This document provides information on punctuation marks, including their definitions and uses. It discusses commas, periods, question marks, exclamation points, semicolons, colons, parentheses, hyphens, apostrophes, quotation marks, and capitalization. Examples are given for how each punctuation mark is used, such as separating elements in a list (comma), indicating the end of a sentence (period), enclosing parenthetical statements (parentheses), and capitalizing proper nouns (capital letters). The document also includes exercises for readers to practice punctuating passages correctly.

1. Punctuation
Punctuation Marks

2. Revision
Grammar
Is the art of putting the right words in the right
places.
Parts of Speech
 Nouns
 Pronouns
 Verbs
 Adverbs
 Adjectives
 Conjunction
 Prepositions
 interjections

3. Meaning of Punctuation
 Devices use to indicate facial
expressions, gestures, tone of voice
and other body movements and
changes in our voice.
 A woman without her husband is
nothing.

4. Punctuation
 A woman, without her husband, is
nothing.
 A woman, without her, husband is
nothing.

5. Punctuation
 Rose said I showed Peter the picture.
 Rose said: “I showed Peter the
picture”.
 Rose said: “I showed Peter the
picture?”
 “Rose” said I, “showed Peter the
Picture?”
 “Rose”, said “I, showed Peter the
picture?”
 Same words in each sentence but

6. Purpose of using punctuation
 To separate one item from another
 Or to specify the grammatical role of
an item or what meaning we are to
attach to an item.
 Example:
1. Since Daniel came, I have had no
peace.
2. This story, I am afraid, is not
interesting.

7. The Hyphen (-)
 Used to separate a compound word
into the main parts which combine to
form the word.
a. compound:
Example:
Face-to –face, mother-in-law, on-the-
spot
Prisoner-of-war, up-to-date, far-fetched
up-to-date, passer-by, two-thirds

8. The Hyphen (-)
b. Words made up of a prefix and a
base:
Example: all-important, self-help, anti-
corruption, ex-wife.
Used to indicate word division between
two lines:
Example: there were two books I had
want-
ed to buy.
Note: it is not possible to hyphen when
the word is only one syllable

9. The Dash (-)
 Two main uses
1. To represent a sudden change in the
flow of though:
Example: Abigail - the best player, I
think - was wounded in the match.
2. To introduce an enumeration of items
Example: my people possess
unenviable qualities – deception,
dishonesty, and disrespect for
authority.

10. The Comma (,)
 Uses of comma are:
a. Used to separate words or groups of
words in a list:
Example:
1. Isaac sells oranges, apples, mangoes
and tomatoes in the market.
2. Samuel enjoys telling stories,
watching films and listening to
classical music.

11. The Comma (,)
 Uses of comma are:
b. Used to to separate two or more
adjectives when the coordinator and
is not used:
1. Be respectful, formal, firm in handling
the man.
2. A long, narrow, winding road has
been constructed.

12. The Comma (,)
 Uses of comma are:
c. Used to separate an introductory
subordinate clause from other
clauses in the sentence.
3. While Hannah was eating, the cat
looked on.
4. When questioned, the thief
confessed.

13. The Comma (,)
 Uses of comma are:
d. The comma may be used to separate
introductory sentence connectors:
Accordingly, as a result, consequently, in
other words, however, in brief ,
meanwhile, in conclusion, therefore,
in the end, thus, to begin with.
Example: The boy sat down, meanwhile,
the father was calling him to come.

14. The Comma (,)
 Uses of comma are:
e. May be used to separate direct
quotations from the rest of the
sentence:
Love said, “The food is delicious”.

15. The Comma (,)
f. May be used to separate items in a
date or address:
1. Christian was living at 40, Habitat
street, Affutuakwa, Assin Fosu.
2. Baaba visited us on Thursday, 20th
February, 2022, in Ghana

16. The Comma (,)
g. May be used to separate a person’s
name from a title, an affiliation, a
degree, etc. which may follow the
name:
1. This is Captain Peter Tosh, Jr., Ph.D.
2. Nana Ado, the President of Ghana,
will join us today.

