punctuation
PUNCTUATION
To punctuate is to divide writing into sentences and phrases by using special marks for example commas, question marks, etc. The common punctuation marks include:
Capital letters
Full stop
Comma
Question mark
Quotation marks
Apostrophe
Hyphen
Brackets
Exclamation mark
- Colon
- Semi-colon
- Dash
- Capital letters
Capital letters are used in the following ways
a) To mark the beginning of a sentence.
Examples: Running out of the house, I realized that I had not worn the right shoes. We set out on our journey rather late
. b) Nominative pronoun 'I' is always written as a capital letter irrespective of its position in a sentence:
Examples:
Last week, I visited my grandparents.
My elder sister and I go to the same school.
c) All proper nouns begin with a capital letter. Proper nouns include Names of people, months of the year, days of the week, seasons, towns, countries, continents, geographical features, and languages.
Examples:
Thomas Waiver
Thursday
July
Kenya
Chinese
Africa
The Nile
Mount Longonot
Kitale
Lake Turkana
d) Write the first letter as a capital letter in quotations.
Examples:
- Mr. Ole Tanui said, "My herd was attacked by a lion last week"
-"What is the time by your watch?" enquired Nyamweya
e) Capital letters are used to write titles of books, poems, plays, movies, etc. However, none major words like prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are written as capital letters unless they appear at the beginning of the title.
Examples:
'The Cruel Burden'
'The Painful Tears'
'Moses and the Pen pal'
f) Proper adjectives(derived from proper nouns) also require a capital letter.
Examples:
He bought a Japanese car.
Australian dogs are common in Kenya.
g) All nouns and pronouns relating to the supreme being begin with capital letters.
Examples:
- God is faithful to those who believe in Him.
Jesus promises eternal life to all His followers.
h)The first letter of the title of a person is a capital letter.
Examples:
-The Queen of England.
-The President of Kenya.
- Professor Ayiecho Olweny.
- Full stop (.) A full stop is used to:
a) Mark the end of a sentence that is a complete statement.
Examples:
- Mwachi and his best friend come from the same neighborhood.
They may be traveling next year. b) To write abbreviations
Examples:
Feb.
P.m
Dr. M.P Matano.
c)To write website and email addresses
Examples:
pilanoi.org.ke
d) To write indirect questions
Examples:
He asked me why I had arrived late.
Omwango wanted to know what I was doing.
- Comma (,)
A comma is used in the in following ways:
a) To indicate a short break or pause within a sentence.
Examples:
◊ When we heard the noise, we got curious to trace its source.
As they were swimming in the river, a crocodile set upon them.
b) To separate the conditional part from the result (the main) clause in a conditional sentence.
If he had not made a wrong turn, he would not have caused the accident.
Had they worked hard, they would have passed the test. However, a comma is not used if the conditional sentence begins with the result. e.g.
They would not have passed the test if they had not worked hard.
c)Use a comma after introductory adverbs.
Examples:
Finally, they finished the race. Soon, she boarded a bus and began her journey.
d) To make a direct address.
Examples:
Saitet, could you help me with a sharpener?
What is the problem, Moses?
e) A comma is used when separating items in a list.
Examples:
Lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and cheetah are among the wild animals found in Kenya. While studying in Uganda, I visited: Nambole, Mutundwe, Kansanga and Jinja.
f) To separate direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.
Examples:
-The old man said, "I am not ready to sell my land."
- "My neighbor built a new house," said the man.
g) To separate phrases and clauses
Examples:
Having said a short prayer, I retired.
Once we had seen the stranger we used a different route.
h) A comma is used before and after certain link words and phrases.
Examples:
They did not, however, know their way out of the forest.
i) A comma is used to separate each element in an address.
Fred's Academy. PO BOX 58,
Meru.
j) A comma is also used to separate the elements in a full date (weekday, month, and year). ing
Examples: Tuesday, 10th July 2017. Monday, June 16, 2009.
k) Use a comma when the first word of the sentence is freestanding 'yes' or 'no'
Examples:
Yes, I know who he is.
No, we are not interested in the deal.
l)A comma is used between two adjectives that describe the same noun
Examples:
We saw a fierce, large, grey ape in the museum
The visitor wore an expensive fitting, blue suit.
m) A comma is used before a question tag.
Examples:
-They are quite busy, aren't they -We won the match, didn't we?
n) A comma is used to separate each pair of words connected and
e.g. We should be devout and humble, cheerful and serene High and low, rich and poor, wise and foolish, must all die
o) Use a comma after a nominate absolute. Eg - The wind being favorable the squadron sailed.
-This done, Biko returned to the old man with a lovely smile or her face.
p) A comma is used to mark offe noun or phrase in a position
e.g.- Paul, the apostle, was beheaded.
-Milton, the great English poet was blind.
q) A comma is also used to indicate the omission of a word, especially a verb.
e.g. He will succeed, you, never. Rama received a fountain pen; Mwajuma, a watch.
r) Use a comma to separate short coordinate clauses of a compound sentence.
e.g. - The rains descended, and the floods came.
