PUNCTUATION :--

PUNCTUATION :--
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    1. Full Stop
    2. Comma
    3. Question Mark
    4. Exclamation Mark
    5. Colon
    6. Semicolon
    7. Apostrophe
    8. Hyphen
    9. Dashes
   10. Quotation Mark
   11. Parentheses

   12. Capital letters

 
   (1) FULL STOP OR PERIOD :--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    A full stop or period ( . ) is used:

     (a)   to mark the end of a sentence.

          Example: There are two sides to every question. 
     (b)   to show the shortened form of a word
          Example: ex. (= example)
     (c)   at the end of an abbreviation.
          Example: Dr., Mr., M.A. 

   (2) COMMA:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~

    Comma ( , ) is used:
     (a)    to separate words in a series of list.
              Example: We saw monkeys, lions and tigers in the zoo. 
  
     (b)    to show a pause in a sentence or reading.
              Example: Yesterday, as I was jogging, I saw a peacock. 
     (c)    before inverted commas of actual words spoken.
              Example: He told us, “The world is round.” 
     (d)    to separate the name of the person spoken to.
              Example: “Mohan, let’s start work straightaway.” 
     (e)    to separate parts of an address.
              Example: 99, Lajpat Nagar, Kanpur. 
     (f)    to separate relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
              Example: The man, who lives next door, is a lawyer. 

   (3) QUESTION MARK:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Question Mark ( ? ) is used at the end of a sentence:
     (*)    to show a question.

              Example: “When will the bus arrive?”
 
   (4) EXCLAMATION MARK:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Exclamation Mark ( ! ) is used:
     (a)    to show surprise, excited, or angry.
              Example:
                            We won!
                            How pretty the baby is!
     (b) In formal letters no exclamation marks are used.
            
   (5) COLON:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~

     Colon ( : ) is used--

     (a)    to introduce an example, quotation, etc.
              Example: This box contains the following items: bandages,plasters, lotion, medicines and a pair of scissors. 
     (b)   before a significant explanation.
              Example: Rajan looked on in great confusion: does he need to go left or right.

   (6) SEMICOLON :--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Semicolon ( ; ) is used:

     (a)    to join two sentences or two complete parts of a sentence which are closely connected in meaning.  
             Example: He gives up smoking; obviously, he fears smoking-related disease may strike him. 

     (b)    before words and abbreviations which introduce particulars or specificatons following after
           'such as', 'namely', 'viz', 'as', 'i.e.'etc.
             Example: He had three defects ; namely, carelessness, lack of concentration and obstinacy in his ideas.

  
   (7) APOSTROPHE:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Apostrophe ( ‘ ) is used:
     (a)    to show that numbers or letters have been left out.
             Example: ’84 (=1984); didn’t (=did not).
     (b)    to show that something belongs to someone or something.
             Example: Jack’s mother; Chetna’s book
     (c)    to the plural of letters and numbers.
             Example: Your t’s / 2’s are too big. 

   (8) HYPHEN:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~
     Hyphen ( - ) is used:
     (a)    to join two words or more to form compound words.
             Example : good-looking, passers-by, forty-three, father-in-law.
     (b)    with prefixes when they come before Proper Nouns.
             Example : un-American
     (c)    with the prefix ' ex '.
             Example : ex-wife
     (d)    with the prefix 're' only when the 're' means 'again''
             Example : re-cover, re-press
     (e)    with the prefix 'self'.
             Example : self- assured, self- respect

   (9)  Dashes [ _ , __ ] :--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
      *     n Dash( _ ) is used :

     (a)    for periods of time when we might otherwise use 'to'.
               Example : January _ June
                         The year 2001 _ 2003
     (b)    in place of a hyphen when combining open compounds.
               Example : a high school _ college competition

      *     m Dash ( __ ) is used :

     (c)     to indicate added emphasis, an interruption or an abrupt change of thoughts.
               Example : You are the friend __ the only friend __ who offered to help me.
            
   
   (10) QUOTATION MARKS:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Quotation Marks ( “ “ ) are used:

     (a)    to show the beginning and end of reported speech.
              Example: “Turn on the light” she said to me.
     (b)    to show a quoted word, phrase or title.
              Example: “ Godan ” is a novel by Prem Chand.
 

   (11) PARENTHESES:--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
     Parentheses {} are used:
     (*)    to separate from the main part of the sentence a phrase or clause which does not
        grammatically belong to it.
             Example: He gained from Heaven { it was all he wished } a friend.

   (12) CAPITAL LETTERS :--
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Capital letters are used:
     (a)    to begin a sentence.
              Example : Ram goes to school.
     (b)    to begin each fresh line of poetry:
              Example :
     (c)    to begin all Proper Nouns and Adjectives derived from them:
              Example : Delhi, Mumtaz, France, French.
     (d)    to write the Pronoun ' I ' and the interjection ' O '.

     (e)    to indicate the Deity:
              Example : God is Almighty.