Exclamation Mark

An exclamation mark (!) is used to denote emphasis or a strong feeling of anger, excitement, surprise, joy, etc.

Ex.: “That monument is stupendous!”

        “Hold on!” Tom shouted. “We will get you out soon.”         

         “We are just a bunch of fools!” the cop yelled. “That crook escaped!”

                 “Good grief!” the Manager said. “How did the factory catch fire?”

Ellipsis

Ellipsis (…) is used at the end of a sentence to indicate a pause/break in the thought process. In dialogues, it also implies that the thought continues indefinitely.

Ex.: He kept on thinking about the missing link in the case . . . and, finally it dawned upon him.

        Harry said, “I want to stay, but . . .”

Ellipsis

Ellipsis (…) is used when we need to omit some words/phrases/paragraphs from a quoted text.

Ex.:

Original Sentence: “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” (Plato)

After Using Ellipsis: “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly….” (Plato)

Rules for Using Colon

A colon (:) is used to introduce a quotation. The sentence at the end of which the colon is placed, should be a complete sentence.

Ex.: After suffering a huge loss in business, Tom remembered Shakespeare’s famous saying: “All that glitters is not gold.”

Rules for Using Colon

A colon (:) is used to introduce an idea.

Ex.: The murder accused had only one option: confess or face the consequences.

        The audience knew who was going to perform next on stage: Michael Jackson.

Rules for Using Colon

A colon (:) is used to introduce a list.

Ex.: He liked all types of junk foods: fries, pizzas, and burgers.

       The zoo had many wild animals: tigers, lions, and panthers. 

       The restaurant offered various cuisines: Thai, Continental, Chinese, and Indian.

Rules for Using Semicolon

A semicolon (;) is used to distinguish items in a series when those items already contain other punctuation marks.

Ex.: They had planned to visit New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco in USA; Paris, Switzerland, and Rome in Europe; and Sydney and Tasmania in Australia.

Rules for Using Semicolon

A semicolon (;) is used to link two independent clauses with closely related themes.

Ex.: John graduated in 2011; his brother graduated last year.

       Train is the most preferred public transport; it is cheap and time-saving.

Rules for Using Comma

A comma is used to distinguish direct quotations.

Ex.: Samuel Butler said, “God cannot alter the past, but historians can.”

        “Get out of your car,” the cop ordered. “I need to talk to you.”

Rules for Using Comma

A comma is used after the phrase, which precedes the subject of the sentence.

Ex.: When you reach the station, please call me.

        If you don’t work hard, you can’t succeed in life.

Rules for Using Comma

A comma together with a conjunction connects two independent clauses.

Ex.: His leg was injured, so he couldn’t run fast.

        He had many cars, yet he chose to travel by bus.

Rules for Using Full Stop

A full stop is used to denote the end of a sentence whose meaning is complete; also, the sentence is not a question or exclamation.

Ex.: Man is a rationale animal.

        Sun rises in the east.

        Birds can fly.

Rules for Using Full Stop

A full stop is used to denote abbreviation. Generally, it is used if a word doesn’t have its last letter.

Ex.: Professor – Prof.

        Mister – Mr (No full stop is used here as the first and last letters are there)

        Doctor – Dr

      

Exception: The above is followed as per UK English. As per US English, it is written as Mr. and Dr.

Rules for Using Full Stop

A full stop should not be used when the sentence ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Incorrect Usage: When will you return home?.

                             What a spectacular display of fireworks!.

Correct Usage: When will you return home?

                           What a spectacular display of fireworks! 

Use of Hyphens

A hyphen (-) is used to link compound adjectives to indicate that they are a part of the same adjective.

Ex.: ten-storey, two-seater, first-rate worker, left-handed, good-hearted, etc. 

Use of Hyphens

A hyphen (-) is used to indicate some kind of break in word/text, especially at the end of a line. The syllable breaking conventions should be as per the dictionary.

Ex.: discussion (dis·cus·sion); proper (prop·er); accident (ac·ci·dent), etc.

Use of Apostrophes

An apostrophe should not be used with possessive pronouns, which already indicate possession.

Ex.: theirs, hers, ours, yours, whose, etc.

Incorrect: That car is her’s.

Correct: That car is hers.

Use of Apostrophes

An apostrophe is used to indicate the omission of letter(s)/numbers.

Ex.: You’re (You are).

        She’s (She is/She has).

        I’ll (I will/I shall).

                ’84 (1984).

Use of Apostrophes

An apostrophe is to be used to show possession, i.e., when we need to denote that a person/thing belongs to someone/something.

Ex.: Tom’s shirt (Tom’s shirt was neatly ironed).

        Dog’s paw (That dog’s paw was bleeding).

                Book’s cover (That kid tore my favorite book’s cover).

Unnecessary articles

Using the after whose

Note: The definite article should not be used after the relative determiner whose.

Incorrect Usage: The lady, whose the purse was stolen, has gone to the police station.

                                           

Correct Usage: The lady, whose purse was stolen, has gone to the police station.