Punctuation booklet

Prévia do material em texto

1 Capitals and Hyphens 
Capitals 
Note: 'initial capital' means a capital letter used as the first letter of 
a word. 
1 Beginning of sentences 
An initial capital is used for the first word of a sentence. 
Examples: My brother is six years old. He likes animals. 
Yesterday he went to a zoo for the first time. · 
2 Proper nouns 
lnitial ca pita Is are u sed for proper nouns - such as the na mes of: 
' 
a person -
Judith 
Pierre 
a country -
India 
China 
a street -
High Street 
Fifth Avenue 
a geographicaf feature -
Mount Everest 
the Suez Canal 
an institution -
the Stock Exéhange 
the Bank of England 
. . 
a business company, -
Heinemann Educatíonal Books 
British Oxygen Company 
a day of the week -
Tuesday 
Friday 
a month -
April 
November 
.. _ .a town or city .-:- . 
· Liverpool 
NewYork 
a langu1ge -
Spanish 
Urdu 
a political party -
the Labour Party 
the Liberal Party 
a historical period -
the Renaissance 
the French Revolution 
2 
a race -
Europea ns 
Asians 
an organization -
the lnternational Red Cross 
the United Nations 
PRACTICAL PUNCTÜATION 
a festival -
Christmas 
Ramadan 
3 The Deity 
lnitial capitals are used for na mes of the Deity. 
Examples: God, the Almighty, Allah, the Holy Spirit 
Capitals are also often used for prono u ns referring to God. . 
Examples: He, Him, You, Thee, Thou, Who, Whose 
_When referring to pagan gods, write god/gods (no capital), 
but use a capital for their names. 
Examples: Mars, god of war, was the son of the goddess Juno. 
4 Adjectives from_proper nouns 
As a general rule, adjectives from proper nouns begin with a 
capital letter. 
Examp/es: Chinese, lndian, Parisian, Roman 
But there are sorne exceptfons for the names of common 
objects. 
Examples: french windows, morocco leather, asian flu, 
diesel engine, arabic numerals 
5 Family relationships - such-as father; -mother, 
une/e, aunt, etc. -
a) Use an initial capital for relationship word alone. 
Examples: 1 hope Uncle will not be too late, because 
Grandmother is rather tirad, and so is Father. 
note: brother, sister and cousin are not used in this way. 
b) Use initial capitals for relationship word plus a proper name. 
Examples:' 1 asked Aunt Atice, and Uncle Joe, and Cousin 
Louise to come and stay with us. 
note: brother and sister are not used in this way. 
CAPITALS 3 
e) Use initial capitals for the relationship word plus proper 
name if a possessive adjective precedes it, except for 
brother and sis ter. 
Examples: Has my Uncle George got_the tickets yet? 
1 do not know his sister Jane well. 
d) Do not use an initial capital if there is no proper name, and 
an article or possessive adjective precedes the relationship 
word. 
Examples: We asked our uncle to give up work. 
The aunt in Canada is a nurse. 
My sister is not ~orne yet. 
She gave her mother a present. 
e) lnitial capitals are always used for relationship words when 
applied to priests or members of religious orders. 
Examples: Father Brown (a priest), Brother Joseph (a 
monk), Sister Teresa (a nun), Mother Superior 
(head of a religious house) 
6 Books, plays, films, newspapers, musical works 
Use initial capitals for the first word, and ali following main 
words in the titles of books, plays, etc. (Do not use ·initial . 
capitals for articles, conjunctions, or prepositions when they 
are not the first word.) 
Examples: A Look at lndian Architecture, She Stoops to 
Conque,, Six Years in a Leper Colony, The Dai/y 
Telegraph, · New World Symphony 
' 
7 Personal títles 
a) Always use initial capitals for a persona!' title plus a proper 
. . name. 
Examples: Oueen Elizabeth, King George, President 
Kennedy, Sir James Morris, Lord Dennery, Nurse 
Thompson, Sergeant Ahmed 
b) Use an initiat capital for a personal title without a proper 
name when: 
(i) the personal title is used to address someone in direct 
speech; 
Example: 'Well, Doctor, is my father better?' 
4 
~ 
PRACTICAL I PUNc-¡\JA.; 
(ii) referring to a particular person holding a particular job~,ei~ 
Examples: The Secretary read the letter while th 
. Chairman sat silent. e 
The Prime Minister broadcast to the nation. 
But do not use capitals when speaking of a job · in a 
general way. 
Examples: My sister is a secretary. 
1 want to beco me an engineer. 
8 Verse 
Use an initial capital letter for the first word in each line ef 
verse. 
Example: Two men look out.through the same bars; 
One sees mud - and ene sees stars. 
note: Letters and Direct Speech 
See ·page f;J fer the special use of capitals in fetters. 
See page 49 for the special use of capitals in direct speech. 
WARNING - CAPITALS: Do not use capitals for: 
a) the seasons - spring, summer, autumn, winter 
b) compass peints ~ north, seuth, east, west, unless part ef 
the name of a region - e.g. the West (for the western part 
of the USA); the East (for the Orient); Northern lreland; the 
Western Hemisphere 
However, capitals are used for the abbreviations of compass 
points: NE (north-east), SW (south-west), etc. 
e) school subjects - history, biology, physics, chemistry (but 
languages need a capital - English, Arabic, Japanese, etc.) 
; .. . - · ,-·-
r .,,.L,_~: ~ ." 
Exercise 1 
Put capitals where needed in the following sentences. 
1 ¡ asked my brother paul if he had read a year in the amazon 
basin. 
2 we study french and english,.but not ge~man at our sc~ool. 
3 an irish nun, sister mary, teaches physrcs and chem1stry at st 
mary's school. 
4 in history we are now reading about the second world war with 
miss black. 
5 my uncle bill has just b9ught a new rolls-royce silver cloud 
motorcar, but he won 't give me his old ford. 
6 when superintendent walker shouted at hi~, the policeman at · 
the door let us in. 
7 the eiffel tower attracts many thousands of overseas visitors, 
m9ny of them american, especially in spring, when parís is at its· 
best. 
8 i should like to own a leica, perhaps the most famous of west 
german cameras. 
9 i think that mother will take a short holiday in august or late july. 
10 she will probably go with my elder sister rose to singapore or 
malaysia. 
11 i bought the times from smith's in regent street, and read that 
the thames was in 'flood near my home in oxford. 
' 12 when we were in amsterdam last summer we saw rembrandt's 
the night watch in the rijksmuseum. 
13 one of the nurses took me to see matron, who explained that 
doctor snelling had seen gillian, and said she had pneumonia. 
14 the newspapers here are full of stories about the miss world 
competition. 
15 i think myself miss argentina will win the competition. 
16 even the most faithful christians someti-mes wonder why god in 
his wisdom allows so much suffering in the world. 
17 the queen and the president of franca stopped to be 
photographed before they left by car for buckingham pala ce. 
