Punctuation Saves Lives!

The Importance of Punctuation

Writing to Learn

• How do you define punctuation?• What’s the purpose of punctuation?• List all the punctuation marks that come to

mind and explain what they do.

Same Words, Different Punctuation

Copy the following sentences. Explain the different meanings and why the different meanings are possible. • The Giant Panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

• The Giant Panda eats shoots and leaves.

Punctuation Saves Lives!

Men, Women, and Punctuation

Copy the following sentence and explain its meaning:• A woman, without her man, is nothing.

Now, copy the sentence again without the given punctuation marks. Change the punctuation to alter the meaning of the sentence.

Women Rule!

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

What’s punctuation?

Punctuation:1) is a courtesy designed to help readers

understand a story without stumbling2) has always been offered in a spirit of

helpfulness, to underline meaning and prevent awkward misunderstandings between reader and writer.

Jack and Jill in Love

Dear Jack,I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy- will you let me be yours?Yours,Jill

Jack and Jill Went Downhill

Dear Jack,I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?Yours,Jill

What we will cover

• Commas• Semicolons• Colons• Periods

What do these punctuation marks have in common?

#1: The Colon

A few characteristics:• A colon is nearly always preceded by a

complete sentence.• A colon rather theatrically announces what is

to come.

The Colon

“Yes!” Statements• Tom only has one rule in life: never eat

anything bigger than your head. “Ah” Statements• I loved opal fruits as a child: no one else did.

The Colon

So colons introduce the part of the sentence that exemplifies, restates, elaborates, undermines, explains or balances the preceding part.

The Colon

Colons have introductory roles. • They start lists:In later life, Kerry-Anne found there were three qualities she liked in people: honesty, integrity, and selflessness. • They set off book and film sub-titles from the

main titles:Gandhi III: The Mahatma Strikes Back

The Colon

• They separate dramatic characters from dialogue:

Phillip: Where do you attend school?Kerry-Anne: Only the very best: Male High School!• They introduce examples on Power Points

about punctuation.

Punctuation Part II

Punctuation Saves Lives!

Punctuation Review

• Punctuation:-is a courtesy designed to help readers understand a story without stumbling- has always been offered in a spirit of helpfulness, to underline meaning and prevent awkward misunderstandings between reader and writer.

The Colon

• Colons introduce the part of the sentence that exemplifies, restates, elaborates, undermines, explains or balances the preceding part.

EX: In later life, Kerry-Anne found there were three qualities she liked in people: honesty, integrity, and selflessness.

A Riddle for You!

• What’s stronger than a comma, weaker than a period, and should be used sparingly?

The Semicolon

When do you use a semicolon??

• Use a semicolon between two related sentences where there is no conjunction such as “and” or “but”.

• Use a semicolon to link clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases.

• Use a semicolon to separate items in a list when too many commas can seem confusing.

A ; is a compliment from the writer to the reader

“Now this is a hint. The elements of the sentence, although grammatically distinct, are actually elements of a single notion.”

LMHS is the best high school; all the smart kids go there.

Examples

I loved Opal Fruits; they are now called Starburst, of course.

I remember him when he couldn’t write his own name on a piece of paper; now he’s Prime Minister.

I do love reading classic literature; however, I love learning about punctuation even more.

A ; is the policeman who breaks up comma fights

Cheap air fares were offered to Corfu, the Greek island, Elba, in the Mediterranean, and Paris. Margaret thought about it. She had been to Elba once and had found it dull, to Morocco, and found it too colorful.

The Policeman Restores Order!

• Cheap air fares were offered to Corfu, the Greek island; Elba, in the Mediterranean; and Paris. Margaret thought about it. She had been to Elba once and had found it dull; to Morocco, and found it too colorful.

See how the sense changes with the punctuation.

• Tom locked himself in the shed. England lost to Argentina.

• Tom locked himself in the shed; England lost to Argentina.

• Tom locked himself in the shed: England lost to Argentina.

Commas- WTL

• Draw a comma.• Why do we use commas?• Are commas confusing? Why or why not?

