Apostrophe ( ' )1. Used with ‘s’ to indicate the possessive: _ the dog’s bone _ king charles’s crown _ all the student’s books 2. Used in contracted forms to indicate that letters or figures have been omitted: _ I’m (=I am) _ he’s (= he is /has) _ the summer of’68 (= 1968) 3. Sometimes used with ‘s’ to from the plural of a letter, figures or an abbreviation: _ pronounce the the r’s more clearly _ all the mp’s Colon (:)1. Used after a term describing a group or class or a linking phrase (eg as follows, in the following manner) to introduce a list of items: _ His consists of two books: the Bible and Shakespeare. 2. (fml) Used before a clause or phrase that illustrates or explains the main clause: _ The garden had been neglected for a long time: It was overgrown and full of weeds. Comma (,)1. Used to separate the items in lists of words, phrases or clauses: _ If you keep calm, take your time, concentrate and think ahead, you’ll pass your driving test. 2.Often used between an adverbial clause or long phrase and the main clause: _ When the sun is shining and the birds are singing, the world seems a happier place. 3.Used after a non- finite or verbless clause at the beginning of a sentence: _ To be sure of getting there on time, she left an hour early. 4.Used to separate an introductory or a transitional word or phrase (eg therefore, however, by the way, for instance, on the contrary) from the rest of the sentence: _ Oh, so that’s where it was! 5.Used before a dependent clause, etc that interrupts the sentence: _ You should, indeed you must, report this matter to the police. 6.Used before and after a non-defining relative clause or a phrase in apposition, giving additional information about the noun it follows: _ Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, was first climbed in 1953. 7. Used to separate a question tag or the similar word or phrase from the rest of the sentence: _ It’s quite expensive, isn’t it? _ You live in Isfahan, right? Dash (_)1. (infml) Used instead of a colon or semicolon to mark off a summary or conclusion of what has gone before: _ You’re admitted that you lied to me _how can I trust you again? 2. (infml) Used singly or in pairs to separate extra information, an after though or a comment from the rest of the sentence _ He knew nothing at about it _ or so he said. Exclamation mark (!) (US also Exclamation point) 1. Used at the end of a sentence or remark expressing great anger, surprise, joy or other strong emotion: _ What wonderful new! _ ‘Never!’ she cried. Full stop (.) ( US Period )1. Used to mark the end of a sentence that is not a direct question or an exclamation: _ I knocked at the door. There was no reply. 2.Sometimes used, though not in most of dictionary, in abbreviations: _ Jan; e.g.; a.m. Hyphen (-)1.Used in compounds: (a) Sometimes used to from a compound word from two other words: _ radio-telescope (b)Used to from a compound from a prefix and a proper name: _ anti-Nazi; pro-soviet (c)Used to from a compound from two other words that are separated by a preposition: _ mother-in-law; mother-to-be (d)Used to very the first element of a hyphenated compound: _ Common to both pre-and post-war Europe. (e)Used when writing out compound numbers between 21 and 99: _ seventy-three 2.(esp Brit) Sometimes used to separate a prefix ending in a rowel from a word beginning with the same vowel: _ re-elect, co-ordination 3.Used after the first section of a word that is divided between one line and the next: _ ….. in order to avoid future mis- takes of this kind. 4.Used between two numbers or dates to include everything that comes between these numbers or dates: _ pp106-/3/ Parentheses () (Brit also Brackets) 1.Used to separate extra information or an afterthought or comment from the rest of the sentence: _ Mount Robson (12972 feet) is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. 2.Used to enclose cross-references: _ This moral ambiguity is a feature of Shakespeare's later works (see chapter Eight) Question mark (?) 1.Used at the end of a direct question: _ Where’s the car? _ You're leaving? (Not used at the end of an indirect question: _ He asked if I was leaving.) 2.Used in parentheses to express doubt: _ John Marston (?1575-1634) Quotation marks (' ' " " ) (Brit also Inverted commas) In British usage quotation marks are usually single: 'Help!'. In US usage they are usually double: "Help!". 1. Used to enclose all words and punctuation in direct speech. _ 'What on earth did you do that for?' he asked. _ 'I won't go,' she replied. _ 'Nonsense!' 2. Used to draw attention to a term that is unusual in the context (eg a technical or slang expression) or one that is being used for special effect (eg irony): _ Next the dough is 'proved' to allow the yeast to start working. _ He told me in no uncertain terms to 'get lost'. _ Thousands were imprisoned in the name of 'national security'. 3. Used to enclose the title of article, short poems, radio and television programs, etc: _ Keats's 'Ode to Autumn' _ I was watching 'Match of the Day'. 4. Used to enclose short quotations or sayings: _ 'Do you know the origin of the saying "A little learning is a dangerous thing"?' Semicolon (;) 1. Used instead of a comma to separate from each other parts of a sentence that already contain commas: _ She wanted to be successful, whatever it might cost; to achieve her goal, whoever might suffer as a result. 2.(fml) Used to separate main clauses, especially those not joined by a conjunction: _ He had never been to china; however, it had always been one of his ambitions. Slash (/) ( Brit also Oblique) (US Virgule) 1.Used to separate alternative words or terms: _ Take a mackintosh and/or an umbrella. 2. Used to indicate the end of each line of poetry where several lines are run on: _ Wordsworth’s famous lines, ‘I wandered lonely as cloud/That floats on high o’er vales and hills…’ Square brackests[] (Us Brackest) 1.Used to enclose editorial comments: _ A notice reading ‘Everything to be put away in it’s [sic] place after use’ 1 | - | hyphen | 2 | — | dash | 3 | ! | exclamation mark | 4 | # | sharp | 5 | & | ampersand | 6 | · | bullet | 7 | ( ) | (round) brackets; (round) parenthesis | 8 | * | asterisk | 9 | , | comma | 10 | . | 1 full stop 2 point | 11 | ... | ellipsis points; ellipsis dots | 12 | / | oblique; slash; | 13 | : | colon | 14 | ; | semi-colon | 15 | ? | question mark | 16 | [ ] | (square) brackets; (square) parenthesis | 17 | | backslash | 18 | __ | underline | 19 | ‘’ | quotation marks; inverted commas | 20 | † | dagger |
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