What is Punctuation Mark?
A mark, such as a full stop, comma or question mark etc that is used in writing to separate sentences and their elements to clarify meaning are known as Punctuation marks.
There are 14 punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar
Main marks of punctuation are
1) Full stop (.)
2) Comma (,)
3) Semicolon(;)
4) Colon (:)
5) Apostrophe (*)
6) Quotation marks or Inverted commas (“
7) Marks of Interrogation (?)
8) Marks of Exclamation (!)
let us study each of them one by one.
► The full stop indicates the longest pause
► It is used at the end of a sentence
► Example -
- Wisdom is better than riches.
- Learn the poem by heart.
Comma (,)
► The comma indicates the shortest pause.
► It is used to separate a series of words or parts of a sentence.
► Example
- Katie talks to her mom,dad,brother and sister.
- She had a banana, an apple, a sandwich and a cup of coffee for breakfast.
► It marks a greater pause than that indicated by a comma.
► It is used to separate a series of independent complete sentences.
► Example
- To err is human; to forgive is divine.
- I have finished the main course ; now I have to make dessert.
► It indicates a greater pause than that shown by a semicolon.
► It is used in a sentence to show that something is following ,like a quotation.
► Example -
- Never forget this point : think before you speak.
- The world is a stage : Play your role well.
► It is possession to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word
► It is also used to show possession
► Example
- I’ve seen that movie several times.
- Sara’s dog bit the neighbor.
- She wasn’t the only one who knew the answer.
► Question Mark is placed at the end of a sentence, where the speaker is seeking for a certain answer.
► Example
- What do you want to eat for lunch?
- Can you call John and Jenny for the picnic?
► It is used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or emotions or to lay emphasis
► It is often marked at the end of a sentence but can also be used in the beginning.
► Example -
- How beautiful the sky is!
- What a horrible sight it was!
- Wow! What a beautiful Dress.
Note :
- Sentence starts with capital letter.
- Proper Nouns begin with capital letter.
Practice Exercise
Q) Use appropriate punctuation marks in the following sentences
- Wait for me till I return
- Lila said to Kamla how beautiful we look
- The prince said I am glad to see you.
- hat a wonderful opportunity
- How old is your elder sister
- you cant change the past
- There are few books magazines and journals on the table
- Rohans pen is missing
- My daughter is a teacher my son is a doctor
- you shouldnt have done this to john.
- Vansh is right ajays method is wrong
- do you have any money left in your pocket