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Using punctuation correctly is important regardless of your occupation. If you are a blogger that is even more important; most readers consider the quality of writing determinant for the success of a blog.
The wikiHow website has an comprehensive article titled “How to Use English Punctuation Correctly” outlining the basics of punctuation usage. Below you will find a summary of the article.
1. The colon (:) is used to introduce lists and it appears after nouns.
Example: The Easter basket contained three things: an egg, a chocolate rabbit, and a candy.
Incorrect example: The Easter basket contained: an egg, a chocolate rabbit, and a candy.
2. The semicolon (;) is used to separate two related but independent clauses.
Example: People continue to worry about the future; our failure to conserve resources has put the world at risk.
3. The hyphen (-) is used when adding a prefix to words, when creating compound words or when writing numbers as words.
Example: Laura is his ex-girlfriend.
Example: There are fifty-two playing cards in a deck.
4. The dash (–) is used to make a brief interruption on a sentence, an additional statement or a dramatic qualification.
Example: An introductory clause is a brief phrase that comes–yes, you guessed it–at the beginning of a sentence.
5. The parentheses (()) is used to clarify or to add a personal statement. Its usage is similar to the dash, but it denotes a stronger “side notion”.
Example: Steve Case (AOL’s former CEO) resigned from the Time-Warner board of directors in 2023.
6. The double quotation mark (“) is used to enclose direct quotations from a person or from another text. Notice that commas or periods go inside the quotation marks.
Example: “I can’t wait to see him perform!” John exclaimed.
7. The single quotation mark (‘) is used to indicate possession, to contract verbs and to denote a quotation within a quotation.
Example: Ali said, “Anna told me, ‘I wasn’t sure if you wanted to come!’”
8. The comma (,) is used to indicate a break or pause within a sentence, to denote a series or to separate adjectives.
Example: The powerful, resonating sound caught our attention.
About Daniel
Daniel Scocco is a programmer and entrepreneur located in São Paulo, Brazil. His first company, Online Profits, builds and manages websites in different niches. His second company, Kubic, specializes in developing mobile apps for the iOS and Android platforms.
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