In a plural possessive noun, placed after the -
s
that typically comes at the end of a possessive noun.
EXAMPLE:
The rain on all of the cars’ tires.
Colon
Usage: A colon is used after an independent clause to introduce a list, an appositive, or a quotation.
EXAMPLES:
A violinist in training requires three items: a violin, a bow, and a sheet of music.
In the classroom, the student was a taskmaster: he took copious notes and asked many
intelligent questions.
The principal had many nice things to say at the graduation, including this pearl of wisdom:
“Always walk with your head held high and your spirit intact.”
Semicolon
Usage: Use a semicolon, not a comma, to join two independent clauses when there is no
coordinating conjunction in use:
EXAMPLE:
Jon wrestled the lion; Sam fought the tiger.
Quotation Marks
Usage: Use quotation marks only to denote a direct quotation from source other than the writer.
EXAMPLE:
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but
by the seeds that you plant.”
When expressing a direct quotation in a sentence, place the end punctuation inside the closing
quotation marks.
EXAMPLE:
Jed claimed he had “fallen asleep after consuming too much milk.”
When using parenthetical citations to cite the source of a quotation, place the closing quotation
marks before the parentheses and place the end punctuation after the parentheses.
EXAMPLE:
According to the reading, “Ancient Greek women were the backbone of the family
life” (Starr 24).
Single Quotation Mark
Usage: Use single quotation marks to punctuate a quotation inside a quotation.
EXAMPLE:
“I told the guy, ‘mind your own business,’ but he kept on listening to my conversation.”
Exclamation Mark
Usage: Use an exclamation point to indicate strong emotional expression.
EXAMPLE:
Yes! I am so excited to be going to the Super Bowl!
ENGLISH
Punctuation
ENGLISH
Punctuation
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