A Handbook of Punctuation
A Handbook of Punctuation
ISBN 9789394681385
 Publication Date

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This book is a product of practice. It provides rules of thumb and numerous examples. All the passages used in the book are from actual writing. Punctuation, like arithmetic, can be improved with diligence and drill. To help readers become effective and accurate with their punctuation, an exercise is included at the end of each chapter; answers too are given.

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Preface
  • Contents
  • 1 A brief history of punctuation
  • 2 Introduction to punctuation
    • Punctuation Marks in English
  • 3 End marks
    • Full Stop
      • Rule 1 End of a statement
      • End of an elliptical sentence
      • End of an imperative sentence
      • Rule 2 End of a request
      • Rule 3 End of an indirect question
      • Rule 4 With abbreviations, decimals and lists
      • With abbreviations
      • In decimals
      • In lists
      • Rule 5 Full stop with other punctuation marks
      • With quotation marks
      • With parentheses
      • Rule 6 Incorrect use of a full stop
    • Question Mark
      • Rule 7 End of an interrogative sentence
      • Rule 8 Sentence containing direct questions
      • Rule 9 Sentence beginning with an independent question
      • Rule 10 Elliptical question
      • Rule 11 To express doubt
    • Exclamation Mark
    • Exercise
  • 4 Comma
    • Types of Sentence
    • Simple Sentence
    • Compound Sentence
    • Complex Sentence
    • Compound–complex Sentence
      • Rule 1 Between subject and predicate
      • Rule 2 Within a compound subject
      • Compound subject with more than two items (a series)
      • Rule 3 In a compound predicate
      • Compound predicate with more than two items (a series)
      • Rule 4 Series punctuation
    • Independent Clause
      • Rule 5 Join clauses with a coordinating conjunction
      • Rule 6 Join clauses without a coordinating conjunction
      • Rule 7 Between clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb
    • Dependent Clause
      • Rule 8 Between a main clause and a dependent clause
    • More About Clauses
      • Rule 9 With relative clauses
      • Rule 10 Relative pronouns ‘that’ and ‘which’
      • Rule 11 Introductory phrases and words Prepositional phrase
      • Rule 12 Transitional words
      • Rule 13 To separate numbers that occur successively
      • Rule 14 With parenthetical expression
      • Rule 15 Coordinating adjectives
      • Rule 16 With appositives
      • Rule 17 With elliptical sentence
      • Rule 18 With elements in contrast (antithesis)
      • Rule 19 Elements in common
      • Rule 20 For ease of reading
      • Rule 21 Common errors in using commas
      • Direct address
      • Direct quotation
      • Rule 22 Comma in the right place
    • Exercise
  • 5 Semicolon
    • Rule 1 Between independent clauses
    • Without a coordinating conjunction
    • With a coordinating conjunction
    • Rule 2 Between parallel clauses
    • Rule 3 Series punctuation
    • Rule 4 In lists
    • Rule 5 Common errors in using semicolon
    • Exercise
  • 6 Colon
    • Rule 1 In a list
    • Rule 2 Elements that belong together
    • Rule 3 With quotations
    • Rule 4 For amplification
    • Rule 5 With direct questions
    • Rule 6 More than one colon in a sentence
    • Exercise
  • 7 Apostrophe
    • Rule 1 To form contraction
    • Rule 2 To show possession
    • Rule 3 Singular noun not ending in ‘s’
    • Rule 4 Singular noun ending in ‘s’
    • Rule 5 Plural noun
    • Rule 6 Possessive of the word ‘people’
    • Rule 7 Proper nouns
    • Rule 8 Plurals of proper names
    • Rule 9 Compound nouns and phrases
    • Rule 10 Possessive pronouns
    • Rule 11 Indefinite pronouns
    • Rule 12 Mistaken possession
    • Rule 13 Joint possession
    • Rule 14 With abbreviations
    • Rule 15 Relationship comparable to ownership
    • Rule 16 Possession for inanimate object
    • Rule 17 Double possessive
    • Rule 18 With quotation marks
    • Rule 19 Omission of a number in a date
    • Rule 20 Plurals of letters and numerals