18 according to homer, and all other greek poets, ares, the god of 
war, was the son of zeus and hera. 
19 a new science laboratory was opened just after christm_as by sir 
brian jackson, the distinguished scientist ·an.d ~uthor of a history 
of scientific thought. 
20 i think uncle charles brought back a valuable collection·of china 
from the east as well as sorne persian rugs . 
. . . · . ' •; 
2 Full Stops, Question Marks, 
Exclamation Marks 
Full Stops 
15 Complete sentences 
Fuff stops mark off complete sentences - groups of words 
containing at least one main verb, and making complete sense 
by themselves. 
Examples: l like chess. 
When it is dark, we shall light a fire. 
My sister hoppedr skipped, and jumped with delight. 
After a long and tiring search, we found sorne size 9 shoes 
at a large store in town. 
1 
(The main verbs are in bold type.) 
16 lncomplete sentences 
In sorne modern writirig, full stops are· placed after .groups of 
words which would not traditionally be called complete 
sentences, that is, after groups of words not containing a main 
verb. This is often done to convey excitement andsuspense. 
· Example: He must get away. At once. To Greece. To India. 
Toe Pacific. Anywhere. 
WARNING: Remember that using full stops in this way is 
effective because it is unusual. As a general rule use full stops 
only aftet complete sentences. 
17 Abbre_viations and contractions 
Yo u can either use a f ull stop or not for: 
a) abbreviations endi.ng with the same letter as the full word 
Examp/es: Dr. or Dr for 'Doctor' 
Ad. or Rd for 'Road' 
10 
PRACTICAL PUNCTUA. • 
. d . . I\C)~ 
b) abbreviations of countnes an organizat1ons. 
Examples: U.S.A . or USA f(?r United States of America 
B-.8.C. or BBC for British Broadcasting Corporation 
Use a full stop after an abbreviation (other than countries and 
organizations) not ending with the same letter a~ the full word. 
Examples: Co. for 'Company' 
etc. for Latin et cetera, 'and the rest' 
e.g. for Latín exempli gratia, 'for example' 
i.e. for Latin id est, 'that is' 
WARNING: Never place two full stops together. lf a sentence 
ends with an abbreviated word, only one full stop should be 
used . . 
Example: My brother works for A.C. Black and Co. 
18 The decimal point 
Examples: a .303 rifle (25. 75 67 .98 metres 
19 lncomplete quotatíons 
A series of full stops is used to indicate either ·an incompleta 
quotation, or a break in speech. The break may be at the 
beginning or end, or in the middle. 
Examples: ' ''. . . or to take up arms against a sea of 
troubles." How does that quotation begin ?' 
' "A little learning is a dangerous thing . . . " 1 can never 
remember the next line.' · 
'And if you go to the poli ce with your story . . . ' The 
-stranger smiled and spoke softly, but he looked 
dangerous. 
The report- ·said,·· 'AII · shops·• : ·.--· . · should ·stay open 
... until six o'clock.' 
· Exercise3 
Put capitals, and full stops as needed in the following 
sentences. Do not use any commas. 
Each of the following examples consists of two sentences: 
1 mrs bryant is away she'II be back in a week's time 
2 i should like to go to hong kong one day my pen friend lives 
there . 
FULL STOPS 
3 · d 11 
' o not like travellin b .. 
4 my cousin · t h 9. Y ai_r I always become air-sick 
5 we saw so~eª ~ e university º! reading she likes it very much 
were ve . shd~s of west-afnca at the geography society they 
ry mterestmg 
Each of th8 following examples consists of th.ree sentences: 
6 dr.p~tel examined me carefully he could find nothing wrong he 
sa1d I need not worry · 
7 we flew home by twa {trans world airlines) it was a very 
~omfortable trip the hostesses were very helpful 
8 1 am visiting new york in the autumn it will be my first visit there 
i'm looking forwara to it very much 
9 everyone in england seems to think that all west indians come 
from jamaica there are many other islands i come from st lucia 
1 O sarah is a nice girl she is going to work for unesco she is a very 
good secretary 
Each of the foll.owing examples consists of four sentences: 
11 alan has just won a scholarship he's going to the usa he's 
already gota dip ed* he's going to get a ph d** 
12 we lost our luggage at cairo airport it went on to paki~tan _we 
had no clothes at ali we had to go and buy lots of new things 
13 there was no cl~e to the murder no weapon a bare room justa 
very dead body (See section 16, page 9) 
14 i have read chinese poetry only in translation i like the 
translations of arthur waley naturally i don't know how accurate 
they are i should like to be able to read the originals 
15 my mother drinks lots of china tea when it's · hot i don't like it 
myself i prefer coca-cola for this mother thinks i'm a savage 
Each of the following examples consists of one, two, three or tour 
sentences: · 
16 when i saw mrs smith she had just passed her driving test she 
was very pleased as you may imag_ine she asked me whether 
we'd go round to have dinner with her to celebrate tomorrow 
17 in the end i stopped the argum·ent by"saying we could easily find 
the height of everest by going along to the library and looking 
up sorne reference books 
18 if a journey to the centre of the earth isn>t in the library, please 
get me another book by jules verne i think he's a wonderful 
author · 
19 at chinase new year all the children have lucky-money many 
firecrackers are let off there aré many parties too 
20 we saw a film about japan on tv last night there was sorne 
wonderful scenery but tokyo seemed rather crowded 
• dip ed is short for Diploma in Education 
* 'ph d is short far Doctor of Philosophy 
FUL.L STOPS 
13 
p Exercise 5 
ut capitafs, hyphen 
. 
Passages Do 
s, and full stops as needed in the fo
llowing 
1 . . not use any commas. 
many People 1 
· 
gamblin . ove_ to gamble sorn
e of my friends say that 
much 
9 15 wron~' do not believe it is if one doe
s not spend to_o 
spe t money on 1t never expect to w
in think that the money 1s 
n as soon as the bet is made wi
nning should always come 
as a surprise 
2· 
Judge strong said that it was one of
 the worst cases he had ever 
had t? try the evidence was shocking he could hardly 
believe it 
he sa1d that smith would have to be 
sentenced to a long term of 
imprisonment to stop others from a
ttempting similar crimes in 
future any other cases that carne b
efore him would be similarly 
treated 
3 it was very quiet in the valley from
 where the car had crashed 
there carne no sounds the shou
ts and screaming had stopped 
we clambered down the cliffs at the
 foot of them a swirling river 
barred our way we did not know h
ow deep the water was the 
current seemed overwhelmingly str
ong the noise of the waters 
breaking on the boulders was so l
oud we could not hear ariy 
sounds that there might have been 
from the crash the battered 
boot of the car and the two back 
wheels could be seen rising 
abo~e the bushes on the opposite 
side we looked helplessly at 
one another 
4 the train stood a long time in the stati
on the signals stayed at 
red the platform was swarming with refu
gees from all over the 
province and the police were trying
 to maintain order rumours 
were rife i desperately wanted a drink a
gainst the wall a tap was 
visible even in my distress i did not d
are leave my seat once off 
that train i should nevar be able to 
get on it again i shouted to 
attract the attention of someone who m
ight fetch me a cupful 
of water i thrust a tin cup out of the wi
ndow and a handful of 
bank notes no one was interested Jn p
aper .. money now i.t could 
buy nothing a seat·on the train ora hand
hold anywhere on· the 
side was all that anyone wanted 
· . 
