Hi everyone, Please find this link and see what a difference commas make!
http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Comma_2_646.JPG HOW TO USE ENGLISH PUNCTUATION CORRECTLY? 1- End your sentences with a period (full stop), question mark, or exclamation point (exclamation mark or shout mark). Use the period (full stop) to denote a full stop at the end of a statement. The period ( . ) is one of the most commonly used punctuation marks. The accessibility of the computer has increased tremendously over the past several years. 2 - The question mark ( ? ), used at the end of a sentence, suggests an interrogatory remark or inquiry. What has humanity done about the growing concern of global warming? 3 - The exclamation point (exclamation mark, shout mark)( ! ) suggests excitement or emphasis in a sentence. I can't believe how difficult the exam was! 4 - Use the semicolon and colon properly. The semicolon ( ; ) has a few uses. Use a semicolon to separate two related but independent clauses. Note that, if the two clauses are very wordy or complex, it is better to use a period instead. People continue to worry about the future; our failure to conserve resources has put the world at risk. Use a semicolon to separate a complex series of items, especially those that contain commas. I went to the show with Jake, my close friend; his friend, Jane; and her best friend, Jenna. The colon ( : ) has multiple uses. Use the colon to introduce a list. Be careful not to use a colon when denoting a regular series. Usually, the word following suggests the use of a colon. Use only after a full sentence which ends in a noun. The professor has given me three options: to retake the exam, to accept the extra credit assignment, or to fail the class. INCORRECT - The Easter basket contained: Easter eggs, chocolate rabbits, and other candy. 5 - Understand the differences between a hyphen and a dash. The hyphen ( - ) was once a common punctuation mark on typewriters, when a long word might have been split between two lines. The hyphen is still used in a number of other areas: Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to some words. The purpose of this hyphen is to make the word easier to read. If you were to leave the hyphen out of a word like re-examine, it would be reexamine, which would be harder to read. Understand that some words do not require a hyphen to separate the prefix from the word, such as restate, pretest, and undo. Let a dictionary be your guide for when to use the hyphen after a prefix. When you use a hyphen, the two words have to rely on each other. Example: re-arrange. Cara is his ex-girlfriend. Use hyphens when creating compound words from separate words. The up-to-date newspaper reporters were quick to jump on the latest scandal. Use a hyphen when writing numbers out as words. Separate the two words of any number under one hundred with a hyphen. There are fifty-two playing cards in a deck. ("The amount is one hundred and eighty" is a common error in US English, where the "and" is usually omitted. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, however, the "and" is usually included.) Be careful with spelling out numbers above one hundred—if the number is used as an adjective, it is completely hyphenated, since all compound adjectives are hyphenated (I have one-hundred tapes). Otherwise, a hyphen should only occur if a number greater than 100 occurs within the larger number, e.g., He lived to be one hundred twenty-one. The dash ( -- or — ) should be used when making a brief interruption within a statement, a sudden change of thought, an additional comment, or a dramatic qualification. It can also be used to add a parenthetical statement, such as for further clarification, but should still be relevant to the sentence. Otherwise, use parentheses. Keep in mind that the rest of the sentence should still flow naturally. Try to remove the statement within the dash from the sentence; if the sentence appears disjointed or does not make sense, then you may need to revise. There should be spaces before and after the dash in British English. An introductory clause is a brief phrase that comes—yes, you guessed it —at the beginning of a sentence. This is the end of our sentence—or so we thought. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "English Learner's Cafe" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/english_learners?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
