Punctuation marks made easy for English students

1. 1. Importance of Punctuation in a Sentence
2. Different Type of Punctuations and their Usage
1. Full Stop/Period
2. Question Mark
3. Exclamation Point
4. Comma
5. Colon
6. Semicolon
7. Dash
8. Hyphen
9. Brackets
10.Braces
11.Parenthesis
12.Apostrophe
13.Quotation Marks
14.Ellipsis
3. Punctuation Exercises
What are Punctuation Marks?
Punctuation marks are a group of conventional marks or characters that are used while writing the
English language to punctuate or separate parts of a sentence so that it becomes more meaningful and
the reader understands the context in which it was written. There are 14 commonly used punctuation
marks in the English language.
These punctuation marks include:
Sentence Endings; full stop, question mark, exclamation point
Comma, colon, and semicolon
Dash and hyphen
Brackets, braces, and parentheses
Apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis
Also Read: Grammar for IELTS
Importance of Punctuation in a Sentence
The use of punctuation is very crucial in the English language because of the following reasons:
Correct punctuation helps to clarify the tone of the sentence.
It helps to understand the context in which something was said or written.
It helps to break the sentence or indicate pauses which is important to understand the meaning of the
sentence.
It improves the readability and logic of the context.
When used incorrectly, it can change the meaning of the entire sentence.

2. Also Read: Learn All About Adjectives in English Grammar!
Different Type of Punctuations and their Usage
There are 14 types of punctuation marks that can be used while writing in English. These are:
Full Stop/Period
A full stop or a period is used at the end of a declarative or imperative sentence like after a statement
or command. It denotes the end of a sentence. A period is also used for abbreviations such as titles,
names, time, etc.
Examples:
I will meet you at home.
Submit this report by Tuesday.
Abbreviations like a.m., p.m., Mr Scott M. Clarke, Mrs., etc.
Question Mark
A question mark is a punctuation used at the end of an interrogative sentence/at the end of a question.
It denotes the end of the sentence. Commonly, it is used with sentences that begin with what, why,
where, when, who and how.
Examples:
What do we have to do for the assignment?
Is that your sandwich?
What time is it?
Exclamation Point
An exclamation point is used to denote the end of an exclamatory sentence like a sentence that
expresses an intense emotion or feeling. It is also used to emphasise a sentence.
Examples:
Oh my god! That is some great news!
I’m so excited about your party!
Comma
A comma is a punctuation used to indicate a separation of ideas or insert a pause in a sentence. It has a
variety of purposes like-
It is used to separate three or more things in a list or series.
It is used to set off names used in direct address.
It can be used to show a pause after an introductory word.
It is used to separate two complete sentences.
Examples:
She ordered a burger, fries and coke at the restaurant.
Jan, it is good to see you.
However, it was a lie.
Texas, USA is a great city to live in.
Colon

3. A colon can be used in a sentence when introducing something like a quote, an example, a series, or an
explanation. It is also used between individual clauses when the second one provides an explanation for
the first. Lastly, it can be used for emphasis.
Examples:
She took four classes last semester: history, biology, arts, and economics.
I was late for the party: there was traffic.
I only like one colour: red.
Semicolon
A semicolon is used to connect two separate sentences that are interrelated. These independent
sentences could also be connected through conjunctions like but, and, therefore, etc. It is stronger than
a comma but not as strong as a full stop
Examples:
Joan likes eggs; Jennifer does not.
The cat slept through the storm; the dog cowered under the bed.
Dash
Dashes are not commonly used but are used to set off an idea within a sentence. There are two types of
dashes ‘en dash’ and ‘em dash’. An en dash(–) is twice the size of a hyphen and is used to indicate a
range, connection or differentiation. An em dash(—) is longer and is used to put emphasis or enhance
readability. It can be used in place of a comma, semicolon or parenthesis.
Examples:
The building was in construction from 1970 – 1980.
The approximate cost is Rs. 900 – Rs.1500.
Her answer was— No!
Hyphen
A hyphen is used to join two or more words to form a compound word.
Examples:
Day-to-day
Step-mother
Part-time
Brackets
Brackets are used to insert explanations, corrections, clarifications, or comments into quoted material or
otherwise. It is used for technical explanations or to clarify meaning.
Examples:
Jim said, “ it [sunset] was really pretty.”
“Did you see that [cat]?”
Braces
Braces are used to mark pauses and represent choices. They are often and extensively used in
Mathematics for numerical sets of numbers and formulas.