5 near the pond where i had dropped
 mr wong's camera in the 
water was the monkey house i went in c
autiously it was not my 
lucky day a larga chimpanzee .callad zim
ba looked at me evilly i 
felt glad she was behind bars then she b
agan to fumble with the 
catch of her door with one bound she 
was out she grabbed et 
my binoculars i held tight the leather st
rap broke the monkey 
swung up to an fron bar with surprisin
g intelllgence she took 
out the binoculars from their case i foun
d myself belng viewed 
by a monkey through a paf r of feiss
 binoculars worth fifty 
pounds the animal was looking throug
h them the wrong way i 
1.~ Parenthesis a
nd relaÍive c/ause
s 
.A Parenthesls iñ the m1d
dle of a sentence 
•-When part of a s
entence appears In
 brackets, you can
 
-read the santence 
wlthout thá words
 fn brackets ard it ·
 
w111 stlll-g,ake .. s~nse,
 
-
Sen11a (more than an
y othar spo_rtsman) wi
r..s loved by tlzs ' 
B razlllqn peo¡,lc,. 
· 
The main idea of th
ls sentence ls: 
.Senna ivns loued by_ tl
u, Brazillan. people. 
Commas can be u
sad for parenthasis
 in the sama way -
as brackets. 
Sa1111a, mora tluzri cu
iy other s¡,ortsnum, u
;as lova,cl by tlw 
Brazllitrn people. 
. 
In tha followlng sente
nces, the _material be
tween. the· 
commas is not the 
maJn idea of the sente
nce. _Although 
tha words Jn parent
hesls g1veextra info
rmatfon, the 
sentence wouíd sti/
1 make sense witho
ut ft. 
Catharl11e,. luu;l1tg s
at out befara datun,:iu
{IS the .first to 
reacli tl,e 71eak. : . 
. : . · • 
· · .-
Maln ldea-
G_atheri.11a tvns tl,a fi rs
t to reach the 7,eak. -
More than one ·pare
nthesis can occur in
 a sentence. 
Fablana declclecl, on hsarlng tlbout th
e da~r, tlutt .rhe 
would, nfter r,ll, cl{111
b tita mountain. 
· Main Idea -
_ 
Fabla.na de,;lcled that 
slut w(Jtllcl cli111b tha 1
nountain. 
1 • Wrlt a the main Idea
 In these santences. 
n '\,Ve nll ngreed tl1nt, 
In view of tl1e condJtio
n of our 
feet, .\Ve would spand ·tl1
e next dny to~ring ~h~ v
illng~s. 
b The c1eer, \vl1icl1 stoo
d, s-ilently gnzing nt us
, nbout 30 
n1eti-es n,vay, '"''ere ·not 
disturbed by ou1· presen
ce. . 
e After mnny yenrs of
 stucly, years wl1ich I b
elieve r. 
Jmve tl-ie 1ígl1t to descr
ibe ns botl1 long und p
alnf ul, 
1
_
11
)' urotl1er l\'f nU-he,v, ub
~ut "vl1om you t,vill llea
r rnore 
!H~er, Rnttlly becmne a
 good enough tnunpe
t player to 
.1nm the nrmy. 
2 Aema
mber to usa a pair of commas for parenthesls
. lf 
you forget ona of the two commas, the _sent
ence can 
becoma difficult toread. In each of the follow
lng palrs of 
sentences.· óne Is badly punctuated. Supply th
e mlsslng 
commas. 
la She·wns, however tirec.l ufter her expeuitio·n
. 
lb ~he wns, ho\vever tired ufter her expedition, s
tiU 
... • smiling. :-· .• - ·- --- . -· ---· ·--
-- .•. ···---
.2a Politicinns hnve to be fi1ir, Jied the Prime M
inister. 
2u Politichms hnve to L>e foir, lietl less this year. 
3n He told me when hls com1;nny wns golng to
 be tLiken 
over by a multlnntiomll, so I qulckJy bought shnre
s. 
3l> He told me when hls ~:ompany WllS golng to b
e tnken 
over by n multlnntfonnl, tbnt he wns cliinking too 
muc:h. · 
4a Jennytold the story ofher husbnnd's nccide
nt, w¡\S ·' 
-angiy'with him. -
4b Jei~~Y-t?ld the story of her ln.1sband's accic1el
'.)t, hlughing 
till the tenrs ~n clown hei· foce. · 
· 
e- B Parenthesls at the btgir,mlng or end of a s
entence 
You only need ene comma lf the parenthesls
 comes at 
the-beglnnlng or end of a sentence: the full sto
p, colon, 
semlcolon, questlon mark or exclamatlon mar
k takes the 
place of the other comma. 
¡ Catherlne tl)QS the first to raflcl1 the pet1k,· ha
vfng set out 
be/ore claum. . · · 
The concept of parenthesis and the ¡:iunctu
ation 
approprlate to lt can be applied to many dlf
f erent 
·grammatlcal structures. 
partlclple phrase 
~-1 y brothers being 1Jen; Jealous, I 11ttoer invite b
oys lwme. 
senterice adverb 
· Neoertheless, he was a plec,siie to liue 1.uith. 
preposltional phrase beginning a sentence 
111 the Miclcll~ Ages, A11wnclll L.uoulcl Jwuo been b
urnt ns a 
witch. · · 
Supply the necessary commas in each of 
the followlng 
s'entences. · · 
1 However I clecidecl to spend the clny in the m
ountuin 
1-cfugci· _ 
2 \1/e found deer nenr the top of the mountn
fn the hlghest · 
in Cntnlonin. 
· . 
3 On henring abaut the deer Fnbim,n decidecl thn
t she 
woulcJ cliinb the mounttun. · 
; 4 . High in the sky nn et1gle sonred effortJessl
y enjoying the 
: sunsh.Ine. . 
1 • 
, .. 
· . .. 
r 
Cornmas 
e D~flning and non-d -
Beanng In mina that a eflning relativa clauses 
Oll}ltted Without chang_Phrase In parenthesls can be 
note the difference in ing the maln Idea of a sentence 
sentences. · · meanlng between the folloWing ' 
1 The girls, who went t . . 1 . . . , 
ensy. - 0 1•eio >ic:s classes, found the cllmb 
-2 The girls who we t t . . 
ensy. n ~ ne ro bies class~s fouJJd. tl,c; .i:11P'!~ _ --·-.. _ 
The main idea- f 1 1 • • - · The main idea o ,s The g~rls founti the climb easy. 
c/asses found tohf 2 ~~ The g1rls who want to aerobics 
- ~ e c,,mb easy. 
