Punctuation - CCEA

• Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop, exclamation mark or question mark. Avoid excessive use of exclamation marks
• Commas separate items in a list and parts of a sentence. A full-stop or semicolon could be more effective, but using commas instead of full stops by mistake creates confusing comma splices
• Apostrophes show possession or missing letters in contractions like don’t or it’s; however, its (without an apostrophe) means something belongs to it
• Brackets let you add extra information, while ellipses (…) show missing words or unfinished thoughts; both should be used carefully
• Colons introduce lists, while semicolons link related ideas or separate longer list items

Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop, an exclamation mark or a question mark.

Why are full stops important?

Full stops are essential to separate sentences. Here is an example of a piece of writing where the full stops are missing. When you read it out loud, you will notice that it doesn’t quite make sense. You might find that, to make it easier to read, you naturally insert pauses where full stops should be:

This is an old city there are buildings that were constructed many hundreds of years ago one, hidden down behind the steps in the main square, was built in the 11th century it is hard to imagine how many feet have walked across its floors, how many hands have opened its doors from its rooftops, ugly gargoyles snarl at passers-by the building is theirs, they seem to say we are all newcomers here

Here it is again with full stops added:

This is an old city. There are buildings that were constructed many hundreds of years ago. One, hidden down behind the steps in the main square, was built in the 11th century. It is hard to imagine how many feet have walked across its floors, how many hands have opened its doors. From its rooftops, ugly gargoyles snarl at passers-by. The building is theirs, they seem to say. We are all newcomers here.

Notice how the piece has more shape with the full stops included. It is easier to read and understand.

Let's talk about exclamation marks!

Sentences can also finish with exclamation marks. These change the tone of a sentence, adding emphasis, suggesting that it is shouted, or that the statement itself is outrageous.

For example:

• He ran up the hill. It was enormous!
• She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was seven hundred years old!
• ‘Wait!’ he said. ‘Please’.

Use exclamation marks sparingly (and avoid the temptation to add more than one to the end of a sentence).

When should you use question marks?

An interrogative sentence is one that asks a question. This sort of sentence is indicated by a question mark.

For example:

• Where do you live?
• What is the square root of 49?
• Having read the manifestos of all the political parties, which way will you vote?

Commas are used to separate words in a list and clauses in a sentence.

Here are some examples of commas in lists:

• Her bag contained climbing shoes, rope, karabiners, chalk and a map.
• He had walked through the mountains in Wales, Scotland, Norway, Turkey and Greece.
• She loved dancing, paragliding, reading, yoga and singing.

Note that if you use a list of adjectives to describe something, the last one does not use a comma. For example:

• He was a grumpy, old, small-minded man.
• It was a blue-skied, beautiful, wide-open day.

In a complex sentence, use commas to separate the main and subordinate clauses. For example:

• Jones runs the bakery, which is on Main Street.
• Sam Haskins, who broke his leg in a car accident, still managed to pass all his exams.

Sentence separation and comma splicing

A common mistake in writing is to place a comma where in fact a full stop is needed. This misuse of the comma creates what is called a 'comma splice'. Aim to avoid comma splices in your writing.

Proofread your work carefully and make sure you have put a full stop instead of a comma at the end of each sentence.

For example:

The room filled with smoke, I froze in panic.

This is an example of a comma splice. The comma in the middle should not be there because each half is a complete sentence in its own right.

So in fact the writer should have used two full sentences, each ending with a full stop. This would make for two short, lively sentences.

The room filled with smoke. I froze in panic.

Alternatively - a connective could connect these two sentences:

The room filled with smoke and I froze in panic.

OR – as these two sentences are closely linked, a semicolon would also work:

The room filled with smoke; I froze in panic.

Possession

This is when one thing belongs to another. The apostrophe + ‘s’ shows ownership.

For example:

• Example 1 – The boy’s shoes were left outside the door.
• Example 2 – The dog’s paws were dirty.

If the possessive noun is plural and ends in an ‘s’ already, then an apostrophe is placed at the end of the word, but there is no need for the extra ‘s’:

For example:

• Example 1 – The boys’ (not boys’s) shoes were outside the door.
• Example 2 – The dogs’ (not dogs’s) paws were dirty.

With singular nouns that end in an ‘s’, you can either add an apostrophe alone to show possession, or you can add an apostrophe + ‘s’. Both are correct, but you should be consistent.

For example:

• Example 1 – Mr Jones’s clock has stopped. Or – Mr Jones’ clock has stopped.
• Example 2 – The class’s homework was due. Or – The class’ homework was due.

Key fact

Work out where to put the apostrophe by thinking about what belongs to whom. The boy’s shoes were left outside the door (the shoes belonging to the boy were left outside the door). The boys’ shoes were left outside the door (the shoes belonging to the boys were left outside the door).

Omission

This is when we miss out letters from words to shorten them, forming a 'contraction'.

For example:

• Example 1 – do not becomes don’t.
• Example 2 – could not becomes couldn’t.
• Example 3 – cannot becomes can’t.
• Example 4 – will not is irregular and becomes won’t.

Its and it's

Its (without an apostrophe) shows a relationship of possession.

For example:

• Its fur is smooth and shiny.
• The sun has got its hat on.
• The dog chased its tail.

It's uses an apostrophe to show contraction. It's is short for 'it is' (or sometimes 'it has').

For example:

• It’s almost home time! = It is almost home time!
• It's got a lot of errors in it. = It has got a lot of errors in it.

These are used to add extra information:

• Charles (never Charlie or Chad) was a serious young man.
• Sandy’s pet dog (she detested cats) was fifteen years old.

If you are using brackets towards the end of a sentence, the full stop to complete the sentence goes outside of the brackets:

• Neharika wore the blue shoes (her sister, Amrita, had already chosen the red ones).

Ellipsis for missing words…

Three dots in a row are called an ellipsis and can be used to signify that part of a sentence is missing. It is mainly useful in dialogue. For example:

• "I wonder…" said Harry.

The ellipsis suggests that Harry is thinking of something else.

Ellipsis can be used in the main body of your writing, where it also signifies an unfinished sentence. For example:

• He wondered when the train would arrive. He had to be in Portadown by 4pm or else…

In this example, the ellipsis leaves the reader to imagine the consequences. Like exclamation marks, ellipses should be used sparingly. In general it is better to finish your sentences as this makes for more coherent writing.

Colon to introduce an item or a list of items

For example:

• Gemma has two favourite friends: Chloe and Zak.
• There was only one mountain left for her to tackle: Everest.

Semicolon to link related clauses

Use the semicolon to link two independent clauses that are connected in meaning. For example:

• I can’t go out tonight; I have lots of homework.

This could equally be written as:

• I can’t go out tonight. I have lots of homework.

or

• I can’t go out tonight because I have lots of homework.

The semicolon can be used because the two clauses are closely related. Here is another example:

• Bath is a beautiful city; the architecture is stunning and the shops are diverse.

Separating a list

Where a list consists of a series of phrases, a semicolon helps the reader to group information. For example:

• The guests arrived at the party: Mr Jones, from Enniskillen; Asha Ali, from Ballymena; Ms Cohen, from Newry.
• In order to make a cake you’ll need: a large mixing bowl; finely milled flour; softened butter; caster sugar and eggs; a good strong arm to stir it all together.