Chapter 27: Punctuation

Chapter 27: Punctuation

End Marks

Use a ______to end a declarative sentence, a mild imperative, or an indirect question.
A declarative statement is a statement of ______or______.
There are more than 10,000 species of birds.
The veterinarian believes my parrot will recover from its illnesses.
My father asked whether we saw the bald eagle.
An imperative sentence gives a ______or ______.
Often, the first word of an imperative sentence is a ______.
Fill the birdfeeder first, and then hang it in the tree.
Clean the birdcage.
Use a question mark with a ______question.
Use a question mark to end an ______sentence, an incomplete question, or a statement intended as a ______.
Often, the ______as well as the punctuation of an interrogative sentence is different from that of a declarative sentence.
Why are there so many birds in our yard?
Are bats considered birds or mammals?
A question mark is also used with one or more interrogative words when a complete sentence is ______.
Penguins have lost the ability to fly. Why?
Occasionally, a ______is used at the end of a statement that asks a question.
Birds eat grasshoppers?
Use care, however, in ending statements with question marks. It is better to rephrase the statement as a ______.
STATEMENT WITH A QUESTION MARK: The geese haven’t migrated yet?
REVISED WITH A DIRECT QUESTION: Haven’t the geese migrated yet?
An ______signals an exclamatory sentence, an imperative sentence, or an interjection.
It indicates strong emotion and should be used ______.
Depending on ______, an exclamation mark or a comma can be used with an interjection.
WITH AN EXCLAMATION MARK: Oh! What an enormous bird!
WITH A COMMA: Oh, it’s only an owl.
Most abbreviations end with a ______.
ABBREVIATIONS WITH PERIODS:
Dr., etc., Sr., Jr., Mrs.,
ABBREVIATIONS WITHOUT PERIODS:
FBI, NASA, TX, KY
When an abbreviation ending with a period is found at the ______of a sentence, do not add another period as an end mark.
The speaker will be Adam Martin, Jr.
If an end mark other than a period is required, however, you ______.
Is the speaker Adam Martin, Jr.?

Commas

The comma is used to ______a number of basic elements and to set off many different kinds of added elements within sentences.
As you learn the rules for the correct use of a comma, you will also reinforce your understanding of ______.
A single independent clause expresses a complete thought and often stands alone as a simple sentence.
Two independent clauses, correctly joined and punctuated, form a compound sentence.
The conjunctions used to connect independent clauses are called ______
F
A
N
B
Y
S
Use a comma before the ______to separate two independent clauses in a compound sentence.
I had a meeting with my guidance counselor, and then I applied to several schools in New York.
My mother loves the country, but my father prefers the city.
She might go to a museum, or she might go to the opera.
Although a comma and a coordinating conjunction are used to separate two independent clauses in a compound sentence, a comma is not used to separate a ______in a simple sentence.
Leslie went to Broadway, and she saw a play.
Leslie went to Broadway and saw a play.

The Statue of Liberty was built in France, and then shipped to New York.
Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and AlexandreGustave Eiffel devised the interior framework.
It was originally named Liberty Enlightening the World but is now knows as the Statue of Liberty.
The French people paid for the construction of the statue and Americans donated money for the pedestal.
It was completed in 1886 and dedicated on October 28.

A series consists of ______or more words, phrases, or subordinate clauses of a similar kind. A series can occur in any part of a sentence.
The subway car was crowded, noisy, and fast.
We explored the city by bus, by train, and by car.
The survey revealed that many New Yorkers were satisfied with the mayor, that they supported the new laws, and that they wanted to fiscal policy to continue.
When ______are used to separate all of the items in a series, no commas are needed.
We wanted to watch the game and eat hot dogs and then see the fireworks.
Do not use commas between items that are paired so often that they are thought of as one item.
We ate grilled cheese sandwiches, baloney sandwiches, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
When ______adjectives precede a noun, they sometimes will need to be separated with commas.
Use commas to separate adjectives of ______.
Adjectives are of equal rank if you can insert the word ______between them without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Another way to determine whether adjectives are of equal rank is to ______the order in which they appear. If the sentence still sounds correct, the adjectives are of equal rank.
A tall, majestic building rose above the skyline.
The bright, bold sign was posted above the door.
The baby loved her soft, fluffy blanket.
Do not use commas to separate adjectives that must stay in a ______.
The second-oldest building in the city was renovated.
The long ticket line is moving faster than the shorter reservations line.

