Punctuation plays a vital role in making sentences meaningful. A few punctuations marks with their meaning and examples are discussed in this PowerPoint Presentation.

1. Fundamentals of
Punctuation Marks

2. In verbal communication, to put an emphasis on
a sentence we can pause or change the tone of
our voice. Similarly we use punctuation to put
an emphasis in written communication.
Punctuation is a series of symbols used in the
English language. These symbols are extremely
important as they can completely change the
meaning of the sentence. For an instance, look at
the following sentence and punctuate it the way
you wish.

3. Woman without her man is nothing
A brief description of some commonly used
punctuation is given below. Read them and
probably then you can punctuate the above
sentence. The most common punctuation marks
used in writing English are Full Stop (or Period
in American English), Comma, Semi-colon,
Apostrophe,
Question
Mark
and
the
Exclamation Mark.

4. Full Stop or Period: (.)
A full stop is used to denote the end of a
sentence. It can also be used in other cases like
abbreviations but the end of the sentence is the
most common and critical use of the full stop.
Examples:
•I was not well. I went to the doctor.
•I am looking for Jack. Have you seen him?

5. Comma (,)
The comma is used to signify a pause in the
same sentence. This pause can be for a variety of
reasons. These examples will make it clear.
Examples:
• He said, “Hurry up.”
• I bought a jacket, a pullover, pair of trousers
and a white shirt of the party.

6. SEMI-COLON (;)
A semi-colon can be used in place of a
conjunction in a sentence.
Example:
• I like the colour blue; my wife likes the colour
pink.
• I don‟t watch serials; I prefer news rather.

7. APOSTROPHE ( ‘ )
The primary use of the apostrophe is to show
ownership. It can also be used to shorten two words.
Examples:
• The book belongs to Paul - can also be written as - Paul‟s book.
In this example, the apostrophe is used to signify ownership.
• I will be coming late for the meeting - can also be written as –
I‟ll be coming late for the party.
In this example, the apostrophe is used to combine „I will‟ and
make it „I‟ll‟. Similarly, we cannot finish our work, can becomewe can‟t finish our work and I do not like movies can become I
don‟t like movies.
• I want to research on Egypt, Africa and India‟s ancient history.

8. Question Mark (?)
The main use of the question mark is to ask a
question.
Examples:
• Are you playing cricket?
• What time is it?

9. Exclamation mark (!)
The exclamation mark is a punctuation used to
denote shock, surprise, anger and similar
emotions.
Examples:
•Alas! We lost the match.
•Hurray! We got it.

10. Here are some simple rules to keep in mind when
using punctuation marks
• Make sure you use a full stop at the end of each sentence which
is not a question.
• Use a question mark at the end of each sentence.
• When you have to list down items in the sentences, use a
comma
• To show ownership or to combine two words, use an
apostrophe
• Use a semi-colon instead of a conjunction
• To show emotions like shock, surprise and anger, use an
exclamation mark
Now read the sentence given in the beginning and
decide how you want to punctuate it!

11. Englishleap offers free English lessons with grammar and
vocabulary exercises online.
Contact Address:
34, Corner Market,
Malviya Nagar,
New Delhi - 110017
# 01164690378