Commas

• There are two distinct functions of punctuation:

1) To illuminate the grammar of a sentence. 2) To point up literary qualities like tone, flow,

pitch, and rhythm. It tells the reader how to hum a tune.

History of the Comma

• Greek for “a piece cut off”• Adopted into English in the 16th century• For a millennia and a half, punctuation was

used to guide actors who read aloud.• Now reading is “quiet time”• So what happened to the comma?

Commas: Rule #1

A comma is used in a list to separate items in a series. A comma is considered correct if it can replace and or or.I asked Santa Claus for a bike, mittens, and ice cream.The following are associated with Male High School: purple, gold, bulldogs, pride, character, and citizenship.

Commas: Rule #1

• In a list of adjectives, again the rule is that you use a comma where an and would be appropriate- where the modifying words are all the same thing to the same degree.

Yes!It was a dark, stormy night.No!It was an endangered white rhino.

Comma Rule #2

Commas are used when two independent clauses are joined together, using such conjunctions as and, or, but, while, and yet. Use a comma before the conjunction to separate two independent clauses in a compound sentence. Ex:• The boys wanted to stay up until midnight, but they grew tired and fell asleep.• I thought I had the best grade in the class, yet Alice

proved me wrong.

Comma Rule #2

• Always check to make sure that you have written two complete sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction before you insert a comma.

EX: Jack and Jill enjoy listening to music, and they enjoy long strolls on the beach while looking at rainbows.

Complete Sentences

Q: So, what makes a complete sentence? A: A subject and a predicate (verb that expresses the action of the subject)Ex: Will walked the dog. Subject Predicate

Comma Rule #2

• Sometimes, conjunctions merely join two words, phrases, or subordinate clauses. When they are used in one of these ways, no comma is required.

Compound subject: Jack and Jill like music.Compound verb: The old friends walked and talked.Two prepositional phrases: They ate lunch in the café and then walked on the beach.Two subordinate Clauses: Jack and Jill enjoy shopping trips only if they are relatively short and only if they are productive.

Comma Rule #2: Issues

• Issues arise when writers deliberately omit the conjunction and just keep the comma where a semicolon is called for (comma splice).

Comma Splice

• The boys wanted to stay up until midnight, but they grew tired and fell asleep. (comma plus conjunction)

• The boys wanted to stay up until midnight; they grew tired and fell asleep. (semicolon)

• The boys wanted to stay up until midnight, they grew tired and fell asleep. (comma splice)

Comma Rule #2

• Do not use a comma to separate two subordinate clauses

What is a subordinate clause?A clause that is dependent on the main clause, meaning it cannot exist without a main clause. It can only be part of a sentence.

Comma Rule #2A subordinate clause adds information to a sentence:

They have decided that you should study more.You should not eat the berries because they are poisonous. Much of the food is put through a process called irradiation so that most of the bacteria on the food is killed by radiance.

How can I fix a comma splice?

1. Use a comma and coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for,yet, and so) to form one smooth sentence:

Sentence, and sentence.NO: Communication is important in every relationship, it’s especially important to the student teacher relationship. YES: Communication is important in every relationship, but it’s especially important to the student teacher relationship.

How Can I Fix a Comma Splice?

Separate the independent sentences with a semicolon. The semicolon may be used whether or not the second sentence starts with a transitional word or phrase.

Sentence; sentence.or

Sentence; transition, sentence.NO: Suddenly, there was complete silence in the boys’ room, then the mother knew she’d better check on them.YES: Suddenly, there was complete silence in the boys’ room; then the mother knew she’d better check on them.

How Can I Fix A Comma Splice?

• Make the independent sentences distinct, using a period and capital letter.

Sentence. Sentence.NO: Saturday afternoon in Kirkwood is always a busy time, everyone seems to be out running errands.YES: Saturday afternoon in Kirkwood is always a busy time. Everyone seems to be out running errands.

How Can I Fix a Comma Splice?

• Restructure the two sentences as one, using a dependent word to introduce the less important idea.

Dependent word+subject/verb, sentence.NO: The new organizational plan was introduced, the company employees were eager to try it.YES: When the new organizational plan was introduced, the company employees were eager to try it.