Punctuation

Colons & semicolons

Colons
To the left of the colon, you must have a
complete sentence/independent clause.
 I need to purchase the following items: parsnips;
carrots; bread, both rye and wheat; and lettuce.
Don‟t put a colon if there‟s a verb to the
immediate left because that guarantees that
you don‟t have a sentence to the left.
 INCORRECT: I need to purchase:
 INCORRECT: My favorites are:

SEMIcolons
To the left and right of the semicolon, you must
have complete sentences/independent clauses.
 My son, Samuel, is an amazing mathematician;
however, I am terrible at math.
 My son, Samuel, is an amazing mathematician; I
am terrible at math.
Use semicolons to separate items in a series if
even one item has a comma.
 I need to purchase the following items: parsnips;
carrots; bread, both rye and wheat; and lettuce.

Commas

Commas in a series
Ex. Jack bought a cute and fluffy and sweet
puppy.
Jack bought a cute, fluffy and sweet puppy.
BUT . . .
Jack bought a seven-month-old puppy.
(The puppy is not seven, and month and old.)

Commas with non-restrictive
elements
Ex. Patricia Garza, my accountant, is on
vacation.
(“My accountant” is not necessary to clarifying
who Patricia Garza is. “Patricia Garza” is
sufficiently specific. )
Ex. My oldest sister, Susan, is my best friend.
(“Susan” is not necessary to clarifying who my
oldest sister is. I can only have one oldest
sister.)

Commas with restrictive
elements
Ex. Accountants who rob their clients should not
be able to go on vacation.
(“who rob their clients” IS necessary to clarifying
which accountants we‟re discussing. Not ALL
accountants, but rather only those who rob their
clients. We cannot frame this clause with
commas.)
Ex. Sisters in the Effinger family are often best
friends.
(“In my family” IS necessary to clarifying which
sisters we‟re discussing. Not ALL sisters.)

Commas with CITY AND STATE
Ex. I am from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where
my family still lives.
(Place a comma after the city AND the state.)

Commas with introductory phrases/clauses
Ex. When our taxes are due, we have to file our
returns.
(“When our taxes are due” is an introductory
clause that needs to be set off from the main
sentence (subj: “we” and verb “have.”)
(“When our taxes are due” is a dependent
clause, and “we have to file our returns” is an
independent clause, so DC, IC.)

Commas when joining two complete sentences with a coordinating
conjunction
Coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or
yet, so (FANBOYS)
Ex. Our taxes are due, so we have to file our
returns.
Ex. Our taxes are due, and we have to file our
returns.

Apostrophes

apostrophes
Ex. The children‟s toys are not exclusively boys‟
toys or girls‟ toys, but they are everyone‟s toys.
 The toys of the children = children‟s toys
 The toys of the boys = boys‟ toys
 The toys of the girls = girls‟ toys
 The toys of everyone = everyone‟s toys

QUOTATION MARKs

Quotation marks
Question marks and exclamation marks go inside &
outside quotation marks, depending on the context.
 Joe asked, “Where are the flowers?”
 Where are the “rug rats”?
Periods and commas go inside quotation marks.
Always.
 According to Smith, “we should „wear our notions of
identity lightly.‟”
 “You are not the baby‟s father,” Felicia said, “nor am I the
baby‟s mother.”
Semicolons and colons go outside quotation marks.
Always.
 My grandmother always said, “success depends on hard
work”; “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”;
and “stop whining and get to work.”

Hyphens

Hyphens
Hyphenate compound adjectives—adjectives
you have built by joining two or more words.
 Joe bought a seven-month-old puppy.
 Joe bought a six- to seven-month-old puppy.
 The task must be done by him- or herself.
Do not hyphenate adverbs modifying adjectives.
 The clothing we donated was lightly worn.
Hyphenate numbers between twenty-one and
ninety-nine.
 Next Thursday, my grandmother will be eighty-nine.
For an eighty-nine-year-old woman, she is quite
spry.

Dashes

Dashes
Dashes are used to set off parentheticals. As
such, they usually come in pairs.
 I love writers—Hemingway and Faulkner, among
others—because their work brings me such
pleasure.
Do not include the second dash if the sentence
ends where the second dash would go.
 I love writers—Hemingway and Faulkner, among
others.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#1: Dogs who do not have their up-to-date shots
should not be allowed in the dog park and their
owner(s) should be fined.
A.Place a comma after "dogs."
B.Remove the hyphens in "up-to-date."
C.Place a comma after "park."
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#2: Dr. Wilson was born in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, on a dark and stormy night, but she now
lives in San Marcos, Texas, where "the sun always
shines, and everyone is happy".
A.Remove the commas after "Oklahoma" and
"Texas."
B.Insert a comma after "dark."
C.Place the period inside the quotation mark.
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#3: Betsy Roof, painter extraordinaire, has
produced her greatest masterpiece to date: a
seascape featuring dolphins, whales, and
manatees, all frolicking together--like children
playing--in the moonlight.
A.Remove the colon after "date."
B.Replace the commas after dolphins, whales, and
manatees with semicolons.
C.Replace the dashes with comma.
D.CORRECT AS WRITTEN.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#4: Despite the delay due to bad weather, the
volunteers from San Marcos, Texas, finally
delivered to the victims of the Moore tornado a
donation of lightly used children's toys, to which the
children exclaimed, "Thank you, Texas"!
A.Hyphenate "lightly used."
B."Children's" should be "childrens.'"
C.The exclamation point should go inside the
quotation mark.
D.Correct as written

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#5: Whenever I am writing five long papers for my
courses, I wish professors who require twenty-five-
page papers could be required to write their own;
however taxing that may be.
A.Place commas after "professors" and "papers.”
B.Remove the hyphen between "five" and "page.”
C.Remove the semicolon.
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#6: My mother-in-law Charlene, is coming for a visit
on July 4, 2013, but no one in my household,
except me, will be there, so I, and I alone, must
now think of fun activities that do not require going
outside, spending money, or eating spicy food.
A.Place a comma after "law.”
B.Remove the comma after "2013.”
C.Remove the comma after "there.”
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#7: At the neighborhood party, the wind blew so
hard that the ladies' hats flew away, the children's
kites broke their lines, and everyone's day was
ruined.
A."Ladies'" should be "Lady's”
B."Children's" should be "childrens'”
C."everyone's" should be "everyones'”
D.Correct as written

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#8: Even in the twenty-first century, some people
continue to own old, outdated and fuel guzzling
cars that pollute the air, waste fuel and waste
money, but these idiots do not seem to care; I,
however, find their actions reprehensible.
A.Place a hyphen between "first" and "century.”
B.there should be a hyphen between "fuel" and
"guzzling.”
C.The semicolon after "care" should be a period.
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#9: The requirements for becoming a member of
the Kiwanas are: payment of the $200 dues, which
is reduced to $150 after a five-year membership;
attendance at the orientation that is always
scheduled for the first week of August; and a
recommendation from another Kiwana.
A.Remove the colon after "are.”
B.Replace the semicolons with commas.
C.Place a comma after "orientation.”
D.Correct as written.

PUNCTUATION QUIZ
#10: Wrestlers, who bite their opponents, should
be fined; however, the sport, as well as the
wrestlers themselves, is so popular that no one
enforces the rules, and the violence continues.
A.Remove the comma after "wrestlers.”
B.Remove the commas after "wrestlers" and
"opponents.”
C.Replace the semicolon with a comma.
D.Correct as written.