In otMer word~, in 1 .ali t_ha glrls found the clinib easy, 
• Whereas In 2 it Is only the girls who weht to aerobios 
:classes who found it easy and the other .glrls dldn't. 
!n se~tence , l . the phrase 'who went to aero'blcs ·classes' 
1s wntten between commas because lt Is a non•dafining · 
re1ai1ve clause: llke any phrase In parenthesls,· it adds · 
lnformatlon. but it can be taken away wl.thout changing · 
thá1nain idea of the sentence. 
In sentence 2, the phrase 'who wenúo aeroblcs classes' 
Is written without commas because it is a defining 
rehitive clause. lt tells us. which of tha girls four,d the 
climb easy. 
o-summary 
Thls exercise révises the use of commas for parenthesis. 
· lnsert any necessary cornmas In the followlng sentences. 
At least one of the. sentences does· not need a comma. 
1 My btrthdny whi~h hlld begun with sunshine ended with 
- . ruin. 
2 Cleopntrn Henry's clog or mther bitch wns a nuisnnce 
the _who]e <lay. - · · . • . . 
3 No1wn)' being n bit cold ln Jnnuti I've clecided to go to 
Morocco. · 
4 Ma1ion who wns frightened of spiders beggetl us crying 
to tub1 bnclc. 
5 vVlrnt's 1rnppened to the cnr you usecl to diive when you 
,were In Cullfornln? 
6 · Henry's brothe1· the doctor wns unnble to nccompnny us 
bl,t hi~ .-~rqther tbe guitniist dJd come. · 
1 Howev"ci' old-tls she is she lms entered the Lonclon 
Mnrnthon agaln. . . . 
8 He told me ancl I know you're not going to li~e this nfter -
nH the drinks you've bought him nnd:all the ener.gy . 
you've put into ·y~ur nttempt to sell hlm ,n Jngullr thnt . 
hE!'s bought n Fint. . ' 
., 
punctuation 
1.1 Gammas; verb. anc;f object 
Don't puta comma between the verb. anq its 
object, even when the object is a noun ~lause. 
Verb + object · I liausforgottrm my cl1ildl1Qvcl. 
Ver~+ noun clause 1 lu~ueforgottan what • • • 
I wo.ncler.if, ,.,.------· ..... 
• -1 ccinnot ncca¡,t that, .. 
I iuL,li som<1ont1 woulcl., , 
Yerb +· two objects t tolcl ths capta!~• tvhat I tlrought. 
l told tlu1 captaln that . .. · · 
· A Taking cara not to separata tha verb from its object, ~dd 
· ' any commas that may be necessary In J~e follow1ng 
sentences. 
1 I asked her what Un,~_ l1er mother expected h~r.home. 
2 I couldn't peJ"suncle hirri to tell me when he· lnul ·.~tmtecl 
r> to inaulge in this hnbit, 
3 l told her to sim1,lify mnHers that I wns the boss.. · 
4 Theie wns•no way we could hnve guessed., who wns going 
to be nt tbe p,frty. . 
B The /Ole of punctuation la to make wrltten English 
. easy toread. and to_make the meanir,g absolutely clear. 
,,=,· the fotrowfng· exercise we see how peor pur.ictuation 
c~n le"'ad to ambiguity ahd-misunderstandings. 
In each of tha·tollowlng pairs Clf santences, one of the 
santences is vyelr punctu?ted, whi.le the other needs one 
or two commas: add those commas .. 
ln She promised to le1\ve the bnll before midtlight. 
lb She p1·omlsed to keep her mother hnppy to lenve the 
bnIJ b.efore midnight. . 
2n If only you'd told He.ien shSiwould be welcomel 
2b If only you'd told Helen she wouldn't luive been 
shockecl when she snw it 
3a She nsked me to c'ut n lo.ng story short1 to mencl her cnr. 
3b Sl1e askecl me. to elevo te: J!lY whole_ weeken.cl to worki~1g 
ort t11e engine of her Sent 127. 
4n I crin't remember wl1ether we clrnnk Rve bottles or sL,. 
·. ,.4b 1 cari i:e1ne1nber whecl1er you cnn or not. .. 
5n 1t wns she wl10 c1;ose which was ltnusunl Íbr her. 
5b It was sl1e who chose whlch ·Rlm. \ve. went to see. 
' · 
1.2 Carninas: verb 
· and subject 
Don't p t . u acommab t 
verb, Whether tha sub·ª Ween the subject and the 
~o~n Phtase. fn the fo!{~~. is a single word or a long 
n old. ,ng ex8:~Ples, the subject Is 
.Dancing.axo{tc,s, ma · - : / :: . .. . 
Tlia on.ly thl,~l!. I 1 . . i-.' ... h •••• -..:......·-·-----
The way som-:o ;ave¡orgolLc:t_l ·~_11ou) it ,mcl.r. ---:· 
..... -
un·iting ancle ,! tercll,er¡t st iide~l-~ .v¡,.Dilecl tlteir · 
• 
011., use tlu~ir · z · · b · 
7,unctuats . rea e ,n·s !/ J ailin.g to. 
. · - · pro7,e, ly toasª terri~~a iuorn1 to lvl1.ss Brocll
e. 
A In each of th f 11 • · · · ·· · 
· s t 8 0 owing.palrs o_f sentences, one o
f the 
. ~n aneesfs correctry ·~unctuated, for -the reason giv
en 
~e ove. The other sentenc.e fs lnco_rrectly pun~tuated, ~
nd 
. qulres one c~mma. Decide whlch sentencé 1s lncorreptly
 
· pur.1ctuated, and add the mlsslng coii,ma. ____
___ _ 
. la \1/hen he stnrted to plny polo w~~ when Kute stopped · 
cJoving_ him. . _ . 
_ lb '\,Yhen he started to play polo Kute stopped·lovlng h
im. 
2a vVhether or not you're· going tloe:sn't inten,st. me nt ull. 
2b vVhether Ol" not you're going I certriinly nm. 
, 3n Wl1ere there used to be n foct~ry now there were ñ
elds · 
of wiltl ílowers. 
3b Where 1nrge sums of money clmnge l1t\nc.ls is wlier
e 
. lnwyei-s nre to b~ found. · . . . . 
8 Revision . 
Add any commas that .may be necessary. . . . ' 
l V\lnsn't it Churchill who.sald thnt powe1: corn.1pts ni1d 
nbsot'ute power co111tpts nbsolutely? · 
·· i Mnny of the students nnc.1 their fJiencls. nna supporters 
, ,vere shot nt by tho poHce who I!ter. clnimecl thnt 8,ey 
\Vere only obe)1ng ord~rs. 
