PUNCTUATION RULES
| Punctuation is very important in writing. | | |
| Common punctuation marks in English are as | | |
| follows: | 1 | |
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Use a period:
a. At the end of a statement or command.
E.g TURN ON THE TEVEVISION.
b. After most abbreviations, eg,
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
EXECEPT: UN, NATO, IBM, AIDS
E.g Mr. Lupembe was happy to see his wife
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If the last word in the sentence ends in a period, do not
follow it with another period.
E.g I know that M.D. She is my sister-in-law.
Please shop, cook, etc. I will do the laundry.
Use the period after an indirect question.
E.g He asked where his suitcase was.
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Use a question mark:
After a direct question.
E.g Are you coming with me?
Will you go with me?
After a tag questions:
Eg, He is the President, Isn’t he?
You do care, don't you?
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NOTE: Don’t put a question mark at the end of an indirect question. Eg
I asked my sister if she had a date.
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Use a comma before a conjunction (and, or, so) that separate two independent clauses. Eg.
She wanted to learn to cook, so she decided to buy herself a book.
Use a comma to separate interrupting expressions from the rest of the sentence. Eg.
Do you know, by the way, what time is it?
- Use a comma after yes and no in answers Eg. Yes, my father is a doctor.
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• Use a comma after each item in a series of at least three items.
– E.g I still need to take a test, write an essay, and check out a book.
• Use a comma after the month and date.
– E.g Martina's birthday is February 20, 1995.
– Note: No comma in date like 20 February 1965.
• Use a comma after the greeting in a personal letter.
– E.g Dear Aunt Sheila,
• Use a comma after the closing of a letter.
– E.g Sincerely,
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Use the quotation marks at the beginning and at
the end of direct quotation. Eg.
He said, “I am going to get married” She asked, "Will you still be my friend?“
Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes
He said, "Danea said, 'Do not treat me that way.'"
Use the quotation marks before and after title of stories,
articles, songs and TV shows
Do you want to watch “Friends” on TVs?
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Is used before a list or an explanation that is preceded
by a clause that can stand by itself.
Eg. The committee includes the following: James,Peter, Anna. Use a colon between numerals indicating hours and minutes.
E.g School starts at 8:05 a.m.
When mentioning a volume number and page number, use a colon between the two items.
E.g You will find information about Mexico in Grolier Encyclopedia 17:245.
Use a colon after the greeting of a business letter.
E.g Dear Sir:
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Are used to help sort out a monster list.
Eg. There were participants from Nairobi, Kenya; Kampala, Uganda; Kinshasa, DRC.
Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses.
E.g Salma read a book; then she did a book report.
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Used to indicate possession.
Eg. The man’s coat, Jame’s wife, my cousin’s parents
Use an apostrophe to show where letters have been omitted, or left out.
E.g I don't think I can do this.
She’s my sister,
I’m tired
You’re kind.
Use an apostrophe when you leave out the first two numbers of a year.
E.g She was in the class of '93.
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- Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
- Capitalize the first word of a quotation.
- She said “Mtoto wa mwenzio ni wako”
- Capitalize the names of people including initials and titles of address.
- Capitalize names of God, eg God, Allah, Jesus Christ, etc
- Capitalize the names of countries, state, province,
| regions, cities, lakes, rivers, mountains. | 12 | |
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• Capitalize the names of the days of the week, special days (holidays), months of the year, historic events, and eras.
– E.g Tuesday, Fourth of July
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