You are currently viewing Some Punctuation Marks in English, Their Uses with Examples

Some Punctuation Marks in English, Their Uses with Examples

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 ( âť“ ) – We use this mark at the end of question.

Example- Where are you going ?

Exclamation Marks ( âť— ) – 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 .