‘lakshmis mother asked why havent you finished your home work no mom I have a splitting headache replied arpana her mother wondered what will i do with this child’
Did you mange to make sense of this sentence? Is it one sentence? Can this sentence be reorganised so as to make sense to anyone who reads it?
If the same sentence is spoken, most certainly all of us who know English will understand. Why not so when written? The way to bring more meaning into sentences in writing is to use the correct punctuation.
Punctuation marks are somewhat similar to traffic rules. If everyone follows traffic rules then the traffic flows smoothly and people can go about their business without hindrance. Similarly, punctuation marks help all of us to understand a written piece and hopefully, all those who read the piece will get the same meaning - the one that the writer intended.
[readmore]Now, let us see how we can make our first sentence more meaningful. Take a look at this rewriting of it:
Lakshmi’s mother asked, “Why haven’t you finished your home work?
“No, Mom, I have a splitting headache” replied Arpana.
Her mother wondered, "What will I do with this child!"
You will notice that we have made three sentences from one string of words. In order to break the sentences we have used certain marks in them. These are called punctuation marks. Now, with the proper punctuation marks in place the three sentences make much more sense. Also, note that some words are capitalised.
Full-stops, exclamation marks and question marks are punctuation marks that signal the end of a sentence, which is an expression of one single thought. In our example above, we have used all three and we can see how relevant they are. Take the quiz that follows and learn how to use the punctuation marks to express yourself better.
1.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
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Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. She was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
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Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall she was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
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Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. she was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
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meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. She was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
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2.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
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Kindly deliver the package to raghav. |
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Kindly deliver the package to Raghav? |
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Kindly deliver the package to Raghav! |
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Kindly deliver the package to Raghav. |
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3.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
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Ah, there goes that Saurav? I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
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Ah, there goes that Saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
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Ah, there goes that Saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk? |
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Ah, there goes that saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
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4.
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Which of these statements is false? |
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A period or full stop is used at the end of a complete sentence that is a statement. |
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Question marks and exclamation marks can be used to end a sentence. |
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A question mark is used to end an imperative sentence. |
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The first letter of the first word in a sentence has to be capitalised. |
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5.
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Which of these statements is true? |
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It is all right not to use a capital for the first letter in the name of a city. |
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Proper nouns should be written without any capitals. |
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Capitalisation is not a part of punctuation. |
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Capitalisation is a part of punctuation. |
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6.
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Which statement is false? |
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[ ] |
Conjunctions, adjectives, nouns and verbs are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Full-stops or periods, commas, colons and semi-colons are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Quotation marks, parantheses, brackets, braces and apostrophes are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Hyphens, dashes, ellipses, exclamation marks and question marks are part of punctuation. |
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7.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks for the following sentence or sentences - What horsepower is your motorcycle it is 20 horsepower |
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What horsepower is your motorcycle! It is 20 horsepower. |
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What horsepower is your motorcycle. It is 20 horsepower. |
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What horsepower is your motorcycle? It is 20 horsepower. |
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What horsepower is your motorcycle? It is 20 horsepower? |
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8.
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"Don't you dare leave this house" - Choose the punctuation mark that correctly ends the sentence |
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Question mark - ? |
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Exclamation mark - ! |
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Period or full stop - . |
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Comma - , |
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9.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
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Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India! |
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Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India? |
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Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know. When he would be selected to play cricket for India. |
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Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India. |
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10.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
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Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is! |
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Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is! |
[ ] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket! What a player he is! |
[ ] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is. |
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1.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
|
[x] |
Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. She was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
[ ] |
Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall she was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
[ ] |
Meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. she was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
[ ] |
meanwhile, the girl had reached the mall. She was there to purchase a pair of new shoes. |
|
|
2.
|
Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
|
[ ] |
Kindly deliver the package to raghav. |
[ ] |
Kindly deliver the package to Raghav? |
[ ] |
Kindly deliver the package to Raghav! |
[x] |
Kindly deliver the package to Raghav. |
|
|
3.
|
Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
|
[ ] |
Ah, there goes that Saurav? I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
[x] |
Ah, there goes that Saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
[ ] |
Ah, there goes that Saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk? |
[ ] |
Ah, there goes that saurav! I can hardly take my eyes off that hunk! |
|
|
4.
|
Which of these statements is false? |
|
[ ] |
A period or full stop is used at the end of a complete sentence that is a statement. |
[ ] |
Question marks and exclamation marks can be used to end a sentence. |
[x] |
A question mark is used to end an imperative sentence. |
[ ] |
The first letter of the first word in a sentence has to be capitalised. |
|
|
5.
|
Which of these statements is true? |
|
[ ] |
It is all right not to use a capital for the first letter in the name of a city. |
[ ] |
Proper nouns should be written without any capitals. |
[ ] |
Capitalisation is not a part of punctuation. |
[x] |
Capitalisation is a part of punctuation. |
|
|
6.
|
Which statement is false? |
|
[x] |
Conjunctions, adjectives, nouns and verbs are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Full-stops or periods, commas, colons and semi-colons are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Quotation marks, parantheses, brackets, braces and apostrophes are part of punctuation. |
[ ] |
Hyphens, dashes, ellipses, exclamation marks and question marks are part of punctuation. |
|
|
7.
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Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks for the following sentence or sentences - What horsepower is your motorcycle it is 20 horsepower |
|
[ ] |
What horsepower is your motorcycle! It is 20 horsepower. |
[ ] |
What horsepower is your motorcycle. It is 20 horsepower. |
[x] |
What horsepower is your motorcycle? It is 20 horsepower. |
[ ] |
What horsepower is your motorcycle? It is 20 horsepower? |
|
|
8.
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"Don't you dare leave this house" - Choose the punctuation mark that correctly ends the sentence |
|
[ ] |
Question mark - ? |
[x] |
Exclamation mark - ! |
[ ] |
Period or full stop - . |
[ ] |
Comma - , |
|
|
9.
|
Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
|
[ ] |
Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India! |
[ ] |
Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India? |
[ ] |
Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know. When he would be selected to play cricket for India. |
[x] |
Ambatti Rayudu wanted to know when he would be selected to play cricket for India. |
|
|
10.
|
Choose the option with the correct punctuation marks. |
|
[x] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is! |
[ ] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is! |
[ ] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket! What a player he is! |
[ ] |
Is Virat Kohli the new poster boy of Indian Cricket? Yes, Virat Kohli is the new poster boy of Indian Cricket. What a player he is. |
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