Help with Punctuation

by Kimberlin Tan

I recently discovered your website and I think it's brilliant. People, now a days, re having difficulty have at hard time when it comes to English. I for one, do need to polishing on my writing skills.

I am currently into blogging although I'm not much of a writer really. I do hope to be a good one someday.

I do have problems with punctuation marks. Sometimes, I don't know when and where to put them. Do you have any tips about it this?

Anyways, I really find your website very interesting and useful. I do hope it could can help me.

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Hi Kimberlin,
You are not the only person who has trouble with punctuation. We all make mistakes but it is good to learn from them. The first thing I did after reading your question was grab my copy of Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. Whenever I answer grammar questions I always refer to it to double check.

We are in luck too because there is a section on punctuation (pages 459-465). It does a general breakdown of the basic punctuation marks and explains how and when to use them. (I think this book might be quite helpful for you).

My suggestion would be to get a book that explains the punctuations marks in a simple manner and to study the usage a bit. It is a little bit boring but after studying you can do some blogging to practice. After a while punctuation should come naturally.

Here are a couple of explanations from my copy of,
Practical English Usage: Third Addition.

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Full Stop (.) Question

Mark (?) and Exclamation Mark (!)

These three forms of punctuation are used to divide and close sentences. The sentence that follows is always started with a capital letter.

Examples
I like teaching English. It is very rewarding.
Do you like learning English? It is great.
What a wonderful question! You need to write more.

Colon (:)

1) Explanations A colon is used to add more information or an explanation
We need to provide three services: editing, private classes and motivational support.

2) Lists A colon can be used to introduce a list.
Here are five ways to improve your pronunciations: 1)...2)...3)...

3) Subdivisions A colon can be used to divide a title.
How to learn English: Five Secrets How.

Practical English Usage also explains semi colons, commas, dashes, quotation marks, and apostrophes.

I hope that helps you with your question. If you would like any more help, don't hesitate to ask.

Have a wonderful day!

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Have a wonderful day everyone!

- Diana :)

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