1

Punctuation

WISER

2

Along with grammar and spelling, punctuation helps clarify meaning and enhances ‘fluent’ reading.

Each punctuation mark has specific a job (or jobs) to do. If it is not doing a specific job, don’t use it.

Punctuation matters

3

There are various punctuation marks but many have just one job to do, for instance:

to indicate:! an exclamation? a question“ ” ‘ ’ speech. the end of a sentence

Others are more complex and these are the ones we will focus on here.

Range of symbols

4

Apostrophes ’ slides 5-13 Commas , slides 14- 27 Hyphen - slides 28 -

32 Semi-colon ; slides 33 -

38 Colon : slide 39 Check your understanding slide 40 – 50 A useful resource slide 51

Topics covered

5

2 uses:

1) Show possession(i.e. belonging to) the dog’s dinner

2) Show omission it isn’t cool(i.e. missing letters)

It is not used to show plural (i.e. more than one)Except:◦ at the greengrocers!◦ in older usage: DVD’s, CD’s, TV’s - now dying out.

Apostrophes ’ use and abuse

6

Examples of misuse.No apostrophe needed.

•taxis•pies, pasties & sandwiches•drinks, thanks

7

Apostrophes - ‘The Grocers’ Plural’

No need for an apostrophe here. •Some bananas•Some plums

8

the dog’s dinner= the dinner of the dog

the dogs’ dinner= the dinner of the dogs

Note: children’s people’s

Apostrophes for possession

Where to put the apostrophe

9

apostrophes - other misuse

whose safety?

10

5 o’clock = 5 of the clock Let’s go = let us go

We no longer ever write the full form inthese cases.

In most cases, it depends on the style and purpose of writing whether we write the fullform or contracted (short) form. The full form isgenerally used in formal writing.

Therefore, in academic writing we tend to use thefull form.

Apostrophes for omission

11

Note what the missing word is.

Isn’t = is not Hasn’t = has not

It’s been good = It has been good It’s being mended = It is being mended

Apostrophes for omission

12

Remember academic style prefers no contractions (short forms ) such as isn’t, can’t, hasn’t, so the only apostrophes in your academic essays should be those to show possession.

e.g. the government’s policies .... the people’s choice ... society’s responsibility .... the policies’ supporters ....

Apostrophes in academic writing

13

It’s or its? Who’s or whose?

ALWAYS It’s = it is who’s = who is (omission)

Its, whose - THINK: his, hers, theirs, ours, its and whose. (possession)

Examples: It’s a wonderful life. Who’s the daddy? Each moment of the year has its own beauty. Whose life is it anyway?

Apostrophes – common confusion

14

Commas help divide up information in a sentence into meaningful units.

Main uses:◦ Lists◦ Indicating extra information

which can change meaning of the sentence which ‘re-names’

Commas

15

Examples: He got figures from books, academic journals,

websites or the business press.

This is a thorough, well-organised, well-presented and interesting report.

He spell-checked the essay, printed it off, and submitted it to his tutor.

Note the use of and and or before the final item in the list.

Commas – lists

16

Commas also divide up strings of adjectives

Examples: It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. An itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, polka-dot bikini. The difficult, dangerous, and expensive

journey home was unforgettable.

Commas - lists

17

a) The students who are lazy will fail their exams.

All the lazy students, but not the others, will fail.

b) The students, who are lazy, will fail their exams.

All students will fail. They are all lazy.

Which students will fail? All? Just the lazy ones?

Commas - indicating extra information

18

a) The trade unions which oppose the government’s plans will organise a demonstration.

a) No – only those who oppose the plans.

b) The trade unions, which oppose the government’s plans, will organise a demonstration.

b) Maybe not all but we do not know which ones specifically. All the trade unions oppose the plans.

Will all trade unions organise demonstrations?

Commas - indicating extra information

19

The phrases which give us extra information, where the meaning changes depending on whether they are within commas or not, are known as defining /identifying and non-defining / non-identifying clauses.

Students who are lazy will fail their exams.Defining /identifying (i.e. tell us which ones)

Students, who are lazy, will fail their exams.Non-defining/ non-identifying

Commas – some terminology

20

Examples:

Gordon Brown, former Prime-Minister, yesterday said that ...

Bronte’s first novel, Jane Eyre, was swiftly followed by her best novel, Villette.

Mr X, Chief Executive of the NHS, claims that ..

The Scilly Isles, a group of islands off the tip of Cornwall, are very beautiful.

Commas - indicating a phrase which ‘re-names’

21

Note each of these sentences is grammaticaland therefore reads sensibly without the informationwithin commas:

Gordon Brown, former Prime-Minister, yesterdaysaid that ...Gordon Brown yesterday said that...

The commas are here acting like brackets.

Unlike the previous examples, the presence orabsence of commas will not change themeaning. In these cases they simply clarify.

