Punctuation Survival Guide

End Punctuation: Periods, Question Marks, Exclamation Points

EVERY SENTENCE NEEDS A PUNCTUATION MARK AT THE END.

Periods help us by Showing us where a statement sentence ends Showing where a mild command ends Punctuation abbreviations and initials

Question marks help us by Identifying a question and showing where it ends Emphasizing an unbelievable declarative statement

Exclamation points help us by Signaling strong interjections, commands, or

emotions

Objectives:Grade 8:

use hyphens to break words at the end of lines, and to make a new word from two related words in own writing

identify semicolons, dashes and hyphens when reading, and use them to assist comprehension

use parentheses appropriately in own writingReview:

end punctuation, quotation marks, comma, colon, apostrophe, ellipsis

ApostrophesApostrophes help us

Make singular and plural nouns show ownership

Make compound nouns show ownership

Show joint ownership and multiple possessives

Show where letters are missing in contractions (cannot – can’t)

Make numbers, lowercase letters, and symbols plural (a’s)

Is it possible all this sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher talking – it did to me, what about you?

- Plural and singular nouns – what?

- Compound nouns – huh?- Joint ownership and multiple

possessives – you have to be kidding me!

- I think I got the last two

BABKI/HUDSON/HOLMES

More APOSTROPHE answers on the next page

THE ANSWERS

SEPTEMBER 2012 Punctuation Survival Guide BABKI/HUDSON/HOLMESSEPTEMBER 2012

Quotation MarksQuotation marks go around words to make them stand out from the rest of the sentence.Quotations marks help us by

Enclosing someone’s exact words at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence (direct quote)

Enclosing people’s exact words when their words are split up

Identifying the titles of songs, poems, chapter titles, articles in newspapers or magazines, etc.

Pointing out words that are used in unexpected ways (The “so-called” food they serve in the cafeteria tastes like cardboard and rubber.)

Enclosing definitions and explanations in a sentence

Ellipses help us by Replacing words that have been left out (Always

make sure the quote makes sense after you’ve left some of it out. )

Allowing us to show hesitation or deliberation

Ellipsis

A few other points to remember about quotation marks:- Place single quotation marks around a quote inside a quote- In dialogue, begin a new paragraph every time the speaker

changes- The titles of books, newspapers, magazines, movies, and TV

shows should be underlined (when written by hand) or italicized (when typed on a computer.)

CHECK OUT THE PUNCTUATION IN THESE SENTENCE…

“Sometimes I like to enhance my

eyebrows with fuzzy caterpillars,”

declared Blake. (direct quote)

Blake declared that sometimes he likes

to enhance his eyebrows with fuzzy

caterpillars. (indirect quote – this

sentence doesn’t include Blake’s exact

words, so no quotation marks are

needed)

“I consider myself very lucky,” said

Mr. Letasy, “that I have good hair

every day.”

An interjection is a word or group of words expressing emotions (usually at the beginning of a sentence.

Example: Oh, no! I just dropped my cell phone in the toilet!

Singular Nouns The ant’s antennas

There is only one ant. FYI: If a singular noun with two or more syllables ends in s, you may choose to form the possessive by adding just an apostrophe or ‘s. Example: Delores’s Doberman or Dolores’ Doberman

Plural NounsIf a noun is plural and ends in an s, just add an apostrophe at the end of the word.

the ants’ antennas (more than one ant)If a noun is plural and does not end in s, add ’s at the end of the word

the mice’s whiskers, the children’s candy

Joint Ownership and Multiple Possessions – What? When two or more people (or things, or whatever) own the same thing, the last name mentioned is in possessive form. However, if two or more people (or things, or whatever) own different things, both names are in possessive form. Example:

FYI: If you want to make a compound noun possessive add ‘s to the last word. Example: My sister-in-law’s facial mole is growing rapidly.

An ellipsis should consist of four dots when the omission ends a sentence or

falls between sentences.

Punctuation Survival Guide BABKI/HUDSON/HOLMESSEPTEMBER 2012

CommaCommas are like little road signs that say “pause for a second.”Commas help us by

Separating words in a list or series (three or more things) Sarah bought cookies, tofu, tortillas, and a kumquat to snack on during the movie.

Setting off a mild interjection from the rest of the sentence (Yes, I will have another spam milkshake.)

Separating clauses at the beginning of sentences (including a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence) In the bug-filled flower bed, Doug dug up a hyperactive slug.

Preventing confusion when certain words are together (After you read the book report on it to the class – seems confusing – After you read the book, report on it to the class)

Setting off the greeting and closing of a friendly letter (Dear Mr. Bieber,)

Separating street, town, province, and country (Swift Current, Saskatchewan)

Showing who’s being spoken to Separating multiple adjectives for the same noun (Ms.

Rumer’s fierce, ferocious, and furious cat licked my face.) Grouping clauses together (The hamburger was delicious,

the hot dog was tasty, and the dessert was great.) Separating nouns from their appositives (appositives are

words that give information about the noun they follow.) Mr. Hagel, vice-principal of Lakie, cheers for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Setting off words that are not important to the meaning of the sentence (A giraffe, which can stand as tall as feet, cleans its ears with its tongue.)

