Full Stop or Period ( . ) – At the end of a sentence. We also use it with abbreviations.
Example – He is a good boy .
Examples of Abbreviations – Co. – Company , M.A. – Master of Arts
Comma ( , ) – We use comma to seperate items or examples in a series or to seperate clauses or parts of a sentence and also lso to indicate slight pause .
Example – He is a happy , healthy and prosperous.
We use comma in numbers over 999 to indicate thousands, lacs , etc. Example – 5,020,203
We use comma before direct speech . Example – The teacher said, ” I will complete the lesson tomorrow. “
We use comma before coordinating conjunctions, like – and, but, nor, or, so, for, yet to join Independent Clauses.
Example – I wanted to go there, but did not get enough time .
We use comma between multiple adjectives in a sentence.
Example- He is brilliant, clever, and efficient boy .
We use comma after some adverbs that modify whole sentence , like – unfortunately, surprisingly, however , fortunately, etc .
Example – We, fortunately, got another chance .
However, they performed superbly today.
We use comma for parenthetical elements of a sentence, that can be removed from the sentence without changing the real meaning.
Example – Susan, my childhood friend, will come tomorrow.
Susan will come tomorrow. ( We can write this without changing the meaning of the sentence )
We use comma to write date also . Example – 1st January, 2020.
We use comma in address also . Example – New Street , Great Mansion , 4th floor
Question Mark ( ❓ ) – We use this mark at the end of question.
Example- Where are you going ?
Exclamation Marks ( ❗ ) – We use this after an exclamation or after some Interjections.
Example – What a nice place !
Examples of Interjections – Wow ! Oh ! Alas !
Colon ( : ) – We use this to introduce a list or to specially emphasize something or someone.
Example – There are four types of fruits in the busket : mango, banana, guava, apple .
I am thankful specially to the manager : Mr. Roy .
Semicolon ( ; ) – We use this to join Independent Clauses in a sentence.
Example – He is brilliant ; he can solve the problem.
Quotation Mark ( ” ” ) – We use it to indicate a sentence or phrase or word that has been said or written by someone else.
Example – My uncle said , ” I will go for a trip next week. ”
We use quotation marks around the title or name of a film, book or to emphasize something.
Example – One of my favourite film is ” Jurassic Park ”
Single Quotation ( ‘….. ‘ ) – We can also use Single Quotation to indicate sonmething special or within a Double Quotation .
Example – ‘ The ‘ is an article .
My brother said , ” I decided ‘ Engineering ‘ as my career . “
Ellipsis Mark ( ….. ) – We use it to show that some words have been left out intentionally.
Example – They will play the game and ………..
The river flows …….
Slash ( / ) – We use it to seperate letters , numbers or words or to indicate alternatives.
We also use it to indicate fractions.
We use it to indicate ‘ per ‘ in measurement of speed , price , etc.
We also can use it in some abbreviations and also to write date .
Example –
Respected Sir / Madam will help you.
Me and / or you will have to complete the task .
1/4 – One – fourth
The car is going at a speed of 50 km / hr.
C/o – Care of
a/c number – Account Number
Date – 01/01/2020
Apostrophe ( ‘ ) – We use it to indicate possession or contraction or to shortened words .
Examples – It is my father’s car .
Don’t do this again . ( Don’t is the shorter form of do not )
Round Brackets ( ) – It is used to provide extra information in a sentence and also to define the abbreviation.
Example – Mr. Duke ( the President of the Club ) has inaugurated the ceremony hall . We must respect our VC ( Vice – Chancellor )
We use it to indicate singular or plural form – Example – You must keep bag(s) outside the examination room.
We also use it to add personal comment – Example – Many students think Computer Science as a good career option . ( I am not sure )
Square Brackets [ ] – It is used to indicate or enclose word or words added by someone other than the original writer or speaker to clarify the situation and also to add missing word .
Example – He said , ” It [the question ] was tough to answer. ”
He is [ an ] efficient man to handle the situation.
Hyphen ( – ) – We use hyphen to make compound modifiers .
Example – We have well- equipped laboratories.
We use hyphen with some prefixes . Examples – Ex – teacher, All – inclusive
We use hyphen to write numbers 21 to 99 or to indicate extension of numbers or to indicate fractions .
Examples – Thirty – seven
We can write 50 to 70 as 50 – 70.
Fraction – One – third,
Two – fourths
Dash ( – ) – We can use dash like a colon to introduce a list . Example – We are going to buy some fruits – mango, banana, guava, apple,etc.
We use dash to indicate that words or letters are missing. Example – We are ______________ of a college.
Underline ( _ ) – It is used below a piece of writing to emphasize the specific portion of the writing .
Example – I will reach the office at 9:00 am .
