A Thorough Punctuation Guide to Master English

Introduction:

Imagine writing an essay and sending it for peer review. Your teacher receives and reads it. At first, it may seem normal to you; however, the teacher has no apparent clues and gets easily lost in your writing. Why is that? Punctuation is like speaking, but planted paper, it is the key to nonverbal communication and enunciating your thoughts clearly. There are dozens upon dozens of different rules for periods, commas, and even dashes. They project thoughts more vividly in sentences and offer breaks between concepts. Here are a couple of punctuation rules to remember the next time you write.

#1 The Period(.)

The most basic yet still missed by dozens of advanced writers. Periods are used to end sentences, thoughts, and clauses that can stand alone. For example,

“The boy went to the plaza.”

The period stops a complete, concise thought. It is important to stop different ideas in different sentences. It causes too much confusion for the reader to interpret and can also make the writer feel confused when they read their own work.

Here’s what not to do:

“I went to the store to get groceries then I went to eat food at the local store finally I went to sleep at my friend's house.”

In the example listed above, there are too many changes in the moment. Concise and related ideas are key to optimal sentences. A period or two can change this monstrosity into an understandable idea being conveyed. 

#2 The Comma(,)

Commas, think of them as a tiny period. They are not a full break, but they can cause pauses between ideas. The uses for a comma include:

• Lists

• Before dependent clauses

• Additional information

Try to add commas in lengthy sentences, as it can be hard for the reader to fully digest the central purpose.

#3 The Semi-colon(;)

The semi-colon is similar to fanboys-for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so- and can connect to independent clauses. However, a semicolon connects to related clauses, whereas fanboys can connect two normal clauses. For example,

“I need to go to the bathroom; my stomach hurts.”

Both of the clauses are standalone sentences, but they are closely related, and the reader can understand both clearly. It's not a comma, but it's also not a full stop. Just remember to use it if two neighboring sentences are similar in purpose. Quick tip, the first letter after the semi-colon is not capitalized!

#4 The Colon(:)

Colons are not typically used that often compared to other punctuation; they are used for the following:

• Lists

• Explanations

They are pretty straightforward. Here is an example,

“I like cereal, pizza, and sandwiches.”

”I like the following foods: cereal, pizza, and sandwiches.”

#5 The Question Mark(?)

The question mark is simple to understand. It is used for a question or interrogation.

Here are a couple of examples,

• “Did you play outside today?”

• “Have you happened to stumble across John?”

• “When is the project due?”

#6 The Exclamation Mark(!)

The explanation mark is also really easy to learn. It is used to express excitement or emotion. Some examples include,

• “I won the lottery!”

• “Where is our cat!”

•  “Hello!”

#7 Parenthesis()

Parentheses are used for additional information. They have been used throughout the heading if you had caught on. They are similar to the third comma rule where further information can be added. Here is an example:

• “I really want to go to Mr. White’s class (He’s my favorite teacher).”

Other Rules to Know

There are a lot of minor and less common punctuation, such as dashes and ellipses, 

Dashes are an alternative way for commas and parentheses. They act similarly in terms of supplementary information. Ellipses are a full break. They are typically used to skip words or add suspense to a certain sentence. Here are the punctuations in action:

• “I have to leave now… I’ll probably come back later”

As you can see above, there is a full stop, and the ellipses allow a skippage for some words

• “I want to go to the movie theater-the one down the street- with my friends.”

Straightforward is another way to add additional information to your writing.

Conclusion:

It takes time and dedication to learn the various rules for not only punctuation, but also grammar, vocabulary, and even speaking rules. It is simple to learn the rules individually, but it can be tedious when implementing multiple or even all rules into your writing. Try your best; the occasional mistakes are common for everyone. Our goal is to help all speakers(not only novice but also intermediate and advanced groups). Punctuation is the key to non-verbal communication. Without it, your sentences will be hard to open.