3 M}' youngest sister wh~ wns a bnh)' during the time I 
spent in tJ1e 'I-Iouse oí tbe Rising Sun' wos strongly 
ndvised not to do wI1nt I had done. 
4 A Jarge numb~r of fnirly successful t1inls hacl nlren?y 
báen completecl wít~1 laboráto1)' anhnals before any 
chnnge· in the behavfoü1• of the ·professot who wns 
1·esponsibJe for the p1;0Ject \Yll~ noted. 
\, 
' . 1· 
i 
punctuatlon 
~ . 1.5 Revision of cornmas 
Toe comrna~ ·have been removed from the follovvlng text, ~ ·:: ;. 
a true story told and illustrated by Ralph ~teadman. _Put ~ } · 
the cornmas back in the text. · , , .:-
. ' 
Ch~;Ús Charlesworth Who DÚd of OlclAge . ; ~--.. 
·· ·· ·_ .. -•-.----·--ar thiÁ~ofSeveñ:--···-.. ·· · -· ·---r! ... ·:: 
. ,· . 
The ageing process affects us nll at different rales. Sorne ~ \·, · .. 
people of 53 like.the ·esteemed aulhor look n mere 35 with ! ·::, 
sparlqing brown eyes anda h:i.ndsome gnit. Others; like ~e 
author' s friend Colin look like tittie middle-aged men 11t 21. 
with micldle-aged outlooks set ways and planned futures. : 
In women the former condition is common but wom.en - r : · 
ra~ely s'uffer from thélntter bcing fired with. the in$atinble 
- · drive of ambition for elther 11n ind~pendent.,and distin-
. ____ g~ished curcer in a still mnle-dominated ~orld or n home 
and seven childre1\ by the time thcy are 30. 
No such luck for Charles Cha\'lesworth who was bo11l · 
on the 14th of Mnrch .1829 in Sta.riord. Al the 11ge of four 
Charles hnq a beard and was sexually mature. 
. .. ., 
,.,. 
_In the fino! three ye~rs of his life his skin wri'1kled and •· 
he ~evelopcd varicose veihs shortncss of breath.¡rcy hair · · 
semle dementia and lncontinence. Sorne time in his f' 
seventh year he fainted and nevcr regained co~sciousness. . .. 
. Toe coroner returned a verdíct of ~atural cnuses d1,1c to 
old age .. 
1 
\ 32 
Exercise 17 ~ 
ks question ma
rks, and 
1• fon mar , 
Put capitals, full stops, exclama 
1
• Alf uses of the comma are 
~ommas as needed in the f?Uowmg ~re than one séntence · 
rncluded. Each exampfe cons•sts of m . ht new electric 
. has JUSt J20U9 a 
1 my wife who does a lot of sewmQ ·i~;~-~n do iig-zag stitches 
sewing machi ne it has many gadgets 
1 ~d~ 
5 
not warit her old 
and embroider intricate pattPrns she 1
~
0 
our wife like it she's 
machine though it works verv weJI wou Y 
very welcome to it do have it · . · h 
k d hether i knew w at 
2 the man who was interviewing me as ? . w II know but 
tamily of animals badgers belonged to ! di? not rea J to get the 
m the end and after much help from hi~ 1 manage d b the 
right answer what puzzles me is why I was accepte Y 
university i made such a fool of myself 
3 if this pfane is on time and we can get another at rome we 
should be in london in six hours do you think the hotel whe~e 
we stayed last time will have any rooms james who ~a~ there 
last month said it was half empty put it may be more dtff !cult at 
christmas if we can't get in there where else do you th1nk we 
should try james asked me whether i had ever tried the queen's 
i haven't have you oh dear what was that noise is the plane 
going to crash 
4 as we carne out of the haU where the musical .festival had been 
held we were met by john james and harry who all wanted to 
know whether we had had any luck we told them we had won 
first and second prizes they congratulated us and asked us to 
have a drink with them but we had to refuse as we had to catch 
the bus back home 
5 at the table in the golden qockrel where we usually sat were two 
visitors evidently american we took another table near the door 
picked up the menu chose our favourite dish lobster and gave 
our order to the waíter maria who is the proprietor knows us 
well he carne over to apofogize he said he knew ho.w much we 
enjoyed looking out over the mediterranean but as it was 
thursday he had not expected us on thursday it is true we 
usually go to the mainland assuring him that it did not matter in 
the least we were sipping our first glass of ·wine and glancing 
curiousfy at the backs of the visitors when one of them turned 
round to summon a waiter our ayes met there was immediate 
recognition and a flicker of fear 
. . .... 
,, .. 
4 Apostrophes 
39 Letters missed out 
Use an apostrophe to show that a letter or letters hav
e been 
missed out of a word. This is common in: 
a) short forms such as can't for 'cannot' 
she'II for 'she will' 
b) o'clo_ck for 'of the clock' in time expressions 
e} dates (''69 for ·1969 .:._ ,or 1869, or 1769, etc. - the cont
ext 
indicating which century) 
d) transcribing dialect speech 
. Examples: lt's late. l'm afraid 1'11 have to go now. 
We'II see you at 8 o'clock. 
1 knew him in '52 in Pakistan. 
You can~t think they'II do all the work for nothing. 
'e took 'is 'atan' put it on 'is 'ead - indicating a dialect 
where h is not sounded - for 'he took his hat and put it 
on his head'. 
WARNING: Do not confuse 
it' s = it is (lt' s time to go now.} 
its = of it (The dog wants its supper.) 
there's = there is (There's a party tonight.) 
theirs = of them, belonging to them (Theirs is a fine house.) 
40 Possession 
1 
Use an apostrophe to in_dicate possession by a person, a
n 
animal or an abstract noun (as in a time expression, f
or 
example) 
a) Nouns having a plural in sor es (most nouns). 
Add: to the singular 's . 
to the plural an apostrophe only 
Examples: The shopkeeper's letter appeared in the 
.. . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . .... . .. __r1e,wspaper~.J º.o.e. _,_fJQP..k~~P~r. w.~.i!_e.ª t .. . 
· ··· ·· .. ,........ ... · · · · ...... r.he .. shopkeepers~ . .-.,.ieti:er ..... appeared ..... in· .. :the ..... nevisp.ape¿ .. ·.·:· 
···.•···•· ·.· .. ·•···•·•··· ; ·: : f~~r¡¡I~~~) · •. • ... ·••·······•··•···········•········.·•··•······.·.•.•····· •.•• .• ·· •.••..•..•.•.... ·.· ..... ·.·•.··<• .. ·•.·•·< •.••···••··•·•····•·•····.·.• ••.·.
 
34 
•81 plural b) Nouns having a spec1 ..... 
mouse / mice) d I ral 
PRACTICAL PUNCTLJ1q·,::.. 
form (e.g. man/rnel"\-, 
Add 's to both singular an P u · . 
t ~n soon bored me. 
