Chapter 11

1. Chapter 11 Punctuation

2. Lesson 1: Periods and Other End Marks • Periods, question marks, and exclamation points are known as end marks because they are used to indicate the end of a sentence.

3. Periods • Periods have other uses as well. • Periods • Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence (statement). • Our team uses a code to make up plays. • The key is a carefully kept secret.

4. Periods • Use a period at the end of almost every imperative sentence (command). • Do not ask me to reveal our code.

5. periods • Use a period at the end of an indirect question. • An indirect question reports what a person asks without using their exact words. • The coach asked if our team code had been broken. • The coach asked, “Has our team code been broken?”

6. Periods • Other uses for periods • Use a period at the end of most abbreviations or after an initial. • Second= sec. • Registered nurse= R.N. • Use a period after each number or letter in an outline or list. • See page 251 for two examples.

7. Question Marks • Use a question mark at the end of an interrogative sentence (question). • Did the other team break the code? • Have they figured out all our plays?

8. Exclamation points • Use an exclamation point to end an exclamatory sentence (sentence showing STRONG feeling). Many exclamatory sentences start with what or how. • What a terrible situation!

9. Exclamation points • Use an exclamation point after an interjection or any other exclamatory expression. • Oh! I have an idea! • Wow! Tell us!

10. Exclamation points • Use an exclamation point with imperative sentences that express excitement or strong emotion. • Stop! Don’t tell the other team!

11. Exclamation points • Only use exclamation points when ABSOLUTELY necessary, as illustrated in these notes. • “Using an exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” • F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby

12. Lesson 2: Commas in sentences • Commas are used to make the meanings of sentences clear by separating certain elements of the sentences.

13. Commas in Compound sentences • Use a comma before a conjunction that joins independent clauses in a compound sentence. • The ancient Egyptians’ written language was called hieroglyphics, and it was not decoded for many centuries. • In ancient times, scribes could read and write hieroglyphics, but most other Egyptians could not.

14. Commas in compound sentences • Sometimes a sentence has a two-part compound verb but is not a compound sentence. Do NOT use a comma in this kind of sentence. • Scribes could read and write hieroglyphics.

15. Commas with Items in a Series or List • Use a comma after every item in a list or series except the last one. A series consists of three or more items. • Symbols of birds, lions, and snakes appear in hieroglyphics. • Hieroglyphics could be read from left to right, from right to left, or from top to bottom.

16. Commas with adjectives • Use a comma between adjectives of equal rank that modify the same noun. • To decide whether a comma is needed between two adjectives modifying the same noun, try one of the following tests. • Place the word and between the adjectives. • Hieroglyphics used colorful and decorative symbols.

17. Commmas in sentences • If the sentence still makes sense, replace the and with a comma. • Hieroglyphics used colorful, decorative symbols. • OR Reverse the order of the adjectives. • Hieroglyphics used decorative and colorful symbols.

18. Commas in sentences • If the sentence still makes sense, replace and with a comma. • Hieroglyphics used decorative, colorful symbols.

19. Commas with Introductory Words and Phrases • Use a comma after an introductory phrase that contains a prepositional phrase. Use a comma after introductory words. • Even after 2000 years of study, no one could read hieroglyphics. • Finally, the Rosetta Stone was found in Egypt.

20. Commas with Interrupters • Use commas to set off a word or phrase that interrupts the flow of thought in a sentence. • The stone provided, at long last, a key to hieroglyphics.

21. Commas with Interrupters • Use commas to set off a direct address. A noun of direct address names the person or group being spoken to. • Alex, your class would be thrilled with this discovery. • Your class, Alex, would be thrilled with this discovery.

22. Commas with Appositives • An appositive is a word or phrase that identifies or renames a noun or pronoun that comes right before it. • Use commas when the appositive adds extra information. • Do not add commas when the appositive is NEEDED to make the meaning clear.

23. Commas with appositives • Jean Champollion, a French scholar, deciphered the Rosetta stone. • The phrase a French scholar adds extra information. • The French scholar Jean Champollion deciphered the Rosetta stone. • The phrase Jean Champollion tells which French scholar and makes the sentence clear and complete.

24. Commas to Avoid Confusion • Use a comma whenever the reader might otherwise be confused. • Unclear: Before hieroglyphics records were not kept on stone or paper. • Unclear: After we studied hieroglyphics were less mysterious.

25. Lesson 3: Commas in Dates, Addresses, and Letters • Commas in Dates • In dates, use a comma between the day and the year. • March 26, 2010 • Use a comma after the year if the sentence continues. • On February 12, 2010, a scientist from Denver, Colorado, spoke at my school.