    • Rule 21 Plurals of numbers and certain words
    • Exercise
  • 8 Quotation marks
    • Single Quotation Marks
      • Rule 1 With special terms and words
      • Rule 2 Within a quotation
    • Double Quotation Marks
      • Rule 3 With quotations
      • Rule 4 With dialogue
      • Rule 5 With long quotations
      • Rule 6 Titles of short stories and parts of a book
      • Rule 7 Common errors in using quotation marks
      • Rule 8 Quotation marks with other punctuation marks
      • With comma and period
      • With semicolon and colon
      • With question mark and exclamation mark
    • Exercise
  • 9 Parentheses and brackets
    • Parentheses
      • Rule 1 With parenthetical expression
      • Rule 2 To enclose references
      • Rule 3 With lists
    • Brackets
      • Rule 4 Within parentheses
    • Exercise
  • 10 Hyphen and dashes
    • Hyphen
      • Rule 1 Prefixes
      • Rule 2 Doubling of vowel
      • Rule 3 Prefix plus capital letter
      • Rule 4 Prefix plus date
      • Rule 5 Prefix to an italicised word
      • Rule 6 Prefix ‘ex’
      • Rule 7 Suffixes
    • Dashes
    • En Dash
      • Rule 8 To express a range
      • Rule 9 En dash instead of a hyphen
      • Rule 10 To express an association
      • Rule 11 Spaced en dash
    • Em Dash
      • Rule 12 For amplification or emphasis
      • Rule 13 With appositives
      • Rule 14 After the year of birth
      • Rule 15 Em dash with other punctuation marks
      • With question mark or exclamation mark
      • With parentheses
    • Exercise
  • 11 Slash and ellipses
    • Slash
      • Rule 1 With some abbreviations
      • Rule 2 To express units
      • Rule 3 To express alternatives
      • Rule 4 To express multiple titles
      • Rule 5 To express fractions
    • Ellipses
    • Exercise
  • 12 Punctuation in bibliography
    • Exercise
  • 13 Capitalisation/Numbers/Abbreviation
    • Capitalisation
    • Numbers
    • Abbreviations
    • Exercise
  • Answers to exercises
  • Practice on passages
  • Answers to passages
  • Glossary
  • Proof-reading symbols
  • Further readings
  • Index
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Description

This book is a product of practice. It provides rules of thumb and numerous examples. All the passages used in the book are from actual writing. Punctuation, like arithmetic, can be improved with diligence and drill. To help readers become effective and accurate with their punctuation, an exercise is included at the end of each chapter; answers too are given.

Table of contents
  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Preface
  • Contents
  • 1 A brief history of punctuation
  • 2 Introduction to punctuation
    • Punctuation Marks in English
  • 3 End marks
    • Full Stop
      • Rule 1 End of a statement
      • End of an elliptical sentence
      • End of an imperative sentence
      • Rule 2 End of a request
      • Rule 3 End of an indirect question
      • Rule 4 With abbreviations, decimals and lists
      • With abbreviations
      • In decimals
      • In lists
      • Rule 5 Full stop with other punctuation marks
      • With quotation marks
      • With parentheses
      • Rule 6 Incorrect use of a full stop
    • Question Mark
      • Rule 7 End of an interrogative sentence
      • Rule 8 Sentence containing direct questions
      • Rule 9 Sentence beginning with an independent question
      • Rule 10 Elliptical question
      • Rule 11 To express doubt
    • Exclamation Mark
    • Exercise
  • 4 Comma
    • Types of Sentence
    • Simple Sentence
    • Compound Sentence
    • Complex Sentence
    • Compound–complex Sentence
      • Rule 1 Between subject and predicate
      • Rule 2 Within a compound subject
      • Compound subject with more than two items (a series)
      • Rule 3 In a compound predicate
      • Compound predicate with more than two items (a series)
      • Rule 4 Series punctuation
    • Independent Clause
      • Rule 5 Join clauses with a coordinating conjunction
      • Rule 6 Join clauses without a coordinating conjunction
      • Rule 7 Between clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb
    • Dependent Clause
      • Rule 8 Between a main clause and a dependent clause