Commas - indicating a phrase which ‘re-names’

22

We can include in a sentence a phrase that is providing extra information or is, for example, a link to the previous sentence. We show this by putting a comma between this extra information, and the part, which could stand alone as a complete sentence by itself (shown underlined).

Example: Therefore, this business cannot be launched. Whenever I go to London, I like to visit the

National Portrait Gallery.

Commas - indicating extra informationWhere to put the comma

Both ‘halves’ (not necessarily of equal length, note) of the sentences could go in either first or second position with no change in meaning. The commas shows where the sentence ‘breaks’, dividing the main part, and the extra information.

Further examples: However, I cannot agree with that proposition. I cannot agree with that proposition, however.

Although we have been friends for years, I do not know her address.

I do not know her address, although we have been friends for years.

If you see him, tell him I need to talk with him. Tell him I need to talk with him, if you see him.

Commas - indicating extra informationWhere to put the comma

24

In order not to misuse commas when dividing sentences, you need to recognise a complete, grammatical sentence.

A common mistake is to link 2 complete sentences with just a comma. This is known as comma splice.

Example: The children had never been away from home

before, they were scared and tired. [The children had never been away from home

before], [they were scared and tired].

Common comma misuse – comma splice

25

Start a new sentence. The children had never beenaway from home before. They were scared andtired.

Link with a semi-colonThe children had never been away from homebefore; they were scared and tired.

Use a linking wordThe children had never been away from homebefore and they were scared and tired.

3 ways to fix a comma splice:

26

Keeping track of the central sentence, ontowhich extra information is being added, helps

to ensure the sentence is grammatical and to decide how to divide up these extra chunks

with commas.

Before this person retired, he would work away forweeks at a time, where there was no alcohol andwhen he came home he consumed large amountsof alcoholic drinks at the weekends, consuming farmore than the average  daily allowance of recommended alcohol.

Commas – a tip

27

Note the comma splice is to be avoided in formal writing. In other genres (e.g. journalese, creative writing) it is not so important to avoid it since the use of commas can vary for creative effect.

Style variation

28

Hyphens link words to show the resulting new meaning

Examples: The student-centred approach to teaching

◦ not a student approach, not a centred approach

An evidence-based argument.

Hyphens -

29

He swallowed six inch nails

Or He swallowed six-inch nails

Misuse can change the meaning

30

Extra can have 2 meanings:

Extra = more ◦ e.g. I did not want the extra work.

Extra = outside of ◦ e.g. I enjoyed the extra-curricular activities on

the course.

Misuse can change the meaning – another example

31

In the the 2 previous cases did you notice thehyphen? An omitted hyphen in many cases may not make too much difference because of the context.

In some cases, however, the placing of the hyphen will make a noticeable difference to meaning, as in the use of extra since it has 2 meanings:

Misuse can change the meaning contd.

32

Letter in Amnesty Magazine Nov/Dec 2009

‘Apologies for seeming facetious about a serious issue (but it did make us laugh) and double apologies for being pedantic, but I doubt very much that anyone in the Maldives has ever been flogged for extra marital sex. In fact most religions (and it is probably religion behind this punishment) condone extra marital sex, even when one of the parties doesn’t want it – though they are usually amazingly censorious and punitive about extra-marital sex’.

From Marilyn Mason, Kingston Upon Thames

Misuse can change the meaning (contd.)

33

The semi-colon has 2 main uses:

Linking 2 sentences In complex lists

Semi-colon ;

34

Examples:

Some of the programs are very user-friendly; others are more difficult to learn.

This workshop is about punctuation; last week’s was about grammar.

Think of two arms of a balance.On each side of the semi-colon (the pivot) there needs to be a complete sentence.

Semi-colon - linking 2 sentences

35

The lecturer did not show the diagram; the students obviously understood.

Compare: The lecturer did not show the diagram. The

students obviously understood. The lecturer did not show the diagram, as

the students obviously understood.

All are correct ways to express this.

Semi-colons – some alternatives

36

A number of suspects had been held, including Roger Hunt, the husband of the deceased, Ruth Ellis, his wife’s best friend, Jane Osborne, his former girlfriend, and Hugh Thomas, an old family friend.

How many people are involved here? 7? 4? Anything in between? Is Jane Osborne his wife’s best friend or she his old girlfriend? What is everyone’s relationship to the deceased?

Semi–colons – complex lists

37

A number of suspects had been held: Roger Hunt, the husband of the deceased; Ruth Ellis, his wife’s best friend; Jane Osborne, his former girlfriend; and Hugh Thomas, an old family friend.

Now there is no ambiguity. Only 4 people were held.

Semi-colons – complex lists

contd.

38

Do not overuse the semi-colon. Do not confuse it with a comma. They have

very different jobs to do. Do not confuse it with a colon (: ) which

introduces a list (see next slide).