17. The Comma (,) Second roles
Used to enclose certain elements in a
sentence. That is some phrases,
clauses, and expressions may require
commas (before or after them) to set
them apart from the rest of the sentence.
Instances:
a. Used to set off a phrase in apposition.
This is a group of words which usually
provides non-essential in the sense that
it can be removed
Example: Peter Bossman, a famous
Ghanaian musician, taught me to play

18. The Comma (,) Second roles
b. May be used to enclose parenthetical
and transitional expressions. These
expressions consist of words,
phrases, or clauses which break into a
sentence to explain or emphasiss or
qualify a point.
Example: We shall complete the work,
I’m sure, by Friday.
Most of these people, as
you know, are very poor

19. The Comma (,) Second roles
c. May be used to enclose sentence
connectors which interrupt the flow of
the sentence:
Example: 1. We can all, as matter of
fact, suspend lectures now.
2. the people, moreover,
have rejected his appeal

20. The Comma (,) Second roles
d. May be used to set off words in direct
address:
Example: 1. I assure you, Denis, that I
will win.
2. You see, Mrs. Yawson,
how wrong you have been.

21. The Comma (,) Second roles
e. May be used to set off the words,
Yes, No, all right, well, etc.
Example: All right, can I see your
credentials?
No, you can’t visit the patient.

22. The Parentheses/ bracket ( )
Two main functions:
a. Use to separate parenthetical
expressions which have no real
connection with the rest of the
sentence. These expressions may be
usually non-essential information, or
additional explanatory information.
Example: these students (and I assure
you I know them) are very unruly.
They submitted my name (even when I
was away) for election in Parliament.

23. 4. The Parentheses/ bracket (
)
b. May be used to enclose letters or
numbers that indicate a list of items:
Example: These people can choose (a)
to elect you, (b) to appoint another
person, or (c) refuse to vote at all.

24. 5. The Full Stop or Period (.)
a. May be used to indicate an abbreviation
– a word which has been shortened or a
group of words whose other letters have
been omitted leaving only the initial
letters.
Example:
Mr.-Mister, B. Sc – Bachelor of
Science
Dr. – Doctor, Cor. - Corporation
Ave. – Avenue Co. – Company
In modern times…WAEC, UN

25. 5. The Full Stop or Period (.)
B. Used to indicate the end of a
declarative or imperative sentence:
Example: Please, keep quiet. Do not
disturb the sleeping baby.

26. 6. The Semicolon (;)
 The semicolon is considered stronger
that the comma in separating
grammatical units, though it is not
strong as a full stop.
a. Used to separate one independent
clause from another
Example: Some students like the
principal; others dislike him.
Meaning?

27. 6. The Semicolon (;)
b. Used to separate an independent
clause from a second one which may
begin with a sentence connector like
besides, however, moreover,
nonetheless, so yet, etc.
Example: i. There were too many
people in the hall; besides,
there weren’t enough chairs.
ii. Sarah came very late; so
we couldn’t travel.

28. 6. The Semicolon (;)
c. May be used to separate items in a
series when some of the items contain
internal commas:
Example: i. To offer a creative writing
course, a student must be able to
write a play, a story, or a poem; to
show interest in fine art, sculpture,
weaving, or ceramic making.

29. 7. Colon (:)
a. It acts like an arrow which points
forward to a list of from an introductory
statement:
Example: i. The following are the
members of the class: Abigail,
Samuel, Juliana, Love, etc.
b. May be used to separate chapters
from verses in references to biblical
quotations:
Example: Act 7: 15; 1 Peter 2: 3

30. Grammatical Function of
Punctuation Marks
1. The Question Marks (?)
It is used after a direct question:
Example: How often should we visit
you?
Will it matter if I don’t come?
It is used to ask questions.

31. 2. The Exclamation Mark (!)
It is used mainly after an exclamatory
sentence:
Example: i. What a beautiful dress!
ii. How wonderful!
Used to show emotion. Its frequent
usage is not encouraged.