E I The woman's conversa ,o.,,.. xamp es: . 
(one woman is talking) .. oon bored me. (several The women's conversat1on_(~:~~ , 
women are talking) : ... l 
e) Nouns having a singular ending in 5 
Either add 's (as noted in {a) above) .d \f 
9 
the double s) oran apostrophe 9nly (to avoi wn rn 
- this is more common. 
Examples: Dickens's novels are still very popular• 
One of Jesus' disciples betrayed him. 
d} In sorne time expressions 
Example: Atter an hour's delay, our plane took off. 
1 shall be back in three years' time. 
Without a moment's hesitation, he dived into the sea. 
e) After the last w9rd of a noun group 
Example: The captain óf _the school's speech was loudly 
applauded. 
f) With schools and churches named after saints (add an . 
apostrophe only if the name ends in an s) 
Examples: St Peter's is the largest school in the city. 
Our nearest church isSt Barnabas'. 
g) Names of shops and people's homes 
Examples: 
1 am going to the butcher's, the baker's, 
the Joneses', the Smiths', 
my aunt's, my grandparents', 
my aunt and uncle's, 
Smith and Brown's. 
( Note that only the last noun of a group takes the 
apostrophe.) 
APOSTROPHES 
WARNING: Never use the 
as 
pronouns: apo __ strophe with posses
sive 
41 Some p/urals 
his 
hers 
its 
ours 
yours 
theirs 
.,¡f."":.,. 
~ 
Normally the apost~ophe ¡~ not use& ln forming plurals. Th
ere 
are, however, certam spec1al cases in which it is helpful. 
's indicates the plural of: 
a) figures and symbols 
Examplas: 1 can't read the 7's very well - sorne of them 
look like 1 's. 
b) letters 
Example: lf you don't cross your t's, your handwriting will
 
be hard to read. 
e) words considered as items of language, not used as part
 of 
a sentence · 
Examp/e: There are too many and's in this sentence -
rewrite it! 
Exercise 18 
Put apostrophes as needed in the following sentences. 
1 Wed have brought ours if youd told us you couldnt bring y
ours. 
2 My father and mothers wedding anniversary party· s
tarts at 
seven o clock. 
3 1 met him in 65 in Singapore. Yes, thats certainly Arth
urs 
pictu·re in the paper. 
4 Anns losing her ring in the sand meant that we couldnt ge
t to 
Paul and Marys before lunch. 
5 St Marks first teams training hard for its first match o
f the 
· season. 
6 In three hours time were dueto land at Londons newest air
port. 
7 Sorne of the horses shpes were loose, and its a wonder n
ene of 
them went lame. 
8 Theres a bakers in the village, arid theirs is excellent bre
ad. 
9 The ladies cloakroom is on the right, just opposite the men
s. 
10 (DIALECT - sorne initial h's missed out) 
- She oisted erself up and eld er and out for er ot soup. · · · · · · ·, · · · · · · .··. · · · · · · · , · ·. ·. ·· · · , ·r ·- · · ,. · · · ,. lh t:···1ts eas< · 
.. J.l .Thetwo.Asar.eJde.ntJc~L.l .c.anJ;l~~tYP(O,V~ '.. ~: .· ·.··, .. :., Y .... · .. 
· 12 • -t-faveJput too.many es .jn thatword? lts hard.to .spelL . 
Hyphens 
Hyphens are used: 
either a} to divide a single word because there is not room· for 
the whole of that word in the line 
• 
or b) to join two separ~te words into a compound word 
ore) to combine a word with a prefix or suffix. 
PRACTICAL PUNCTUATION 
6 . 
9 Dividíng words 
Be careful to: 11 bles without separating letters which 
a) divide a word by sy a ' 
belong closely to each other . . 
Exampfes: During the summer' we occasion-
ally went to the park. . 
not: During the summer we occas1-
onally went to the park. 
My grandfather is find- , 
ing it difficult to get about. 
not: My grandfather is fin-
ding it diffic.ult to get about. 
b) write the hyphen at the end of the line, not at the beginning 
of the next line. 
10 Compound words 
There are few sure rules to the use of hyphens in compourid 
words. Observation and a good dictionary are the best guides, 
but the following points are ~seful. 
a) Use a hyphen if the second part of a compound word begins 
with a capital letter. 
Examples: anti-Communist, Anglo-Chinese, pro-British 
b) Use a hyphen to form compound numbers when a multiple 
of ten is joined to a unit. , ' 
Examples: twenty-one, thirty-three, forty-nine 
But hyphens are not used with other parts · of higher 
compound numbers. 
Exsmples: six thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven; 
twenty-eight thousand, four hundred and eighty-one 
e) Use a hyphen when a number is combinad with an 
adjective. 
Examples.· The party of soldiers was sixty-strong. 
There were thirty-odd people in the room. (Compare the 
totally different meaning of: There were thirty odd peo ple 
in .the room.) 
HYPHENS 
d) Use a hypheri \l\'hen a nu b . . 7 
extent of time or space et mt erf is combined with a noun of 
· c. 0 orm an adjective. 
Examples · a five 
a two . -year sentence, a three-foot rule 
twe :vear contrae~, a twenty-year lease, , 
nt1eth-century literature, a fifth-form pupil 
WARNING - HYPHENS· 
constru~tions a . · No hyphen should be used in such 
twentieth centu~~- a sentence of five years, literature of the 
11 Prefixes and suffixes 
As 8 rule, prefixes and suffixes are not separated from the 
stem word. 
Examples: overtake unfasten armful clockwise 
But hyphens are generally used: 
a) to separate iwo identical adjacent letters, usually vowels, 
but sometimes ,con so na nts 
Examples: ski-ing pre-eminent co-operate 
re-entry glow-worm 
b} to distinguish words which have a different meaning with 
and· without the hyphen 
Examples: re-form and reform 
re-bound and rebound 
e) after non 
Examples: non-combatant non-starter 
d) after co 
Examples: co-education co-pilot (but coefficient) 
e) befo re like . 
Examples.· sheep--like ant~like (but like is ·part of many 
common words: childlike, warlike} 
f) after se/f 
Examples: self-interest self-important 
PRACTICAL PUNCTUA,lo~ 
8 
12 Dates and routes . . . 
eaning of to 1n adJect1val 
T_he hyphen can often have the m 
phrases. 
~ h N York•Lisbon air route, 
Examples.· the 1914-18 war, t e ew 
the Hong Kong-Kowloon ferry 
1 
WARNING: Never write 'from '1914-18' - write 'from 
1914 to 
19l8' or 'between 1914 and 1918' 
13 Phrases and c/auses used as adjectives 
Examples: lt was a run-of-the-mill job. 
He had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. 
WARNING: Write 'I told him he could take it or leave it'. 