Tips:

39

Don’t confuse the semi-colon with a colon. A colon is for:

introducing a liste.g. Several people visited: the priest, the doctor, his boss and the children.

acting rather like an equals signe.g. Britain is facing a huge problem: no-one can spell!(Note: here, you could substitute namely or i.e. in the place of the colon).

Semi-colon (;) versus Colon (:)

40

That is the end of the explanation of the more complex punctuation marks.

In the following slides you can check how well you understood the main points.

Click the mouse to display the answer and further questions (in some cases).

Check your understanding

41

a) Mother and child have had and are continuing to experience difficulties, the origins of which can be traced back to the mothers childhood.  mother’s (just one mother)

b) The United States ability to undertake this operation is admirable or foolhardy.

States’

c) Bowlbys theories were developed by researchers including Ainsworth.

Bowlby’s

d) The seven dwarves luck was in!dwarves’

Apostrophes - practice

42

Would you add commas to these sentences? If so, where?

a) Because of the difficult current economic climate theUK grocery market was affected by rising food prices.a) Because of the difficult current economic climate, theUK grocery market was affected by rising food prices.

b) My sister who is a doctor advised me not to go. b) My sister, who is a doctor, advised me not to go =

simply extra info about my sisterb) My sister who is a doctor advised me not to go = the

sister who’s a doctor advised me, not one of my other sisters.

Commas - practice

43

Is this sentence demonstrating correct use of commas? If not, how would you correct it?

Health needs assessment and health impact assessment are similar terms used in current practice, both use the same planning process, however, they differ in terminology (Hooper and Longworth, 2002).

Health needs assessment and health impact assessment are similar terms used in current practice; both use the same planning process. However, they differ in terminology (Hooper and Longworth, 2002).

OR Health needs assessment and health impact assessment are similar

terms used in current practice. Both use the same planning process; however, they differ in terminology (Hooper and Longworth, 2002).

Comma - practice

44

a) Some of the programs are very user-friendly; others aremore difficult to learn. ☺ OK

b) There are various ways to lose friends; tell them lies, standthem up, forget their birthdays and ignore their calls. No. There are various ways to lose friends: tell them lies,stand them up, forget their birthdays and ignore their calls. (Use a colon before a list)

c) However; the issues were too complicated to explainsatisfactorily. No. However, the issues were too complicated to explainsatisfactorily. (Use commas to divide extra information fromthe core sentence)

Semi-colon – practice or ☺

45

a) Shane Chowen 22 who has four science levels from City College Plymouth is the frontrunner in the race to be the next NUS president a contest which will be decided when student delegates gather for a national conference in Gateshead this week.

Shane Chowen, 22, who has four science A-levels from City College Plymouth, is the front runner in the race to be the next NUS president, a contest which will be decided when student delegates gather for a national conference in Gateshead this week. (underlining simply shows the central, core sentence)

How could the punctuation of this sentence be improved?

46

b) First it will need an elite athlete in tip-top condition probably one from east Africa. Second it will need to be on a fast, flat course such as Berlin London or Rotterdam.

First, it will need an elite athlete in tip-top condition, probably one from east Africa. Second, it will need to be on a fast, flat course such as Berlin, London or Rotterdam.

How could the punctuation of this sentence be improved?

47

c) It is important that all healthcare professionals from different services work together and communicate clearly if communication is poor important details can be missed resulting in the patient being cared for incorrectly and possibly important diagnosis being missed.

It is important that all healthcare professionals from different services work together and communicate clearly; if communication is poor, important details can be missed resulting in the patient being cared for incorrectly and possibly important diagnosis being missed.

ORIt is important that all healthcare professionals from different services work together and communicate clearly. If communication is poor, important details can be missed resulting in the patient being cared for incorrectly and possibly important diagnosis being missed.

How could the punctuation of this sentence be improved?

48

What’s wrong with this sign?

Smile. You’re on camera

49

What’s wrong with this slogan?

Whose side are you on?

50

Who’s book is this? Whose

It’s front cover is torn so it’s going cheap. It’s Its front cover is torn so it’s ☺ going cheap.

There are various learning styles according to different models. These include: converger, diverger, audio, kinaesthetic, visual, activist, reflector and theorist.

☺

Despite being a doctor himself he never looks after his health.

Despite being a doctor himself, he never looks after his health.

or ☺

51

Peck, J. & Coyle, M. (1999) The Student’s Guide to Writing: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling. Cardiff: Macmillan

Useful resources:

52

Victor Borge made the attempt to draw on the power of punctuation to great effect ...

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=12478#

Some light relief

53

Any feedback on the usefulness (or otherwise) of this material would be warmly welcomed.

Please contact me:Tania HorákThorak@uclan.ac.uk orExt 3055(01772 893055)

Feedback