Punctuation

Punctuation is speaking, where we use pauses, intonation and voice modulation to make our meaning clear.

In writing we use punctuation marks to do so.

Punctuation is adding the right kind of points in a sentence to indicate expression, pauses and complition.

Punctuation is a system of signs and symbols used by a writer for the benefit of the reader, to show how a sentence is constructed and how it should be read.

There are some basic rules to be followed in punctuation.

Capital Letters

Capital letter is used at the beginning of the sentences. 

Example:- We can dance.

                Reena is preparing for her exam.

             

   They are used for proper nouns like personal names, names of companies, university, school, religions,nations etc.

Example 1.Rahul Gandhi is the son of Rajeev Gandhi.

2. Airtel has launched many schemes to attract its customers.

3. Monday is the first working day of the week.

4. Mahatma Gandhi is known as father of nation.

Full Stop

     ⚫We use the full stop at the end of a sentence which is a statement.

    

1. The deer ran away from the hunter.

2. I studied in Patiala.

 

    ⚫Full Stop is used after some abbreviations

     Example 

     M.A. Mr. Dr. Prof. Dept. Engg.

     Sun. Mon. Jan. Mar. P.R.Sharma

    ⚫ Full Stops are used as the decimal point in figures and amounts of money.

     Rs.75.75 145.70 km/h

   ⚫  Full Stops are used to separate parts of an email or web address.

     www.unicef.org

     Tanu_vk@, hotmail.com

     Question Mark

     Question Mark is used at the end of the sentences.

     Example.

1. What is your name?

2.  How old are you?

 

⚫   It is also used at the end of question tags.

  

      Example

        She is preparing for her exam, isn't she?

Exclamation mark !

An exclamation mark is used at the end of a sentence to show shock, surprise, horror or pleasure.

   Example

It is sad!

What a tall building it is!

Commas

Commas indicate a slight pause and are used to divide a Sentence into several parts so that it is easier to follow its meaning . 

They are used

⚫To separate words in a list, though they are often omitted before and 

Example 

a bedcover with green, pink and yellow circles.

tea, coffee,milk or hot chocolate.

⚫ to separate phrases and clauses.

Example 

If you keep calm, have patience, concentrate and believe in yourself,then you are likely to pass your entrance test.

⚫ to separate a tag question from the rest of the sentence

Example 

You live in Bengaluru, right?

⚫ before or after  'he said', etc.when writing down conversation

Example 

"Come back soon,"she said.

He said,"come back soon."

⚫ to separate an introductory word or phrase or an adverb or adverbial phrase that applies to the whole Sentence, from the rest of the sentence. 

 

Example 

Oh, so that's where it was.

By the way, did you hear what happened at night in your neighborhood?

Colon 

⚫ Colon  precedes a list,an explanation or an example.

Example 

There are two main branches of our school: Bhagat Puran Singh and Mata Mariam Block.

⚫to introduce a quotation, which may

be indented

Example 

As Shakespeare writes: 

   What's in name?A rose by any name would smell as sweet.

Semicolon

⚫ Semicolon is used to separate two Sentences that would have otherwise been joined with a word such as - and, because, since, unless or while.

Example 

It was a pleasure meeting you ; it was a wonderful experience.

Apostrophe  ( ' ) 

⚫An apostrophe before the letter ( ') indicates possession or belonging.

Example This is Nitu's house.

⚫ It is also used to show missing letters or numbers in shortened words.

Example It's a cold day today.We'll wear a thick cardigan.

'84.                                      (   1984.     )

The summer of '14.         (    2014.    )

Quotation Mark (" " )( ' ' )

⚫  Quotation Marks (single or double) are used to show words that are directly spoken in direct speech.

Example " Can you pass me that glass please? " said my sister.

⚫ They are used to show a quoted word,phrase or title.

Example "War and Peace" is a novel by Leo Tolstoy

Hyphen ( _) 

 ⚫Hypen is used to join two words or more to form compound words.

Example

There are ninety-nine rupees in my wallet.

Abbreviation

⚫Abbreviation is a shortened form of a word, with letters representing the whole world. Full stop is used after an abbreviation.

Example

Dr. Amit is an expert heart surgeon.

Now it's the practice time⏲️⏲️

Today we will study three very small but important words in English language: a,an and the. We use these words in almost every Sentence that we speak or write. They are known as article.

Articles

An article is a word that is used to point out or refer to a noun.

👩‍🏫Example--->

👉Our neighbour has a dog and a cat.

👉The earth revolves around the sun 🌞.

👉 My uncle gifted an umbrella.

Kinds Of Articles

Articles are of two kinds:

#Indefinite articles

#Definite articles

‌Indefinite articles.    

A and an are called indefinite articles since they donot refer to any particular person or thing.

⚫We use a before a singular (countable) noun that begins with a consonant sound.

Example. a book,. a girl,. a school 

⚫We use 'an' before a singular noun that begins with a Vowel sound.

Example. an elephant, an inkpot, an egg

⭐ Remember

We use a before the following words

a uniform, a university, a European, a unicorn

👉We use a because we find that the opening sound is that of a consonant,Yu even though they begin with a vowel.so we pronounce them as YUniform,YUniversity etc.

👉We use an before words that begin with a silent 'h' as in :

An honest man , an honour, an hour

👉 We use an because we find that the opening sound of these words begin with a vowel sound 'a' and 'au'

A and an goes only with the singular noun.

‌Definite articles:  

The is called definite articles because it indicates something or someone specific.

Examples The Earth, The Sharma, The UK.

Notes 

💁 Article the can be used before singular and plural nouns

Example 

The car under the tree is belongs to me.

💁 Article the can also be used with non count nouns.

 Example 

1.She fell into the water.

2.The milk in the glass is not fresh.

Use of The

We use definite article -The

1. Before a noun only one of its kind

Example. The earth revolves around the sun.

The Moon is very bright tonight.

2. Before superlative adjectives.

Example: Russia is the largest country in the world.

2. It is the oldest temple in the city.

3. Before only one in that place.

Example: We live in a house near the supermarket.

Look at the lady with pink dress , she is my aunt.

4. Before nouns already mentioned.

Example: The cow is sleeping under a tree, the cow is sick

Please give me a pen. The Pen should be blue.

5 Before nouns referring to the class.

Example: The Penguins 🐧 are not found in India🇮🇳.

Life can be hard for the poor.

6. Before the musical instrument.

Example: I am learning the piano🎹.

He plays the tabla very well.

7. Before a system or service

Example I heard it on the radio

 you should tell the doctor 👨‍⚕️.

8. We do not normally use the definite articles before names. 

But we used it before the names of:

👉 the countries that include the words Kingdom States Republic or have plural names, for example, the United Kingdom, the United state ,the Republic of China etc.

👉 geographical features for example the Himalayas, the Atlantic, the Amazon, the Panama canal.

👉 newspapers and some religious books for example The statesman, the Hindustan times, the Bible.

👉 well known buildings or works of art for example the India gate, the mona Lisa.

👉 Organisations for example the United Nations

👉 Hotels and restaurants for example the dominos ,the pizza hut.

👉 Families for example the a

Ambanis, the tatas, the obamas.



Let's practice a little now guys....