Page 7 - Class-8 lesson notes punctuation

 Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies, and then we went out to
lunch.
 Separating lists or elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black, green, and blue dress.
Whether to add a final comma before the conjunction in a list is a matter of debate. This final
comma, known as an Oxford or serial comma, is useful in a complex series of elements or
phrases but is often considered unnecessary in a simple series such as in the example above. It
usually comes down to a style choice by the writer.

 The semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship
between the clauses than a period would show.
 John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.
 A colon (:) has three main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an
explanation, an example, or a series.
 He was planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
The second is between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a
semicolon:

 I didn't have time to get changed: I was already late.
The third use of a colon is for emphasis:
 There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.
A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.
 Dash and the Hyphen:-

Two other common punctuation marks are the dash and hyphen. These marks are often
confused with each other due to their appearance but they are very different.
A dash is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes: en
dash and em dash.

 En dash: Twice as long as a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (--) that is used in writing or
printing to indicate a range, connections or differentiations, such as 1880-1945 or
Princeton-New York trains.
 Em dash: Longer than the en dash, the em dash can be used in place of a comma,
parenthesis, or colon to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence. For
example, She gave him her answer --- No!
Whether you put spaces around the em dash or not is a style choice. Just be consistent.
 A hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not
separated by spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.

Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses

 Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further
explanation or are considered a group.
 Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations or to clarify
meaning. If you remove the information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.

 He [Mr. Jones] was the last person seen at the house.