Punctuation

TECM 5195Dr. Lam

Some definitions

• Clauses- must contain subject and predicate• Subject= noun or something noun-y• Predicate= something about subject but

MUST have a verb

• Independent (main)- can stand alone grammatically as a sentence• “The student slept in class.”

• Dependent (subordinate)- cannot stand alone as a sentence• While the student slept in class

2

Conjunctions

Conjunction- Word that joins two clauses1. Coordinating conjunction join two independent

clauses or sentence elements (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

• E.g., “I went to the park and ate ice cream.”

2. Subordinating conjunctions join independent clause with a dependent clause

• E.g., “My ice cream melted because the temperature was so hot.

3. Conjunctive Adverbs join two independent clauses and typically indicate relationships.

• E.g., “The temperature was so hot; therefore, my ice cream melted.”

3

Conjunction practice

Identify the conjunction and categorize it (subordinate clause, coordinating conjunction, or conjunctive adverb)

1. The superbowl was played in a warm weather climate, so it didn’t play a major factor in the game.

2. Because the semi-conductor was not patented, the company had to declare bankruptcy.

3. The weather was extremely hot; nevertheless, the roofers still completed the job.

4. She was late to work even though she left early.

4

Other Clauses

• Relative pronouns- relate to an already named noun; introduce dependent clauses (that, what, which, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose)• Relative clauses = Relative pronoun + subject +

verb• E.g., “I gave a handful of chips to the dog who was

begging at my feet”

5

Clause Practice

Identify the number of clauses and determine if they are dependent, independent, or relative clauses.

1. The dog barked.2. The dog barked, and the owner woke up. 3. Although the dog barked, the owner didn’t

wake up.

4. The dog that heard the robbers barked; however, the owner still didn’t wake up.

6

Sentence types

• Simple- one independent clause• The dog barked.

• Compound- two independent clauses• The dog barked, and the owner woke up.

• Complex- one independent clause plus one dependent clause• Although the dog barked, the owner didn’t wake up.

• Compound-complex- two independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses• The dog that heard the robbers barked; however,

the owner still didn’t wake up.

7

Basic Comma Rules

Use commas:

1. to separate elements in a series. • He went to class, dinner, and then home.

2. to connect two independent clauses. However, it must be connected with coordinating conjunction immediately following the comma.

• He went to class, but he fell asleep.

3. to set off introductory elements (clauses, phrases, and words).

• Because he was tired, he fell asleep in class. 8

Basic Comma Rules, cont.

4. to offset non-essential information (we’ll discuss more later when we distinguish restrictive vs. nonrestrictive clauses)• E.g., “John went to the lake, which was shallow

from the drought.”

5. to separate coordinate adjectives (adjectives that describe the same noun). Rule of thumb: can be reversed and can replace comma with “and”• John has a long, arduous commute (coordinate). • The Bears a tough football team. (non-

coordinate)

6. to separate geographical items

9

Common comma mistakes

1. Using a comma to separate a noun and verb• The most important aspect of class, is

completing the readings.

2. Using a comma between two verbs in a compound predicate• John turned the corner, and ran into the light

pole.

3. Using a comma between to nouns• The music teacher from your highschool, and

the football coach are married. 10

Comma PracticeDecide if there is a comma error. If so, fix it.

1. Because she walked slowly the commute seemed longer.

2. The commute seemed longer, because she walked slowly.

3. The commute seemed longer, since she walked slowly.

4. She walked slowly, so the commute seemed longer.

5. Since it was Friday, she walked slowly.

6. She walked slowly, therefore, the commute seemed longer.

7. The commute seemed shorter even though she walked slowly.

8. The commuted seemed shorter, although she was walking slowly.

11

That vs. Which

• That and which are relative pronouns used to introduce phrases.

• There are two kinds of phrases you need to know about. See the next slide.

12

Restrictive Phrases

• A restrictive phrase restricts the meaning of the sentence. These never have commas.

• E.g., “The car that I test drove is out of my price range.”

• That I test drove restricts the meaning of car to one specific car.

13

Non-restrictive Phrases

• Non-restrictive phrases provide information that is nice to have, but don’t fundamentally change the meaning of the sentence.

• They are surrounded by commas.• E.g. “ The car, which has a high safety rating,

is out of my price range.”