14 To indicate stammering 
Example: 'G-g-give me th-th-that b-b-book,' he stammered. 
Exercise2 
Put capitals and hyphens as needed in the following sentences. 
1 my father served in the 1939 45 war. 
2 she hadan i'm better that you and you know it look about her. 
3 my cousin sylvia is very self icentred. she ref uses to help aunt 
louise at all. ' . 
4 many things we take for granted today, such as inter 
continental air travel, would have been considered far fetched 
ideas only half a· century ago. 
5 there are twenty one young people in my son's class at the anglo · 
spanish institute. 
5 Dashet 
42 Lists 
Use a dash befare or after a list if a collective word is used. 
Examp/es: We bought sorne new crockery - cups, plates, 
saucers, dishes. 
1 need sorne new cl.othes -. a couple of shirts, a pair of 
trousers, and shoes. 
Cameras, binoculars, jewellery, perfume - all sorts of 
expensive goods were hidden in the smuggler's car. 
But: We bought sorne cups, saucers, plates, dishes. 
1 need a couple of shirts, a pair of trousers, and shoes. 
. Cameras, binoculars, jewellery, perfume were hidden in the 
smuggler's car. 
(There are no collective words in these three sentences.) 
43 Explanations and comments 
A dash may introduce an explanation ora comment. 
Pairs of Dashes: expl~nations or comments in the middle of 
a sentence will need a pair of dashes. 
Examples: Susan had left all the lights on - another 
example of her carelessness! 
My uncle Joe - he was himself an exce\lent swimmer -
gave a cup for swimming to the school. 
· 44 Dashes wíth other punctuation marks 
A question mark or exclamation mark may be written befare 
the second dash of a pair . 
...... . .. .. .. E.](J!!JJPles: Mario - is that his name? - brought the coffee. 
· · ·· · ·· · ·. On ·r=·riday .. the· ·13th' ·.~ a :very· unluc-ky,.datel .. ~ ... we:,.moveOJn.9 
.. .. . . . . ·. .. .. .. ··o'ur new house-~ . · . . .... .. ... . . 
DASHES 
45 Dramatic pauses 
37 
;;. 
A gash_ may be uted for a dramatic effect - to introduce 
somethtng surprising. 
Exampl~.- Roger Toynbee was sitting ~pright in his leather 
cha,r - dead. 
46 Breaks in speech 
A dash can indicate a pa·use or a break in speech. 
' 
Examples: 'Then - then I saw a - it was horrible. 1 just can't 
tell you how it - how it was - it was - you see, still alive! 
And when 1 - 'Jim suddenly stopped talking and looked 
hard at the door. The door was opening slowly. 
Exercise 19 
Put dashes as needed in the following sentences. 
1 1 at once packed sorne clothes a spare suit, acouple of shirts, 
soma underclothes, and my bathing trunks just in case the 
weather improved. 
2 1 asked my sister Josephine she considered herself an expert on 
the cinema if the film at the Rex was worth seeing. 
3 Charles said this is typical of him l'm afraid that he himself 
would provide everything chairs, tables, cooking utensils, and 
even an elephant if I needec;t one. 
4 Old letters, circulars, bills, sheaves of notes, masses of paper ali 
these littered the office floor where they had been blown by the 
wind. 
5 lt was it was I can't it was a horrible, slimy thing with a massive 
tail. 
6 We looked with interest at what we'd found in Arthur's pockets 
a knife, sorne changa, a wallet stuffed with notes and old 
letters, and most surprising this a key to Florence's flat. 
7 My grandfather this is his peculiarity since the time he had been 
in Jamaica did physical exercises from five until five-thirty each 
morning. 
8 Pottery his life-long hobby he now decided to make his career. 
9 Our new carpet did you get that one you were thinking about? 
has not worn very well. 
10 At the party on Tuesday what a party it wasl James drank far 
too much, and Geoffrey who normally never drinks suddenly 
---- --·cotlapsed. ---·------ · ----- . ______ .. ________ ..... -·-· ----.. --·-·-··--···-.. ··------.. ______ ··-·-.. ··-·---···-··-
COLONS - 8(, 2-0 (u,ki-) 3'f- 39 
4 on my desk I found a pile of complaints the roof was still 
leaking, the water $Upply had failed, and the electricity was 
uncertain. 
5 Inspector Barker took from his pocket certain a~icles a brooch, 
a penknife, and an ebony cigarette holder. · 
6 Colons 
47 lists 
A colon may be used before a list if a col/ective word is first 
given. 
Example: My sister finds all school subjects easy: French, 
history, maths, everything. 
(A dash could also be used here - See section 42) 
WARNING: The colon is never used if the collective word 
comes after ~he list. In that case, use a dash (See section 42). 
48 Explanations and comments 
.A colon may introduce a comment or explanation at the end of 
a sentence. 
\ 
Example: My name was not on the pass-list: 1 was not 
surprised. 
WARNING: Do not ·use a colon to mark off a comment or 
explanation in the middle of a sentence. 
Use commas (See section 34), dashes (See section 43), or 
brackets (See section 51). See a/so section 54. 
Exercise20 
Put colo ns as needed in the following sentences . . 
1 We visitad many famous cities during our tour of Europe Paris, 
. Roma, Florence, and Madrid . 
. . _ .. _ _ ~ T.h_e car stopped after ,only six miles there was a leak in the 
--- --· i5efror-tanit- ·· --, --"--'-----·----------·---------·-·--- -- . 
- .3 We had · a~ nice surprise when we reach~d ... home Edna· h·ad : 
'-"~- : ~ \:-:'-'¡~.:::;c;;,; ¡c:eQ,Q.k,e,g:,;$,U[U)~e,h < . . 
7 Semi-colons 
49 Replacing ful/ stops - joining statements 
You may use semi-colons to join more clos
ely two or more 
related statements' which are really . compl
ete sentences in 
themselves. 
Examplss: The restaurant was empty; it was
 still early. 
We entered the tempf e quietly; lights blazed 
in every corner; 
the festival had begun. 
50 Replacing commas - marking main divisio
ns 
Use semi-colons to mark off the main div
isions in a long 
sentence where there are many eommas. 
Example: The hunting knife, which had been
 sharpened to a 
fine edge, was lying on the table, glinting in t
he candle- · 
light, sinister, threatening; the sleeper's right ha
nd rested, 
or rather restlessly played, only inches fr
om -the jewel-
encrusted hift; every few minutes, the gigan
tic body shock 
hideously, as if somehow warned of.our pres
ence - and 
what we intended. 
