In the previous quiz we learnt about punctuation marks and their importance in making sentences more meaningful. Specifically we learnt how to use the punctuation marks of full stop, exclamation mark and question mark to end a sentence. We also learnt that the first word of a sentence has to have its first letter in capitals and all proper nouns must start with their first letter in capitals. In this quiz we will learn about commas and quotation marks.
Now, imagine a situation where in a sentence we want to make it as clear as possible and remove any doubt that may be there. How do we make it clearer? The answer is through a comma. Commas separate parts of a sentence and can be used after a word or group of words. Take a look at this sentence:
‘Some trains, for example the Shatabdi Express, do not stop at small stations.’
The commas in the sentence help to clarify that the Shatabdi Express train does not stop at small stations. Let us look at another example:
‘Amitabh Bachchan’s latest film opens next week. His latest film is Shamitabh.’ These two sentences can be combined to form one sentence by the use of commas as:
‘Amitabh Bachchan’s latest film, Shamitabh, opens next week.’
Commas are also used while listing out items. For instance:
‘I like to read novels written by David Baldacci, John Grisham and Nelson DeMille’ is clearer than:
‘I like to read novels written by David Baldacci John Grisham and Nelson DeMille.’
Quotation marks are also punctuation marks. They are used when quoting word for word what someone says. For instance:
‘The teacher shouted, “Get out of the class”.’ - Here, the words between the quotation marks are attributed to the teacher word for word and to signify that we place those words in between quotation marks.
Commas and quotation marks also play vital roles in making sentences more meaningful just as full stops, exclamation marks, capital letters and question marks do. The quiz that follows tells you the various ways in which commas and quotation marks must be used.