    • More About Clauses
      • Rule 9 With relative clauses
      • Rule 10 Relative pronouns ‘that’ and ‘which’
      • Rule 11 Introductory phrases and words Prepositional phrase
      • Rule 12 Transitional words
      • Rule 13 To separate numbers that occur successively
      • Rule 14 With parenthetical expression
      • Rule 15 Coordinating adjectives
      • Rule 16 With appositives
      • Rule 17 With elliptical sentence
      • Rule 18 With elements in contrast (antithesis)
      • Rule 19 Elements in common
      • Rule 20 For ease of reading
      • Rule 21 Common errors in using commas
      • Direct address
      • Direct quotation
      • Rule 22 Comma in the right place
    • Exercise
  • 5 Semicolon
    • Rule 1 Between independent clauses
    • Without a coordinating conjunction
    • With a coordinating conjunction
    • Rule 2 Between parallel clauses
    • Rule 3 Series punctuation
    • Rule 4 In lists
    • Rule 5 Common errors in using semicolon
    • Exercise
  • 6 Colon
    • Rule 1 In a list
    • Rule 2 Elements that belong together
    • Rule 3 With quotations
    • Rule 4 For amplification
    • Rule 5 With direct questions
    • Rule 6 More than one colon in a sentence
    • Exercise
  • 7 Apostrophe
    • Rule 1 To form contraction
    • Rule 2 To show possession
    • Rule 3 Singular noun not ending in ‘s’
    • Rule 4 Singular noun ending in ‘s’
    • Rule 5 Plural noun
    • Rule 6 Possessive of the word ‘people’
    • Rule 7 Proper nouns
    • Rule 8 Plurals of proper names
    • Rule 9 Compound nouns and phrases
    • Rule 10 Possessive pronouns
    • Rule 11 Indefinite pronouns
    • Rule 12 Mistaken possession
    • Rule 13 Joint possession
    • Rule 14 With abbreviations
    • Rule 15 Relationship comparable to ownership
    • Rule 16 Possession for inanimate object
    • Rule 17 Double possessive
    • Rule 18 With quotation marks
    • Rule 19 Omission of a number in a date
    • Rule 20 Plurals of letters and numerals
    • Rule 21 Plurals of numbers and certain words
    • Exercise
  • 8 Quotation marks
    • Single Quotation Marks
      • Rule 1 With special terms and words
      • Rule 2 Within a quotation
    • Double Quotation Marks
      • Rule 3 With quotations
      • Rule 4 With dialogue
      • Rule 5 With long quotations
      • Rule 6 Titles of short stories and parts of a book
      • Rule 7 Common errors in using quotation marks
      • Rule 8 Quotation marks with other punctuation marks
      • With comma and period
      • With semicolon and colon
      • With question mark and exclamation mark
    • Exercise
  • 9 Parentheses and brackets
    • Parentheses
      • Rule 1 With parenthetical expression
      • Rule 2 To enclose references
      • Rule 3 With lists
    • Brackets
      • Rule 4 Within parentheses
    • Exercise
  • 10 Hyphen and dashes
    • Hyphen
      • Rule 1 Prefixes
      • Rule 2 Doubling of vowel
      • Rule 3 Prefix plus capital letter
      • Rule 4 Prefix plus date
      • Rule 5 Prefix to an italicised word
      • Rule 6 Prefix ‘ex’
      • Rule 7 Suffixes
    • Dashes
    • En Dash
      • Rule 8 To express a range
      • Rule 9 En dash instead of a hyphen
      • Rule 10 To express an association
      • Rule 11 Spaced en dash
    • Em Dash
      • Rule 12 For amplification or emphasis
      • Rule 13 With appositives
      • Rule 14 After the year of birth
      • Rule 15 Em dash with other punctuation marks
      • With question mark or exclamation mark
      • With parentheses
    • Exercise
  • 11 Slash and ellipses
    • Slash
      • Rule 1 With some abbreviations
      • Rule 2 To express units
      • Rule 3 To express alternatives
      • Rule 4 To express multiple titles
      • Rule 5 To express fractions
    • Ellipses
    • Exercise
  • 12 Punctuation in bibliography
    • Exercise
  • 13 Capitalisation/Numbers/Abbreviation
    • Capitalisation
    • Numbers
    • Abbreviations
    • Exercise
  • Answers to exercises
  • Practice on passages
  • Answers to passages
  • Glossary
  • Proof-reading symbols
  • Further readings
  • Index
Biographical note
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