I visited New York City during the hot humid month of August.
My grandfather took me to see some of the many fascinating sites.
We traveled on the noisy crowded subway.
It took us right into the heart of the city in just forty short minutes.
We walked up the long steep stairway to the street.

Use a comma after an ______word, phrase, or clause.
INTRODUCTORY WORDS:
Well, I find it difficult to choose.
Yes, Charles agrees with our plan to visit Central Park.
Oh, did he really say that?
______EXPRESSIONS:
Of course, I’ll do it for you.
______ADVERBS
Certainly, you may borrow the book about New York.
Frantically, they searched for a parking spot.
______PHRASES
At the very top, my father paused to enjoy the view.
In the heart of the city, you will find many skyscrapers.
______PHRASES
Walking slowly, she reached the subway in about ten minutes.
Written carefully, the speech was a masterpiece.
______PHRASES
To get to the train before it left, she ran all the way.
To get to Broadway, they rode in a taxi.
______CLAUSES
When the team got off the plane, hundreds of onlookers began to cheer.
If you intend to travel to New York this summer, you should make your plans now.

Born in December 1882 Fiorello La Guardia would become one of New York City’s best-known mayors,
The son of a military man La Guardia was born in New York, but he grew up on an army based in Arizona.
After his father left the army the family moved to Italy.
While living overseas the young La Guardia joined the U.S. consular service.
Initially serving as a clerk he would eventually become the consular agent in the city of Fiume.

______expressions consist of one or more words that, in a sense, ______the flow of a sentence.
Such expressions are set off by ______, regardless of where they occur in a sentence.
Please, Ben, could you help me?
The tennis match, therefore, was held after the rain shower.
You know, of course, that she is ill.
We took the subway, not the bus, to work.
New York, not Chicago, has the Empire State Building.

His reasoning therefore was faulty.
The bitter rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is in my opinion one of the most interesting events in New York’s history.
Burr was a Republican not a Federalist like Hamilton.
It was Hamilton most likely who prevented Burr from becoming president in 1800.
He also checked Burr’s bid to be governor of New York I believe.

Do not use commas to set off ______expressions.
The role was played by the famous actor Henry Fonda.
The man wearing the white cap is my uncle.
The paragraph that we propose to add changes the entire bill.

Use commas to set off ______expressions.
The part was played by Henry Fonda, the famous actor.
The graceful bridge, built in the 1800s, spans a lake in Central Park.
The lake, which sometimes freezes in the winter, is lovely for summer boating.

Grand Central Terminal which was renovated recently is one of New York City’s most famous landmarks.
Its history stretches back to 1831 when the first rail line into New York City was established.
Between 1831 and 1836, a station that was built for the New York and Harlem lines was located in the heart of the city.

When a ______name is made up of two or more parts, use a comma after each item.
My uncle in New York, New York is a lawyer.
We traveled to Ontario, Canada by car.

When a date is made up of two or more parts, use a comma ______except in the case of a month followed by a day.
My birthday is Thursday, September 26.
I saw a Broadway play on October 6, 2000.
On April 8, 1999, my brother was born.
When a name is followed by one or more titles, use a comma after the ______and after each ______.
Theresa Kelly, M.D., is my doctor.
John Roe, Sr., Ph.D., lectured on Greek drama.
Use a comma after each item in an address made up of ______or more parts.
We sent the package to Emma Chandee, 1237 Oakland Parkway, Anytown, New York 10583.
Commas set off ______.
“I finished my report on the Empire State Building,” Linda stated happily.
Kevin sighed, “I wish mine were done.”
“Perhaps,” Linda replied, “yours will be better than mine because you’ve spent more time on it.”

