Test Yourself

End and Other Punctuation

[Harbrace 18, 21, & 22f]

Review

• Introduction: Periods 
• Question Marks 
• Exclamation Points 
• Semicolons 
• Colons 
• Dashes 
• Hyphens 
• Parentheses 
• Brackets 

Practice Exercises

• Using End and Other Punctuation, Part I
• Identifying End and Other Punctuation, Part II

Introduction

Periods [Harbrace 21a]

Use a period to end a sentence that makes a statement, exhorts, or gives a command. 

Statement:
No one could concentrate on studies during Homecoming Weekend. 

Exhortation:
Let us continue the proud tradition of Wainwright College food fights. 

Command:
Lob the butter across the room, and toss the spaghetti to the next table. 

Question Marks [Harbrace 21b]

Use a question mark with a direct question (but not with an indirect question). 

Direct Question:
Where is the cafeteria? 

Indirect Question:
She asked where the cafeteria was. 

Exclamation Points [Harbrace 21c]

Use an exclamation point to express strong emotion. 

Exclamation:
"Bravo! Bravo!" shouted the audience at the opera. 

Semicolons [Harbrace 18]

Use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses that express closely related ideas. 

I like coffee; she likes tea. 

When independent clauses are joined by however, moreover, furthermore, or therefore, use a semicolon between the two clauses. Set off the joining word with one or two commas, depending on its location. 

The cafeteria is closed; however, it will reopen for dinner.
The cafeteria is closed; it will, however, reopen for dinner. 

Within complicated lists, use the semicolon to separate major elements that include items separated by commas. 

EXAMPLE:
His many interests included the following: the arts, music, dance, and painting; the sciences, physics, biology, and chemistry; and public affairs, government, politics, and social welfare. 

A sentence with two or more independent clauses may be punctuated in various ways: 

1. Treat each independent clause as a sentence. 

He likes egg rolls. She likes barbecued spareribs. 

2. Connect the clauses with a semicolon. 

He likes egg rolls; she likes barbecued spareribs. 

3. Connect the clauses with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb. 

He likes egg rolls; however, she likes barbecued spareribs. 

4. Connect the clauses with a comma and a co-ordinate conjunction. 

He likes egg rolls, but she likes barbecued spareribs. 

Colons [Harbrace 21d]

Use a colon to introduce an explanation, a long quotation, or a list, especially after the following or as follows. 

The situation is clear: the business is bankrupt. 

The refugees need the following: food, shelter, clothing, and blankets. 

Use a colon to separate the hour and minute when indicating the time, to indicate a chapter and verse in the Bible, and to separate a title from a subtitle. 

6:15 A.M.
Genesis 6:10
The Cat: Tabby to Tiger 

Use a colon after the salutation of a business letter. 

Dear Ms. McDuff: 

Dashes [Harbrace 21e]

Use a dash to set off material that interrupts the sentence or to set off nonessential material for clarity or emphasis. A dash can also set off an appositive that contains commas within it. 

She was shocked -- absolutely shocked -- at conditions in the nursing home. 

Three managers will attend the conference -- Sam, Julia, and Scott. 

Hyphens [Harbrace 22f]

Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line. (Check the dictionary for the proper syllable break.) 

electro-magnetic
photo-synthesis 

Use a hyphen to join together words or prefixes and words. 

ex-President
great-grandfather
self-service 

Use a hyphen to join a prefix to a proper noun. 

anti-Nixon
pro-Reagan
un-American 

Use a hyphen to join a prefix to a word when it is necessary to discriminate between words. 

recreation, re-creation
reprove, re-prove 

Use a hyphen to join a compound number or a fraction. 

eighty-five
one-half 

Use a hyphen to join the parts of a compound adjective that precede a noun; omit the hyphen when the adjective follows the noun. 

Her reddish-brown hair grew longer and longer.
Her hair was reddish brown. 

Parentheses [Harbrace 21f]

Use parentheses to set off and de-emphasize incidental or supplementary material. (Parentheses, like dashes, are usually optional.) 

The Mariposa (butterfly) Lily grows in Oregon and California. 

Brackets [Harbrace 21g]

Use brackets to insert your own word or phrase within a quotation. 

"Even in The Fairy Queen, he [Spenser] continues to use this technique." 

Use brackets when one set of parentheses falls within another set. 

"He (the king [Henry VIII]) took the lead."