4. Examples:
Odd numbers {1, 3, 5, 7, 9 …}
2{1+[23-3]}=x
Parenthesis
Parenthesis is used to denote extra additional information or comments. They can be replaced by
commas without changing the meaning in most cases.
Examples:
He gave me a nice bonus ($500).
He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he did not understand the question.
Apostrophe
An apostrophe is used in place of letters omitted from a word or compound word while writing. They
are used to form possessive nouns. They are also used to form plurals of letters, numbers and symbols.
Examples:
Don’t, can’t, didn’t, I’m
Michael’s dog ran away.
Erin’s sweatshirt was tan coloured.
Kevin got straight A’s in his exams.
Quotation Marks
There are two types of quotation marks: double quotation marks and single quotation marks. Double
quotation marks are used before direct quotations, direct speech, dialogues, something someone said
or is saying. Single quotation marks are used to indicate quotations inside of other quotations or
otherwise. It is also used for
Examples:
Stanley said, “ I don’t like this.”
The title of the book is ‘Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban.’
“Why did you do this?” Said Andy angrily.
Ellipsis
Ellipsis is used to represent an omission of words or letters in a sentence. It used to omit unnecessary
words from sentences or quotes.
Examples:
Holly flustered, “ do you know where um… never mind.”
Call me Ryan… they mistakenly called me Ron.”
Punctuation Exercises
1. We had a great time in France the kids really enjoyed it
2. Some people work best in the mornings others do better in the evenings
3. What are you doing next weekend

5. 4. Mother had to go into hospital she had heart problems
5. Did you understand why I was upset
6. It is a fine idea let us hope that it is going to work
7. We will be arriving on Monday morning at least I think so
8. A textbook can be a wall between teacher and class
9. The girl’s father sat in a corner
10. In the words of Murphys Law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
Punctuation Answers
1. We had a great time in France – the kids really enjoyed it.
2. Some people work best in the mornings; others do better in the evenings.
3. What are you doing next weekend?
4. Mother had to go into hospital: she had heart problems.
5. Did you understand why I was upset?
6. It is a fine idea; let us hope that it is going to work.
7. We will be arriving on Monday morning – at least, I think so.
8. A textbook can be a ‘wall’ between teacher and class.
ow to write about your simple daily routine:
1. Use the present simple tense.
Forming the present simple tense is simple – use the base form of the verb.
 I play…
 You work…
 They swim…

6. Remember – if you are using the third person singular (he/she/it) you need to
add s to the verb.
 He plays…
 She jumps…
 It kicks…
Example sentences with the simple present tense:
 I clean my teeth at 7:00.
 I go to sleep at 11:00.
2. Use adverbs of frequency.
100% 0%
always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, hardly ever, rarely, never
I always clean my teeth before I go to school.
I sometimes have hot chocolate in the evening.
Note:
Get up and wake up have different meanings.
Wake up – means to open your eyes, to be awake.
Get up – means to stand up, get out of bed.
Example Daily Routine:

7. Lisa is a student at university. Here is her daily routine.
1. I always wake up at 7:00 in the morning.
2. I usually have breakfast at 7:30.
3. I catch the bus to university at 8:00.
4. I usually start studying at 8:30.
5. I always have lunch at noon.
6. I finish university at 4:15 in the afternoon.
7. I sometimes go to the cinema with my friends in the evening.
8. I usually have dinner with my family at about 7:00 in the evening.
9. I never go to bed before 11 o’clock.
10.I often go to bed at midnight.
Note:
Midday or noon = 12:00 in the day.
Midnight = 12:00 at night.
Read More: Phrasal Verbs For Your Daily Routine
It’s your turn! Have a go at writing your daily routine.