.g.
• He did not, however, gain his object.
• It is mind, after all, which does the work of the world.
8. To indicate the omission of a word, especially a verb e.g.
• She will qualify for this job; you, never.
9. To separate short co-ordinate clauses of a Compound sentence e.g.
• He came, he saw, he conquered.
• The way was long, the wind was cold.
10. To mark off a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence e.g.
• “Not fair,” said Ali.
• He said to me, “Let us offer prayer.”
11. Before certain coordinative conjunction e.g.
• To act thus is not wisdom, but folly.
• She loves poetry, and I love novels.
12. To separate from the verb a long Subject opening a sentence e.g.
• All that they did and felt proud of more than any other thing, is just an eye wash.
13. To separate a Noun clause-whether subject or object-preceding the verb e.g.
• What he did, is amazing.
• How he is to reach there, is the question.
14. To separate a clause that is not restrictive in meaning, but is co-ordinate with the Principal
clause e.g.
• Sailors, who are generally superstitious, say it is unlucky to embark on a Friday.
15. To separate an Adverbial clause from its Principal clause e.g.
• When the teacher came, the boys were making a noise.
Semicolon (;)
It represents a pause of greater importance than that of the comma. It is used as:
1. To separate the clauses of Compound sentence, when they contain a comma e.g.
• She was a nice, large-hearted woman; and we all respected her.
2. To separate a series of loosely related clauses e.g.
• Her court was pure; her life serene.
• God gave her peace; her land reposed.
Colon (:)
It is a still more complete pause than that expressed by the semicolon. It is used (sometimes with
a dash after it):

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1. To introduce a quotation e.g.

• Ibsen says: “The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.”
2. Before enumeration, examples etc e.g.
• The parts of speech in English are: Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective,
Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection.
Between sentences grammatically independent but closely connected in sense e.g.
• Study to acquire a habit of thinking: no study is more important.
Question Mark (?)
1. It is always used after a direct question e.g.
• Have you accomplished your task?
• Where are you coming from?
2. But the Question Mark is not used after an indirect question e.g.
• He asked me if I had ever visited Murree.
Exclamation Mark (!)
1. It is used after interjections and after Phrases and Sentences expressing sudden emotion
or wish e.g.
• Alas! She failed.
• What a huge six!
Inverted Commas Double (“ ”)
1. Double Inverted Commas are used to enclose the words of a speaker, or a quotation e.g.
• My father said, “Don’t tell a lie.”
Inverted Commas Single (‘ ’)
1. Indicate quote within a quote, or in some regional styles
• She said, “I heard him shout, ‘Help me!’ before he disappeared.”
Dash (—)
The Dash is used:
1. To indicate an abrupt stop or change of thought e.g.
• If she were there—but why lament the past?
2. To resume a scattered subject e.g.
• Friends, companions, relatives-all deserted him.
Hyphen (-)
1. The Hyphen –a shorter line than the Dash –is used to connect the parts of a compound
word e.g.
• Father-in-law, man-of-war, jack-of-all-trades.
Parentheses ()
1. Parentheses or Double Dashes are used to separate from the main part of the sentence a
phrase or clause which does not grammatically belong to it; as,
• He gained from Heaven (it was all he wished) a friend.
Apostrophe (’)
The Apostrophe is used as:
1. To show the omission of a letter or letters; as,
• Don’t, N’ver, M’am, Wouldn’t
2. To form the plural of letters e.g.
• Dot your I’s and cross your t’s.
Ellipsis (…)
1. Indicate pause, omission or unfinished thoughts.

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• “I was just thinking… maybe you’re right.”

• “I don’t know what to say…”
CAPTIAL LETTERS
Capitals are used:
1. To begin a sentence.
2. To begin each fresh line of poetry.
3. To begin all Proper Nouns and Adjectives derived from them e.g.
• Pakistan, Islamabad, Asia, Asian.
4. For all nouns and pronoun which indicate the Deity e.g.
• The Lord, He is the God.

Punctuation Activities

Below are some lines and excerpts taken from the Textbook. Rewrite them with proper
punctuation marks.
1. another notable moment was his wise arbitration during the reconstruction of the kabah
when a dispute arose among the quraish regarding who would have the honour of placing
the hajreaswad black stone
2. the angel said again, and then the following verses were revealed read in the name of your
lord who created created man from a clinging clot read and your lord is the most generous
who taught by the pen taught man what he knew not surah al alaq 96 1 5
3. these qualities earned him universal respect among the people of makkah who bestowed
upon him the titles al sadiq the truthful and al amin the trustworthy
4. mr chancellor ladies and gentlemen when i was approached by the vicechancellor with a
request to deliver the convocation address i made it clear to him that there were so many
calls on me that i could not possibly prepare a formal convocation address on an academic
level with regard to the great subjects with which university deals such as arts history
philosophy science law and so on
5. in the summer of 1969 millions around the world held their breath as neil armstrong
descended the ladder of the lunar module becoming the first human to step onto the
moon
6. his words thats one small step for man one giant leap for mankind echoed across
televisions and radios becoming a symbol of human achievement
7. across the country engineers at nasa were tackling problems that no one had ever solved
before
8. the saturn v rocket a towering behemoth of engineering had to function flawlessly to carry
its precious cargo to the moon
9. the sustainable development goals (sdgs) established by the united nations in 2015
include 17 global objectives aimed at fostering a better and more sustainable future
10. among these sdg 13 climate action is particularly relevant for pakistan a country that is
highly susceptible to the impacts of global warming
11. larry is a laidoff auto worker tony is a retired teacher sally is a former showgirl and blackjack
dealer from vegas
12. a retired teacher for example may spend a lot of volunteer time working with handicapped
children or raising money for the loyal order of hibernating hibiscus
13. that apparently doesnt count whos tony a retired teacher