Exercise21 
Put punctuation marks as needed in the followi
ng. Each example 
forms one sentence. · 
1 the safe which had been broken into stood aga
inst one side of 
_ the room a.gainst the o~her a second safe seem
ed intact but mr 
browns assistant miss murray who looked very d
rawn and 
anxious was busy checking its contents 
2 although we had been given very inadequa
te directions we 
"· ··-·· -'--~fou-n-d-alberts-·ho..us.e~in-·~e~-f!l~r:r-o~t,r:eet.,oflst
_jame.s."ª~uare maria 
---_---··fang···the···dádrbelf·riiatirice···watched'-:the·-back-·-arid:i -s
at-in.:th.e.:c.a.r. .::. __ 
~.,.-.~NYl.f.,l;t,t~ ~,_§Q.'9}'!.~ftU.rri~,9 .. u,nde_r,_the -_s~in,ing _ bonn.e
t . . . 
• •• • •• 
1 
\,~"' r.; ,,·,1: M .. ~"' r'1~1..!L .. ::-!.!. ...... ;~¡~:.· .. ~:'--'~- · ·"'·1 • ....... :~ ~ ~~:.i;i~i:::- '.,,:~-~2:tr::;·.::"~ !;"':;¡•.~
.';.:l:"::::~:•-~"'7:-·,~·/h'S': ~::! t:i~~, ... ttd·~1-:.:.;•, , ~-¡~~~ 
SEMI-COLONS (---~-~-- \ 
3 the clothes which had been left near)he rocks consisted ~ 
blood stained and tattered old shirt a pair of grey torn greasy 
overalls trousers which i thought i recognized as being the 
counts and finally half buried in the sand .~o sandals which did 
not make a pair one being perhaps size 8 and the other at least a 
12 
-~-pt. 
4 the way to the house lay through alótlearing there seemed no 
one about we cautiously crept forwárti barely were we in the 
middle when a cry stopped us in our tracks 
Exercise22 
Put punctuation marks as needed in the following passage. 
There are places where sentences may be separated by full stops or 
joined by colons or semi-colons. Punctuate as you think best, but 
use sorne colons and semi-colons. 
we were told to take a taxi from st paneras station our train would 
arrive there at six o clock the address we were to go to was written 
on a piece of paper it was made up of words and letters cut from a 
newspaper i suppose this was so we could not recognize the 
handwriting even a handwriting e~pert could make nothing of that 
and we didnt suppose thered be any fingerprints on ·the paper the 
kidnappers would not make that sort of mistake the instructions . 
were precise when we arrived at the house we were not to ring the 
bell nor even approach it but were.to make for a telephone box at 
the corner of the street we should be -in the box for 6 20 and expect 
tó receive a call from max the leader of the gang if we informad the 
police then sandra would die we had no choice i rang up the station 
and asked john to come with me we agreed to get the 2 pm express 
for london 
' 
8 Brackets 
s 
51 Explanations and comments within sentences 
Brackets - also calledparentheses -'hl";k off.from the re
st of 
a sentence information giving an expla"ri~tion or comment. 
The writing in brackets is independent of the rest of the 
sentence. 
The writing in brackets may be removed, and a complete 
sentence re.mains. · 
Examp/es: Shakespeare (1564-1616) and Donne (1573-1630) 
were near contemporaries. 
York (population 108,600) is about three times the size of 
Canterbury (population 32,790). 
The lake ('Lake of Death' the villagers call it) lay to the south. 
My brother (the wretch!) took all the chocolates. f 
52 Brackets used with other punctuatioh marks within 
sentences 
a) Punctuation marks [D$fc/~. brackets. The writing in the 
brackets is independent of the rest of thé sentence. 
Therefore it is punctuated separately. AII punctuation marks 
may be used - except the full stop unless it is used for an 
abbreviation. 
Do not start the writing in brackets with a capital, unless the 
capital is for a proper noun. 
b) Punctuation marks outsíde brackets. Never use any punctu-
ation mark before the opening bracket; any punctuation 
mark may be used after the closing bracket. 
e) note: Ouestion mart<s need special care. 
Ask yourself whether the writing inside the brackets is a 
question or whether the whole sentence is a quest~on. 
Compare: We saw a very fine Sung vasa (are you interested 
in Chinese Pottery?) at the museum. 
Can you write me a short article (it need not be very long)? 
BRACKETS 
43 
53 Whole sentences as explanatíons ... and commen
ts 
Sometimes whole sé'ntences are put into brackets.
 Sometimes 
more thanone sentence is bracketed. ln,.this cas
e, a capital 
letter must be usad for the first word, and the ft:ill 
stop written 
before the closing bracket. · 
Example: My copy of Great Expectatjo'tfs cost 75p. (Yo
u can 
get a paperback at 50p, but the pñni is not very good
. lt is 
not really good value.) Have you seen any other D
ickens 
novels in cheap editions? 
WARNING - BRACKETS 
1 ) Brackets must always be used in pairs. Be sure 
you have 
used both brackets. 
2) Never write an opening bracket ( at the end of a line. 
Never write a closing bracket ) at the beginning o
f a line. 
54- Specia/ note: commas, dashes, brackets, 
for comments .and explanations 
Commas, dashes and brackets may ali be used to ma
rk off 
comments and explanations. Sometimes you
 may use any of 
them, but the following guide can help. 
á) Brackets must be used to mark o
ff figures and 
translations of words. 
Examples: Our highest seo re ( 1 O goals to nil) c
arne in 
our last match. 
See-yau (soy sauce) was placed on each table
 in the 
Chinese restaurant. 
b) Brackets must be used to mark off a co
mplete sentence 
or sentences. See section 53. 
e) Choose commas far short asides and comme
nts. · 
Example: My father, 1 am quite sure, would be
 glad to 
come. 
d) Choose dashes for longer comments and 
explanations. 
The dash is the strongest marker. See section 43.
 
.. 
. 44 
PRACTICAL PUNCTUATION . 
Exercise 23 ·-
Put brack t 1• k b t . the followin 8 s, dashes, · or commas as you thin es in g. 
., 
l Th e p up · . ~ · b" 2 AII P•es ~here were seven of them were gettang agger • 
. the fam,ly · were looking forward: .. ..,ery , much to our 
hohdays it was the first time we hé!ct" been away for four 
Years. ·" 
3 ~ ,,,_have just been reading Georg e Eliot have you read 
4 
ivllddlemarch? . -
~y mother was annoyed when we were late for lunch how 
she hates unpunctuality but she became more cheerful in the 
afternoon. · 
5 Denmark area 16,608 sq. miles has a po.pulation of 4,767,597 
Automobile Continental Handbook, 1970. 
6 Can you come to see us on Thursday 1 can take you home 
later in the car? · 
7 - Is your Siamesa cat a 'queen' that is the word, isn't it? 
8 My teacher' s harshness 'What a little fool you are I' he always 
seemed to be saying did not help me to understand 
mathematics. 
9 1 cannot afford any more private lessons in English I 'm 
getting married soon, and ,1 am saving all I can; thank you far 
ali the help you have given me. 
10 We ·saw five houses I know that was too many for one 
afternoon - a large detached house, a bungalow, a 
converted cottage, a farmhouse, and a small terraced house.