Semicolons

Use a semicolon to join ______that are not already joined by the conjunction for, and, nor, but, yet, or so.
The semicolon is a stronger punctuation mark than a comma. It replaces both the ______and the ______.
Martha Washington was the first First Lady; she was married to George Washington.
Martha Washington entertained graciously; in fact, she set a precedent for First Ladies.
She enjoyed her role as hostess; on the other hand, there was a great deal of pressure to set a good example.

Add semicolons and/ or commas.

1. Reading was a common interest of Abigail and her husband therefore, it acted as a strong bond between them.

2. John Adams went to Harvard and there he studied for a career in law.

3. They were married in 1764 at this time, Abigail was only nineteen years old.

Dashes

Use dashes to indicate an ______change of thought, a ______interrupting idea, or a summary statement.
The article doesn’t provide enough information on Japan– by the way, did you find it in the school library?
The pagoda was built– you may find this hard to believe- in one month.

Parentheses

Use parentheses to set off ______and ______only when the material consists of one or more sentences, or when the material is not essential.
Despite many powerful earthquakes (including the disastrous earthquake of 1995), there are almost no records reporting the collapse of these ancient high-rises.
In a sentence with a set-off phrase, place any ______belonging to the main sentence after the parentheses.
When I arrived (about two o’clock), he was waiting.
The artist had finally accepted the invitation to exhibit his works (after having been invited twice before); therefore, he spent the summer preparing the material for display.

The Japanese flag called Hinomaru depicts the rising sun.
General Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 supervised the occupation of Japan at the end of World War II.
The worst natural disaster to strike modern Japan was the Great Kanto Earthquake more than 100,000 people were killed in 1923.

Apostrophes

Add an apostrophe and –s to show the ______case of most singular nouns.
The book of the girl:
The leaf of the shrub:
The crib of the baby:
The check of the waitress:
Two rules are necessary to form the possessive case of ______nouns. First, there is a rule for forming the possessive case of plural nouns ending in –s or –es. Second, there is a rule for plurals that do not end in –s or –es.
Add an ______to show the possessive case of plural nouns ending in –s or –es.
The shirts of the boys:
The figures in the charts:
The groups in the classes:
Add an ______to show the possessive case of plural nouns that do not end in –s or –es.
The suits of the men:
The toys of the children:
The restroom of the women:
Add an apostrophe and an –s (or just an apostrophe is the word is a plural ending in –s) to the last word of a ______to form the possessive.
The Red Cross’s volunteers provided relief to the tornado victims.
To form possessives involving ______and ______, use an apostrophe and –s or just an apostrophe if the possessive is plural.
A month’s vacation
Three month’s work
A dime’s worth
Three dime’s worth
To show joint ownership, make the ______noun possessive. To show individual ownership, make ______noun possessive.
Joint Ownership: Will and Martin’s dog, a greyhound, has won a number of prizes.
Individual Ownership: Susan’s, Marie’s, and Alice’s papers were grades by the teacher.

One of natures most destructive forces is the earthquake.
Japans people have been plagued by earthquakes throughout their history.
Businesses, hospitals, and childrens schools were caught in the devastation.

Use an ______and an –s with indefinite pronouns to show possession.
Nobody’s turn
Somebody’s house key
One’s homework
One another’s bathing caps
Do not use an apostrophe with the possessive forms of ______pronouns.
This house of ours
Its trail
His old car
That paper of yours
The responsibility of theirs
That hobby of hers

While touring the country of Japan, we visited some of (its, it’s) cultural and historical sites.
We went to see the Buddhist temple in Nara, where monks practice (they’re, their) religion.
We also went to see Edo Castle, built by a warlord (who’s, whose) name I can’t remember.

A contraction is formed by ______a letter or letters from a word or phrase and replacing the missing letter(s) with an ______.

Can not / They would
Should not / We have
Were not / They have
Will not / I am
She will / You are
We shall / She is
He would / Michael is