Punctuation Rules: A Comprehensive Guide, Lecture notes of Business

Download Punctuation Rules: A Comprehensive Guide and more Lecture notes Business in PDF only on Docsity! Punctuation Rule Sheet End Punctuation Rule 1: Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence. (statement) Rule 2: Use a period at the end of an imperative sentence. (command) Rule 3: Use a question mark at the end of the interrogative sentence. (question) Rule 4: Use an exclamation point at the end of an exclamatory sentence. (strong feeling) Rule 5: Use an exclamation point at the end of an interjection. (strong emotion/one or two words) Commas Rule 1: Use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Rule 2: Use a comma to show a pause after an introductory word. Rule 3: Use a comma after two or more prepositional phrases at the beginning of a sentence. Rule 4: Use commas to set off words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence. Rule 5: Use commas to set off names use in direct address. Rule 6: Use a comma before and or, or but when it joins simple sentences into a compound sentence. Rule 7: Use a comma after the salutation of a friendly letter and after the closing of both a friendly letter and a business letter. Rule 8: Use a comma to prevent a misreading. Rule 9: Use commas before and after the year when it is used with both the month and the day. Do not use a comma if only the month and the year or the month and the day are given. Rule 10: Use commas before or after the name of a state or a country when it is used with the name of a city. Do not use a comma after the state postal abbreviation followed by a ZIP code. Rule 11: Use a comma or pair of commas to set off an abbreviated title or degree following a person’s name. Rule 12: Use a comma or pair of commas to set off too when too means “also.” Rule 13: Use a comma or pair of commas to set off a direct quotation. Semicolons and colons Rule 1: Use a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence when a conjunction such as and, but, or or is not used. Remember that a compound sentence has two or more simple sentences that are joined by a conjunction. Rule 2: Use a colon to introduce a list of items that ends a sentence. Use a phrase such as these, the following, or as follows before the list. Rule 3: Use a colon to separate the hour from the minute when you write the time of day. Rule 4: Use a colon after the salutation of a business letter. Quotation marks and italics Rule 1: Use quotation marks before and after a direct quotation. Rule 2: Use quotation marks around each part of an interrupted quotation. Rule 3: Use a comma or commas to separate a phrase such as he said from the quotation itself. Place the comma outside opening quotation marks but inside closing quotation marks. Rule 4: Place a period inside closing quotation marks. Rule 5: Place a question mark or an exclamation mark inside the quotation marks when it is part of the quotation. Rule 6: Place a question mark or an exclamation mark outside the quotation marks when it is part of the entire sentence but not part of the quotation.