Punctuation is the right use of stops in a sentence.
The following are the principal punctuation marks in English.
Full stop (.)
Comma (,)
Semicolon (;)
Colon (:)
Interrogation mark (?)
Exclamation mark (!)
Inverted commas or Quotation marks (”)
The full stop
The full stop represents the longest pause. It is used:
a) at the end of an assertive or imperative sentence.
- She is a good girl.
- It is snowing.
- Put it down.
- Come here.
b) after abbreviations and initials
- M.A.
- Ph.D
- M.P.
- Ltd.
- Dr.
- Mr.
Note that full stops are not normally used after abbreviations in modern British English. However, full stops are common in American English.
Comma
The comma represents the shortest pause in a sentence. It is used:
a) to separate three or more words of the same parts of speech.
- I want to buy a pencil, a sharpener, an eraser and a notebook.
- He is efficient, hardworking and honest.
b) to mark off phrases in apposition.
- Alice, my brother’s daughter, is a doctor.
c) to separate words or phrases inserted into the body of a sentence.
- They, too, have expressed their interest in the offer.
- The police did not, however, succeed in arresting the culprit.
d) to separate a subordinate clause that comes before the main clause.
Compare:
- If it rains, we will cancel the trip.
- We will cancel the trip if it rains.
- When the bell rings, we will go to the class.
- We will go to the class when the bell rings.