- I came, I saw, I conquered. -The way was long, and the wind was cold.
- Question mark (?)
a) A question mark is used to mark the end of a direct question.
Examples:
-Why has it not been raining lately?
-Where do they live?
b) A question mark is used in writing question tags
Examples:
- He might not come after all, might he?
- Kiptoo writes well, doesn't he?
- Quotation marks
a) Quotation marks are used to enclose words and punctuation marks in direct speech.
Examples:
- "Watch out!" he exclaimed.
Peter said," We have prepared well for the match.
b) Single quotation marks are used to enclose titles of books, poems, articles, movies, magazines, narratives, etc.
Examples:
Our teacher asked us to buy 'The River Between'.
- They presented a narrative entitled 'Apondi Situnya'.
c) Single quotation marks can be used to enclose non English words or draw attention to a word that is unusual for the context. For instance, a word used to show irony
Examples:
The Kikuyu community holds great respect for 'the Mugumo' tree.
Mary is quite 'generous'; she cannot help even her own sibling.
Apostrophe (')
An apostrophe is used to show possession in the following ways:
If the noun does not end in '-s' (in most cases this means it is singular), add '-'s'
Examples:
-The boy's bag is torn.
- Peter's brother is in the university
If the singular or plural noun ends in '-s', simply add an apostrophe without another '-s'
Examples:
- Gladys' marks are quite high.
- -The bus' tires burst leading to the accident.
- The boys' bags were torn.
All nouns that do not form their plural by adding 's', an apostrophe is put before the added 's' to show possession both in singular and plural.
Examples:
-The man's boat capsized.
- Children's toys are quite common nowadays.
b) Apostrophe is used to show contraction
Examples:
| shall not | shan’t |
|---|---|
| it is | it’s |
| cannot | can’t |
| must not | mustn’t |
| ought not | oughtn’t |
| I am | l’m |
c) Apostrophe is used to write plurals of letters and figures
Examples
9 's
r's
7's
y's
NOTE:
Do not use the apostrophe in the possessive pronouns including ours, his, yours, hers, its and theirs. Do not confuse it's and its. It's is a contraction of it is whereas 'its' is a possessive pronoun.
Distinguish between you're and your. You're is a contraction of you are while your is a possessive adjective.
Do not confuse 'whose' and 'who's. Whose is a relative pronoun while who's is a contraction of who is/ who has.
7. Hyphen (-)
a)Hyphen is also used to write compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
Example:
Forty-six
Thirty-four
Eighty - one
b) Hyphen is used when writing compound adjectives.
Examples:
A two-hundred-shilling note.
A two-hour journey
A twelve-year-old girl.
c) Hyphen is used to write compound nouns too.
Examples:
Commander-in-chief
Father-in-law
Check-up
\
- Brackets ()
Brackets are used within a sentence to include information that is not essential to the map point. Such information can be excluded without affecting the original meaning of the sentence Examples:
- Our Science teacher (Mr. Wasonga) has bought a new laptop.
b)Brackets are used to enclose references.
Examples:
-' If Tomorrow Ever comes! (chapter 2) is quite hilarious
- Exclamation mark!
The exclamation mark can be used in a sentence to express surprise, shock, anger, joy, and other strong emotions.
Examples: - Ouch! That hurt!
- Hurray! We won!
- The exclamation can be used in direct speech that represents something shouted or spoken very loudly.
- Examples:
- "Get out!" the teacher shouted. "Come here!" she yelled.
- Colon (:)
a) A colon introduces a list of items.
Examples:
- She revised three subjects: Maths, English, and Kiswahili.
- -They visited four counties: Nyeri, Kilifi, Siaya, and Turkana.
NOTE: With are, such as and including do not use a colon. If the including is followed by the following then use a colon
. b)A colon can be used to put emphasis. Example:
-I lost my book: the one I bought last week
. -All human beings require basic needs: food, shelter, and clothing.
c) To introduce a proverb e.g.
-The wise say: Hurry hurry has no blessings.
- Semicolon ()
a) A semicolon is used to connect closely related ideas when a style marks stronger than a comma is needed. Examples:
Nzomo likes taking a stroll in the evening; his twin brother prefers reading a novel.
Some students like typing their work; others present handwritten work.
b) A semicolon is used to link lists where the items contain commas to avoid confusion between the listed items.
Examples:
- There are basically two ways to write: with a pen or pencil, which is inexpensive and easily accessible; or by computer and printer, which is more expensive but quick and neat.
- c)A semicolon replaces conjunction (and, but)
- e.g. -The Inkalimeva was clever but the hare was cleverer.
-The Inkalimeva was clever; the hare was cleverer.
d)Sometimes a semicolon lays emphasis on what has been said.
- They arrived home very tired; dog-tired.
Her heart was pure; her life severe.
- Dash (-)
a) It is used to separate additional information from the rest of the sentence.
Examples:
My three friends - Paul, Peter, and Mike - have never let me down.
Mr. Masinde - our Science teacher does not tolerate laziness