PUNCTUATION 



4871 



PUNCTUATION 



Period. The period (.) is used at the close 

 of every complete sentence which is neither 

 an exclamation nor a question, and after all 

 abbreviations. It was formerly the custom to 

 use a period after every Roman numeral, but 

 the tendency now is to omit the point. By 

 common acceptance the period after the nu- 

 meral adds th; thus, George V. reigns is read 

 George Fifth reigns. 



Interrogation Point. The interrogation point 

 (?) is used to mark a query, and should be 

 placed after every sentence which is a direct 

 question, as "Where are you going?" Indirect 

 questions, however, are not followed by an in- 

 terrogation point: "He asked where I was go- 

 ing." In Spanish the interrogation point is 

 used at the beginning as well as at the end of 

 a question. 



Exclamation Point. The exclamation point 

 (!) is used to mark an emphatic utterance 

 or an outcry-, whether this is a full sentence or 

 merely a few words: "Hello!" "Curfew must 

 not ring tonight!" "Long live the king!" The 

 use of this mark as a sign of irony, as in "He 

 presented us to his three beautiful (!) daugh- 

 ters," is not considered in good taste. 



Comma. The comma (,) is the most used of 

 all the points, because it marks the slightest in- 

 terruption in the thought or in the grammatical 

 structure of a sentence. There are more vari- 

 ations in its uses than in those of any other 

 points, but the rules which follow are accepted 

 by practically all the best authorities : 



( 1 ) A comma is used to separate the members 

 of a series : "Roses, lilies, pansies and marigolds 

 grew in the garden." Some writers place a 

 comma after the next to the last member, before 

 the and, but usage on this point is by no means 

 uniform. It is used between the other words of 

 a series as indicating the omission of and. 



(2) To divide proper names which belong to 

 different places or individuals: "To Europe, 

 America used to appear a benighted continent" ; 

 "For Mary, Jane had not a word of reproach." 



(3) Ordinarily, to set ofT clauses introduced by 

 the conjunctions and, but, if, while, as, when, 

 because, and so on. This rule applies particu- 

 larly to cases where the subjects change. "We 

 did the work, but you have reaped the benefits" ; 



n sprang to his feet, and Mary cried out in 

 mont ' ; "As I cannot see him, I shall not 

 wait" ; "When you meet him, give him my re- 

 tards." In cases where such a clause Is neces- 

 sary to the meaning of another clause, the two 

 are not separated by commas: "I would not If 

 I cou 



(4) To set off such conjunctions, adverbs, or 

 phrases as now, however, nevertheless, for in- 

 *tnnrc, after all, of course, and the like, when they 



the beginning of a sentence or clause 

 or are no placed in tin- middle of a sentence or 



clause as to make a distinct break in the struc- 

 ture : "Now, the gist of the matter is this" ; "How- 

 ever, you persisted in your folly" ; "Nevertheless, 

 you will have to concede the point." 



(5) After participial phrases at the beginning 

 of a sentence, especially if these contain an ex- 

 planation of the main clause : "Hearing a noise, 

 he went to the door" ; "Having found out the 

 truth, we trusted him no further." 



(6) To set off phrases or clauses so placed as 

 to cause a break in the structure of the sentence : 

 "Since,, by the doctor's advice, you are here, why 

 not make the best of it?" "If, as I believe, this Is 

 true, let us act upon it." 



7. To separate two identical or very similar 

 words, even if grammatically no such separa- 

 tion is necessary : "Whatever is, is right" ; or 

 to separate two numbers: "In 1911, 246 dele- 

 gates were present." 



(8) To indicate the omission of some word or 

 words which must be mentally supplied if the 

 meaning is to be clear : "Harry has six books ; 

 John, five ; Mary, four." This rule is not in- 

 variable. 



Commas are by many writers given addi- 

 tional uses, but the above are the ones in which 

 they are required to assure clearness. 



Semicolon. The semicolon (;) is used to 

 mark a break in thought or structure greater 

 than that shown by the comma. Sometimes 

 two clauses which really seem like distinct sen- 

 tences are separated by a semicolon because the 

 writer wishes to place emphasis upon the close 

 connection of the thought. When a number of 

 clauses which might otherwise be separated 

 by commas contain commas, the semicolon is 

 used for clearness: "In October, if all goes 

 well, we are planning a harvest festival; in 

 November, a Thanksgiving celebration; and in 

 December, a Christmas pageant." 



Colon. The most common use of the colon 

 ( : ) is to indicate that what follows it explains 

 what precedes it. In practice, it is seldom used 

 except in this introductory manner, to call at- 

 tention to some quotation, illustration or ex- 

 ample, as seen in the above paragraphs. 



Dash. The dash ( ) is used to indicate a 

 sudden break in sense, structure, or both : "To 

 be or not to be that is the question"; 

 "Shall I dare I do it?" Often the phrase or 

 clause which follows the dash is explanatory 

 of that which precedes, as in the following quo- 

 in: 



Because the good old rule 

 Sufficeth them the simple plan, 

 That they should take who have the power, 



And they should keep who can. 



The dash should not take the place of other 

 marks of punctuation commons, semicolons 

 and even periods as it is frequently made to 