Punctuating dates and addresses correctly Setting off quotations (people’s exact words) from the rest

of the sentence.

The most important function of the comma is to indicate a natural pause. Commas are meant make readers pause and collect themselves a little before the move on. That’s their purpose in life, and that’s what they’re doing every single time you ever see one. So, when in doubt about a sentence, read it aloud. Notice where you naturally find yourself pausing – where, in effect, you must pause. Chances are that’ll be a good place for a comma.

Richard Lederer and John Shore (in Comma Sense)

ColonA colon is a period on top of another period (:). Colons help by

Introducing lists, summaries, and explanations

Punctuating the greeting in a business letter; addressing people in bulletins, warnings, instructions, and so on.

Separating hours from minutes in time and characters from dialogue in scripts.

A semi-colon is a period on top of a colon (;). Semicolons help us by

Connecting closely related sentenceso Mrs. Hudson, who is in a constant state of denial,

refuses to believe her tire is flat; she insists that the other three are bloated.

Separating groups of words in a series (that already has commas)

o Mrs. Babki brushed her teeth on January 7, 2006; March 5, 2007; and February 10, 2008.

Connect sentences with transitional expressions such as however, nevertheless, moreover, in addition, furthermore, consequently, for instance, for example, on the other hand, therefore, thus, hence, as a result, etc.

o Ted is too pudgy to play football; nevertheless, he is the cow-throwing champion of his school.

Semi-Colon

DashDashes and commas have a lot in common. They both show pauses, but a dash shows a greater pause. Dashes help us by

Emphasizing words, phrases, or clauses

Showing a change of thought

Oh, my! Look what the cat dragged in – a seventy-pound rat! An intimidating guard animal – for example, the snaggle-toothed gopher – required months of training.

ParenthesesUse parentheses to set off side comments, or information that’s not closely related to the sentence. Parentheses help us by

Giving the reader extra information Providing the abbreviation or acronym of an

organization or company after you’ve written its full name

If the show fits wear it (but make sure the other one fits too because sometimes two sizes get mixed up in the box). How do you decide whether to put the period inside or outside of a closing parenthesis?Gertrude runs every race with her lucky rabbit’s foot (but for some reason she always comes in last). Since the material in parentheses belongs to the sentence, a period follows the closing parenthesis.

HyphensHyphens help us by

Joining some compound words Dividing a word at the end of a

line of texto Divide words ONLY

between syllableso Never divide a one-

syllable wordo Never have one letter

hanging out there all by itself

o Divide hyphenated words only at the hyphens

o Don’t divide capitalized words

Use a hyphen when writing out numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine.

Punctuation as Traffic SignalsPeriod = Stop SignComma = Flashing Yellow LightSemi-Colon = Flashing Red LightColon = Arrow or Road SignParentheses and Dashes = Detour

Punctuation Survival GuideBABKI/HUDSON/HOLMESSEPTEMBER 2012

Information for this guide was taken from the following resources: Punctuation and Capitalization by Harold Jarnicki Professor Grammar’s Punctuation Packets by Marvin

Terban The Giggly Guide to Grammar by Cathy Campbell Comma Sense by Richard Lederer and John Shore

Conventions Rubric

When marking written work, I will consider the extent to which you have control of the following:

Mechanics o Spellingo Punctuation

use hyphens to break words at the end of lines, and to make a new word from two related words use parentheses appropriately write complete sentences using appropriate end punctuation recognize various uses of apostrophes ; and use them appropriately use periods and commas with quotation marks that indicate direct speech use commas after greetings and closures in friendly letters and to separate words in a series use commas to separate phrases and clauses in own writing use commas after introductory words in sentences and when citing addresses in own writing use quotation marks to identify information taken from secondary sources use quotation marks and separate paragraphs to indicate passages of dialogue use colons before lists, to separate hours and minutes, and after formal salutations identify ellipses that show words are omitted or sentences are incomplete when reading, and use them to assist

comprehensiono Capitalization

use capital letters for proper nouns and at the beginning of sentences use capital letters, appropriately, in titles, headings and subheadings use capitalization to designate organizations and to indicate the beginning of quotations use capital letters appropriately in titles of books and stories capitalize the first letter of names and the pronoun “I”

o Indentation for new speakers Usage

o subject-verb agreemento pronoun-antecedent agreemento consistent verb tenseo noun-pronoun agreement

Clarity and flow of the response

Proportion of error to length and complexity of response will also be considered.

Excellent5

The quality of the writing is enhanced because it is essentially error-free. Any errors that are present do not reduce clarity and/or do not interrupt the flow of the

response.Proficient

4 The quality of the writing is sustained because it contains only minor convention errors. Any errors that are present rarely reduce clarity and/or seldom interrupt the flow of the

response. Satisfactory

3 The quality of the writing is sustained through generally correct use of conventions. Errors occasionally reduce clarity and/or sometimes interrupt the flow of the response.

Limited2

The quality of the writing is weakened by the frequently incorrect use of conventions. Errors blur clarity and/or interrupt the flow of the response.

Poor1

The quality of the writing is impaired by the consistently incorrect use of conventions. Errors severely reduce clarity and/or impede the flow of the response.

InsufficientINS

The response has been awarded an INS for Content.