32. 3. Quotation Marks (“””)
They are used most frequently for the
following purposes:
a. To enclose the exact words that are
spoken or written.
i. “We all ran way,” confessed Peter.
ii. Soyinka stated, “What we lack in
Africa is the quest for excellence.”

33. 3. Quotation Marks (“””)
b. To indicate the titles of stories,
essays, poems, songs, articles, etc
Example: i. I am presenting a paper on
Ngugi’s “The village Priest.”
At the rehearsal, we sang Ghana
National Anthem “God Bless our
Homeland Ghana.”
We can equally use single quotation
marks

34. 3. Quotation Marks (“””)
We can equally use single quotation
marks:
a. To indicate cited words, slangs or
foreign expressions.
Example: i. Ghanaians eat ‘gari’ a lot.
ii. The word
‘establishmentariansm’ is too long for
me.

35. 3. Quotation Marks (“””)
We can equally use single quotation
marks:
b. To indicate the presence of doubtful
interpretation:
Example: i. According to Yoruba culture,
‘husband’ could be the sister of your
spouse.

36. 3. Quotation Marks (“””)
We can equally use single quotation
marks:
c. To enclose a quotation within a direct
speech:
Example: Kweku responded: “I
remember you said words like ‘Two
troubles one God’ to the hearing of
everybody present.”

37. 4. The Apostrophe
It performs three functions:
a. To indicate the possessive form of a
noun:
Example: Peter’s hat; Those girl’s
dresses; My sister’s friend.
b. To indicate contractions or to show
that some letters have been omitted:
Example: Kofi doesn’t live here.
Ladies’ hats.

38. 4. The Apostrophe
It performs three functions:
c. To form the plural of numbers, letters,
and words (when cited as words):
Example: Your passage has too many
the’s in it.
Write your J’s more clearly.
How many 80’s have you
scored now?

39. 5. Capitals
 There are two main uses:
a. Capitals are used to mark the beginning of a
sentence.
Example: Study hard for the exams.
Girls are fond of their hair.
b. Initial capitals are used to specify proper
nouns:
i. names of persons e.g. Madam
Linda
ii. Geographic names: rivers, cities,
countries, islands, etc. Republic of
Ghana, Togo, etc.

40. 5. Capitals
iii. Names of organisations and
institutions:
Example: National Sports Council
Ministry of Transport
Ethiopian Airlines
Catholic Church

41. 5. Capitals
iv. Names of festivals, months, weeks,
etc:
Example: Easter Sunday, Christmas,
Labour Week,
Republic Day
v. Names of nationalities, races,
religions, etc.
the Americans
the French
the Ghanaians
Islam

42. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
1. Well well ladies and gentlemen
emmanuel said his voice shaking with
emotion we musn’t derail our
projected plans the north south debate
is all right it has always been there it
will continue to be there I guess.

43. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
1. “Well, well, Ladies and Gentlemen”
Emmanuel said, his voice shaking with
emotion, “we musn’t derail our
projected plans. The North-South
debate is all right. It has always been
there. It will continue to be there, I
guess.”

44. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
2. but prof do you think alhaji issa will
deliberately lie to me i don’t think you
know him enough for he is the best
example of the honest businessman
astute industrious an honest.

45. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
2. But, Prof., do you think Alhaji Issa will
deliberately lie to me? I don’t think you
know him enough. For he is the best
example of the honest businessman-
astute industrious an honest.

46. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
3. We wouldn’t be sitting down here…
em… em… followed Napolion, if the
coup had succeeded, my dear.

47. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
4. what is the answer Abigail asked i
wish i knew simon answered shaking
his head the way i see things sir olivia
responded dragging each word sadly i
think we should go back to our old
ways of life.

48. Exercise
 Punctuate the passage below:
4. “What is the answer?” Abigail asked.
“I wish I knew!” Simon answered,
shaking his head. “The way I see
things, Sir,” Olivia responded,
dragging each word sadly, “I think we
should go back to our old ways of
life…”.

49. The End
Thanks