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14. a laidoff auto worker may pump gas at his cousins gas station or sell encyclopedias on
weekends but whos larry
15. these diseases can have severe consequences particularly for vulnerable populations such
as children pregnant women and the elderly people
16. according to the world health organization who around 829000 people die each year from
diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water sanitation and hand hygiene
17. now the king said to him o khipil show me my palace where it standeth for i desire to
gratify my sight with its fairness
18. khipil abased himself before shahpesh and answered tis even here o king of the age where
thou delightest the earth with thy foot and the ear of thy slave with sweetness
19. when khipil had paraded a short space he stopped quickly and said to shahpesh here is,
as it chanceth a gap o king and we can go no further this way
20. shahpesh said all is perfect and it is my will thou delay not to advance khipil cried the gap
is wide o mighty king and manifest and it is an incomplete part of thy palace
Solutions:
1. Another notable moment was his wise arbitration during the reconstruction of the Ka’bah,
when a dispute arose among the Quraish regarding who would have the honour of placing
the Hajr-e-Aswad (Black Stone).
2. The angel said again, and then the following verses were revealed: “Read in the Name of
your Lord Who created – created man from a clinging clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most
Generous, who taught by the pen – taught man what he knew not.” (Surah Al-Alaq, 96:1-5).
3. These qualities earned him ( َ ‫ )خاتمَ ال َّن ِب ّٖی‬universal respect among the people of Makkah,
ٰٓ
‫ہ وع ٰلی‬ َِ ‫صلَّی للاَ عل ْی‬
‫ن‬َ‫ٰالِہَّٖ واصْحابِہَّٖ وس َّلم‬

who bestowed upon him ( َ ‫ )خاتمَ ال َّن ِب ّٖی‬the titles Al-Sadiq (The Truthful) and Al-Amin (The
ٰٓ
‫ہ وع ٰلی‬ َِ ‫صلَّی للاَ عل ْی‬
‫ن‬ َ‫ٰالِہَّٖ واصْحابِہَّٖ وس َّلم‬

Trustworthy).
4. Mr. Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen, when I was approached by the Vice-Chancellor with
a request to deliver the Convocation Address, I made it clear to him that there were so
many calls on me that I could not possibly prepare a formal Convocation Address on an
academic level with regard to the great subjects with which University deals, such as arts,
history, philosophy, science, law and so on.
5. In the summer of 1969, millions around the world held their breath as Neil Armstrong
descended the ladder of the lunar module, becoming the first human to step onto the
Moon.
6. His words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” echoed across
televisions and radios, becoming a symbol of human achievement.
7. Across the country, engineers at NASA were tackling problems that no one had ever solved
before.
8. The Saturn V rocket, a towering behemoth of engineering, had to function flawlessly to
carry its precious cargo to the Moon.
9. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the United Nations in 2015,
include 17 global objectives aimed at fostering a better and more sustainable future.
10. Among these, SDG 13: Climate Action is particularly relevant for Pakistan, a country that is
highly susceptible to the impacts of global warming.
11. Larry is a laid-off auto worker; Tony is a retired teacher; Sally is a former showgirl and
blackjack dealer from Vegas.
12. A retired teacher, for example, may spend a lot of volunteer time working with
handicapped children or raising money for the Loyal Order of Hibernating Hibiscus.

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13. That apparently doesn’t count. Who’s Tony? A retired teacher.

14. A laid-off auto worker may pump gas at his cousin’s gas station or sell encyclopedias on
weekends. But who’s Larry?
15. These diseases can have severe consequences, particularly for vulnerable populations such
as children, pregnant women, and the elderly people.
16. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 829,000 people die each year
from diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene.
17. Now, the King said to him, ‘O Khipil, show me my palace where it standeth (stands), for I
desire to gratify my sight with its fairness.’
18. Khipil abased himself before Shahpesh and answered, ‘Tis even here, O King of the age,
where thou delightest the earth with thy foot and the ear of thy slave with sweetness.
19. When Khipil had paraded a short space, he stopped quickly, and said to Shahpesh, “Here
is, as it chanceth, a gap, O King! and we can go no further this way.”
20. Shahpesh said, “All is perfect, and it is my will thou delay not to advance.” Khipil cried, “The
gap is wide, O mighty King, and manifest, and it is an incomplete part of thy palace.”