26. commas in addresses • Use a comma between the city and state or between a city and country. • Denver, Colorado • Use a comma after the state or country if the sentence continues. • On February 12, 2010, a scientist from Denver, Colorado, spoke at my school.

27. Commas in letters • Use a comma after the greeting of a casual letter and after the closing of a casual or business letter. • See page 256 for an example of a letter.

28. Lesson 4Punctuating Quotations • Direct Quotations • Use quotation marks at the beginning and the ending of a direct quotation. • “Flowers have meaning,” said Sophie.

29. Quotations • Use commas to set off explanatory words (dialogue tag) used with direct quotations, whether they occur at the beginning, middle, or end of the quotation. • Sophie said, “Flowers have meaning.” • “Flowers,” Sophie said, “have meaning.” • “Flowers have meaning,” Sophie said.

30. Questions and exclamations in quotes • If a quotation is a question or exclamation, place the question mark or exclamation point INSIDE the closing quotation marks. • “What do flowers mean?” I asked.

31. Where does my punctuation go? • If quoted words are part of a question or exclamation of your own, place the question mark or exclamation point OUTSIDE of the closing quotation marks. • Do flowers tell “secret messages”? • Commas and periods ALWAYS go INSIDE the closing quotation marks. They’re too little to stay outside.

32. Indirect Quotations • Do not use quotation marks to set off an indirect quotation. • An indirect quotation is a restatement. (In your own words, not the words of the original speaker) • An indirect quotation is often introduced by the word that.It does not require a comma, either.

33. Indirect quotations • Indirect: Shakespeare wrote that a rose would smell sweet regardless of its name. • Direct: Shakespeare wrote, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

34. DIVIDED QUOTATIONS • A divided quotation is a direct quotation that is separated into two parts, with explanatory words (dialogue tags) such as he said or she said between the parts.

35. Divided quotations • Use quotation marks to enclose both parts of a divided quotation. • “A rose,” he said, “means love.”

36. Divided quotations • Do not capitalize the first word of the SECOND part of a divided quotation, unless it begins a brand-new sentence. • “A rose,” he said, “sometimes means treachery.” • “A rose usually means love,” he summed up. “Sometimes it means treachery.”

37. Divided quotations • Use commas to set off the explanatory words used with a divided quotation. • “A rose,” he summed up, “can mean treachery or love.”

38. Quotation Marks in Dialogue • In dialogue, a new paragraph and a new set of quotation marks show a change in speakers. • See page 260.

39. Lesson 5: semi-Colons and Colons • A semicolon indicates a break in a sentence. It is stronger than a comma but not as strong as a period.

40. colons • A colon indicates that a list follows. Colons are also used after greetings in business letters and in expressions of time.

41. Semi-colons in compound sentences • Use a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence without a coordinating conjunction. • Enslaved people sang songs with secret messages; the songs told listeners how to escape.

42. Semi-colons in compound sentences • Use a semicolon between parts of a compound sentence when the clauses are long and complicated or when they contain commas. • Runaways navigated by the stars; and they lived off the land, slept outdoors, and walked hundreds of mils to freedom.

43. Semi-colons with items in a series • When there are commas within parts of a series, use semicolons to separate the parts. • The travelers took clues from songs, such as a song about the stars; from quilts, which had special coded designs; and from other people along the way.

44. colons • Use a colon to introduce a list of items. • An escapee carried few items: a knife, a flint, and a warm cloak. • Avoid using a colon directly after a verb or preposition. • Incorrect: The recipients are: Joe, Sam, and Rita. • Incorrect: Send this message to: Joe, Sam, and Rita. • Correct: Send this message to the following people: Joe, Sam, and Rita.

45. colons • Use a colon after the formal greeting in a business letter. • Dear Ms. Smith: • Dear Sir: • See pg. 624 for a model business letter.

46. Colons • Use a colon between numerals indicating hours and minutes in expressions of time. • Meet me at 8:00 P.M. We’ll send the message at 8:30.

47. Lesson 6: Hyphens, dashes, and parentheses • Hyphens, dashes, and parentheses make your writing clear by separating or setting off words or parts of words.

48. Hyphens • Use a hyphen if part of a word must be carried over from one line to the next. • The word must have at least two syllables to be broken. • Correct: num-ber • Incorrect: co-de • Separate the word between two syllables. • Correct: let-ter • Incorrect: lette-r • Leave at least two letters on each line. • Correct: twen-ty • Incorrect: a-cross

49. hyphens • Use hyphens in certain compound words. • Half-dollar • Great-grandmother • Use hyphens in compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine. • Use hyphens in spelled-out fractions. • Two-thirds • Three-fourths

50. dashes • Use dashes to show an abrupt break in thought. • Louis Braille—who lost his sight at age three—invented an alphabet for blind people.