2. A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then
draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons. 'Why?'
asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the
panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly
punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his
shoulder. 'Well, I'm a panda,' he says, at the door. 'Look it
up.' The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and,
sure enough, finds an explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-
white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and
leaves.”
3. The joke is putting the comma after "Eats" as in...
"Eats, shoots and leaves" instead of...
"Eats shoots and leaves".
4. Punctuation is a set of symbols used in writing
to help indicate something about the structure of sentences,
to reveal the correct meaning of sentences or
to assist readers in knowing when to change the rhythm or
the stress of their speaking.
Common units of punctuation in English include the period,
question mark, exclamation mark, comma, semi colon, colon,
the apostrophe and capitalisation.
5. Three punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence
endings. They are the period, question mark, and
exclamation mark.
These end marks signal intonation (pitch, stress, stops) which
helps to reveal sentence meaning) e.g.
Oscar Wilde defined a cynic. (statement)
Oscar Wilde defined a cynic? (question)
Oscar Wilde defined a cynic! (exclamation)
6. The Full Stop or the Period(.) is a punctuation mark which
indicates the end of a sentence or a complete statement.
After the period, a sentence MUST begin with a capital letter.
Kathy’s blatant vanity is rude and inconsiderate. She thinks
nothing of removing a mirror from her purse at a restaurant
and running a comb through her hair.
7. A lack of full stops makes reading and understanding the
passage difficult, as in the following incorrectly punctuated
example:
There was a knock at the door when I answered it there was
no one there for several minutes I waited to see if anyone
would appear
There was a knock at the door. When I answered it, there was
no one there. For several minutes, I waited to see if anyone
would appear.
8. A full stop is also used with most abbreviations such as:
1. Dr.
2. PhD.
3. R.S.V.P.
4. a.m.
5. p.m.
6. Etc.
7. e.g.
8. A.D.
9. B.C.
10. Mr.
9. The Question Mark (?): is a punctuation symbol
written at the end of a sentence or phrase to indicate
a question.
Examples of this include:
How could you do this?
When did Jane leave for the market?
Who started the riot?
10. The Exclamation Mark: is used at the end of a
sentence to express a higher degree of
surprise, incredulity or other strong emotions.
For example:
A pox on them both!
Get off the road!
How could you do this!
11. Note that both question marks and exclamation marks when
used in speech go inside the quotation marks. If it is followed
by a word of saying, this word of saying has a small letter.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“How dare you!” she exclaimed.
It is sometimes difficult to decide whether a question mark or
an exclamation mark is required. We have to think about
which is more important in a particular case – the
exclamation or the question and then apply it appropriately.
12. The Comma
is a punctuation mark used to indicate a slight
division between different parts of a sentence or
to indicate a small break in the sense of continuity
within a sentence.
indicates a break that is less definite than that
shown by a full stop.
The use of the comma is primarily determined by the
structure of the sentence.
13. Just as pauses and variations in voice pitch help to convey the
meaning of spoken sentences, commas help to clarify the
meaning of written sentences.
When the lightning struck, Ahmed Amin fainted.
When the lightning struck Ahmed, Amin fainted.
14. The comma is used in the following circumstances.
To separate the items of a list, e.g.
He packed his socks, shirts, shoes, etc. But no comma is
needed before the final item if a conjunction such as and is
used.
He packed his socks, shirts and shoes.
Commas precede coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) that
join main clauses.
Paradise was an exclusive country club, but the gates of hell
were open to all.
No one watches the performance, for everybody is taking
part in it.
15. The comma is used to separate two clauses if the subjects of
the clauses are different, e.g.
Samina bought a pair of shoes from Charles and Keith , but
Aysha bought a handbag.
But if the subject is the same, no comma is required, e.g.
Amna left home early and reached the station in time.
To cut off exclamations, parenthesis, etc. from the rest of the
sentence, e.g.
Oh, what a pity you did not catch him.
Win or lose, it is fun to play the game.
16. Geographical names, most items in dates and addresses are
set off by commas.
My son was born on Friday, February the 1st, 1996.
The letter was addressed to Mr. Ahmed, 52/1, 16th Street,
Gulberg, Karachi.
Commas are used to separate parenthetical elements or
interrupters.
Generally speaking, an experienced driver does not fear the
open road.
My mother, sitting near me, smiled knowingly.
17. The semi colon is a punctuation mark halfway
between a comma and a full stop. It is used in a
sentence to:
Divide statements which are separate but which are
very closely connected. e.g.
The first present she opened was a box of
handkerchiefs; the second was a box of chocolates.
18. Separate items in a list when these are phrases rather
than single words e.g.
The stalls of the open market along the wharf were filled
with tray after tray of glassy eyed fish; flat topped
pyramids of Brussels sprouts; slender stalks of pink
rhubarb and jars of bronze honey.
• The semi colon is used between two main clauses not
joined by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) e.g.
Nations no longer declare war or wage war; they declare
or wage mutual suicide.
19. The colon ( : ) is used after a word introducing (or summing
up) a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.
The colon following a statement or a main clause is a formal
introducer calling attention to something that is to follow e.g.
Theories which tried to explain the secret of fire walking fall
into three categories: physical, psychological and religious.
All her thoughts were centered on one objective: liberation.
The sense of unity with nature is vividly shown in Zen
Buddhist paintings and poetry: an old pine tree preaches
wisdom and a wild bird is crying out truth.
20. The colon can be used after the salutation of a
business letter, between a title and a subtitle
and the hour and minute of a time reference.
Dear Sir:
Stories of Ourselves: The Son’s Veto
At exactly 10:35pm….
21. The apostrophe is a sign used for:
To indicate the possessive case which indicates the
possessor or owner of something.
E.g. the lady’s hat (the hat of the lady)
the man’s suit (the suit of the man)
The omission of a letter in a word.
E.g. don’t for do not, can’t for can not, haven’t for
have not, it’s for it is.
22. The possessive case is formed as follows:
• if the possessor is singular, add (’s).
For example, the cloud’s shadow, the girl’s dress.
• If the possessor is plural, then just add an apostrophe.
For example, the ladies’ hats, the boys’ shoes.
• If the word is already in the plural, the possessive case
is formed by adding (’s).
For example, men’s shoes, children’s clothes.
23. Do not use the apostrophe with the pronouns:
his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs or whose or with plural nouns.
e.g. His parents sent money; ours sent food.
Do not confuse its with it’s or whose with who’s e.g.
Its motor is small- (the motor of it is small)
It’s a small motor- (it is a small motor)
He is a mechanic whose work is reliable-(the work of whom)
He is a mechanic who’s work is reliable-(a mechanic who is
reliable)
24. Most capitalised words fall into five main categories:
1. Proper names, e.g. Ahmed, Sara, Dania
2. Titles, e.g. Mr. Ahmed, the Head of the Tribune, Queen
Elizabeth
3. The beginning of a sentence, e.g. It is winter. There is snow
on the ground.
4. The first word in direct speech, e.g. She asked, “Will you be
staying long?”
5. Important words in titles of novels, plays, films etc ,e.g.
Gone with the Wind, A Passage to India, Kung Fu Panda.
25. 1. Punctuate the following paragraph:
dear jack I want a man who knows what love is all
about you are generous kind thoughtful people who
are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you
have ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no
feelings whatsoever when we are apart I can be
forever happy will you let me be yours jill
26. Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you
are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like
you! Admit to being useless and inferior! You have
ruined me! For other men I yearn; for you, I have no
feelings whatsoever. When we are apart, I can be
forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours ,
Jill.