• Which has a high safety rating could be excluded and the sentence’s original meaning remains intact.

14

Choosing That vs. Which

• As you may have noticed from the examples:

• That begins restrictive phrases.

• Which begins non-restrictive phrases.

15

Thumb Rule

• Stick your thumb over the phrase you wonder about.

• If the sentence is fundamentally different, the phrase is probably restrictive. Begin the phrase with that.

• If the sentence is pretty much the same, but missing some descriptive info, it’s non-restrictive. Begin the phrase with which and surround it with commas.

16

That vs. Which Practice

Choose “that” or “which” and then punctuate the sentence correctly.

1. The Crazy Horse Monument ______ was dedicated in 1984 attracts visitors from all over the world.

2. The college _______ Sonja has decided to attend is located in Michigan.

3. The bike _______ I keep in my garage is used for races.

4. My bike _______ is two-years-old is used for commuting.

17

The Oxford or Serial Comma

18

Lists

• There are two grammatically correct ways to punctuate lists in sentences.

• The items are a, b, and c.

or

• The items are a, b and c.

19

One reduces ambiguity

• How many departments are in this sentence?

• We’ve received budgets from Finance, Sales, Public Relations, Design and Development.

20

If you always use a serial comma. .

• There’s no ambiguity.

• We’ve received budgets from Finance, Sales, Public Relations, Design, and Development.

21

The Semicolon

22

The Semi-Colon ;

Two ways to use the semi-colon.

1) To combine sentences.

2) To separate items with internal commas in a list.

23

To combine sentences using a semi-colon:

Rules:

1) The statements on both sides of the semi-colon must be independent clauses (sentences).

2) The second statement is not capitalized.

24

Suggestion #1 for using a semi-colon.

• Generally, you want both sentences to be of equal “weight”—essentially, they should be the approximately the same length.

• Matt recently started a job at Google developing front-end interfaces for several new initiatives including the new mobile YouTube interface; he likes it.

25

Suggestion #2 for using a semi-colon.

• Also, the second sentence should be related to the first.

• Matt recently updated the interface to include a tabbed interface; his salary is competitive.

26

When is a semi-colon useful?

• To change the “rhythm” of a paragraph

• You can combine sentences with a semi-colon if you follow the previous rules.

• Ex: Matt’s educational experiences really helped him in gaining technical knowledge of programming languages; however, his internship experience in which he worked on actual projects also were quite valuable.

27

Use semi-colon to punctuate lists with internal commas

• So, instead of commas, use a semi-colon when list items have internal commas.

• The only rule is that once you begin using semi-colons to separate items, they ALL must be separated by semi-colons—even if they don’t have an internal comma.

• E.g. “Jon, the plumber; Lisa, the general contractor; and Joan, the architect all worked together on the job.”

28

The Colon

29

Colon• Introduces a list after an independent clause

• Rules:1. Use a colon only after a complete sentence

2. Use a colon to introduce a list when introductory words aren’t used (for example, namely, etc.).

Correct: You’ll need to bring four things to class: homework, pencil, paper, and red pen.

Incorrect: You’ll need to bring things to class. For example: homework, pencil, paper, and red pen to class.

30

Other uses of colon

• Connect two independent clauses, the second MUST illustrate or amplify- generally conveys the sense of “as follows” (Acts like a semicolon)• The procedural manual make one thing clear: it

is not appropriate to come to work late.

• To introduce a series of related sentences (acts like a period)• The students faced a dilemma: they could finish

the project as planned. Or, they could start from scratch and deliver a better final project.

31

Colon or Semi-colon Practice

• See sheet

32

Hyphens and Dashes

33

Hyphens vs. en dash vs. em dash

• Hyphen used to combine two words that function as a unit• Well-received lecture; Self-serving attitude

• En dash (width of an “n”) used to separate periods of time and instead of a hyphen when combining two compounds. • July 12–July 15• Southern Texas – Mexico border

• Em dash (width of an “M”) used in place of commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses (use sparingly in formal writing)• The dog chewed the sofa —he was left alone too long.

34

Dash Practice

1. Dr. Lam’s grammar lesson_?_it had already been interrupted by three violent demonstrations_?_was concluded promptly.

2. My professor looks forty_?_six years old.

3. TECM 3200 runs from 2:00pm_?_3:20pm.