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Writing Tutorial - Grammar 2

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Grammar Part 2

In the last tutorial, we went through the vocabulary version of grammar and so, in this one, we're going to go through punctuation and how to use it to its full potential.

I know that this may seem very elementary-level to you, but you would be surprised by the sheer amount of people who don't know how to use punctuation marks properly, making their writing suffer as a result.

The most common ones that you will find while writing are the following: Period (.), Comma (,), Colon ( : ), Semicolon ( ; ), Quotation marks (","), singular quotation marks (', ') Exclamation point (!), Question mark (?), Apostrophe (') and sometimes also a dash (—).

Period: The period is one of the most crucial punctuation marks. Its purpose is to provide a marker to show where one sentence ends and another begins.

Example:
My sister's hair is brown.


Comma: The comma is, by far, the most used punctuation mark and, besides the colon and the semicolon, one that is used incorrectly the most. It has many uses such as:

Examples:
Listing – Eyes, ears, nose, mouth. They should only be used when the list contains three or more words.
Used with "coordinate adjectives (adjectives that are of equal importance): It was a large, bustling crowd.
In a compound sentence (a sentence containing two independent clauses: My sister took the bus, but I rode my bike. (The reason why we use a comma and not a semicolon is because the two sentences are separated by "joining words" (and, for, but, or, nor, so, and yet)).



Colon: The colon has two uses in writing: The first is to introduce a list and the other is to add an explanation or an example. There should always be a complete sentence—the professional term being an independent clause—before the colon just as I did above.

Examples:
Explanation – The father stepped into the room and gave us the verdict: It's a boy.
Example – There were two ways we could have gone: the long route or the short one.



Semicolon: The semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences in lieu of a conjunction—words like "and" and "but". To use a comma instead of a semicolon in this instance is incorrect grammar and should not be used. It can also be used to replace a comma when a comma is already present in the sentence.

Examples:
Connection: My sister took the bus; I rode my bike.
Comma already used: Calgary, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec



Quotation marks: Quotation marks are used to show that somebody is speaking or you that you are taking a quote from another person and using it in your own work.

Examples:
"My brother ate my pudding," she said.
The letter was "a perfect representation of the point that was trying to be made".



Singular Quotation Marks: These are yet another type of punctuation that aren't used very often and, unlike the colon and the semicolon which aren't used too much, but have a large list of rules and exceptions, the singular quotation doesn't have many at all.

The most common usage for this particular punctuation marks is a quotation inside a quotation.

Example: "My mother told me, 'Never, ever speak to strangers'."

The other example is quoting somebody inside a headline. This may not be very useful for up-and-coming story writers, but I will give an example nonetheless.

Example: City officials say, 'Lower Taxes are on the way!'


Exclamation point: The exclamation point is to show that somebody is yelling or that some sort of loud noise is being made.

Examples:
Slam!
"You're lying!"



Question mark: Question marks are used to show that a question is being posed.

Example:
Do you think that I was being unfair?


Apostrophe: There are two uses for an apostrophe: in a contraction or as a possessive to a noun.

Examples of contractions would be "Can't" "Wouldn't" "Would've" "I'd", etc.
Examples of possessive nouns: "Amanda's hands were cold as they touched mine."
Note that the possessive is not to be used with the word "it". The only time that "it's" should be used is as a contraction for "it is".



Dash: A dash is used to provide a break in a sentence so that extra information can be added. It can also be used to show to halt a sentence altogether, like an interruption.

Examples:
My dog—the most annoying animal on the planet—barked angrily at the mailman.
"What do you mean you lost—"



Ellipses: Ellipses are used, like the comma, to provide a pause. Though the two should not be confused because the pause created with ellipses are those of hesitation and purposely disrupt the flow of the sentence. They can also be used to show that a sentence has trailed off.

Examples:
"But... I never meant to hurt him!"
"But I never..."


But please keep in mind that, when you're using ellipses as a means to trail off, you should add a period or other sort of punctuation to it.

Example:
"You're wrong...."
"You're so wrong...!"

This is it for today, The next tutorial will go to plot-making, I promise!
EDIT: If you have anything you would like to add that you think I've omitted, please feel free to let me know! I want this to be as informative and helpful as possible!

If you have any questions about the guide or grammar/writing in general, feel free to ask and I will help you the best I can!
:heart:

Very detailed, very boring... I'm sorry :(

It's just that I'm getting really tired of all the bad grammar >.<

The first: [link]

The third: [link]

The Fourth: [link]

The Fifith: [link]
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asynkronos's avatar
Thanks for the tutorial.
I am not an English speaker, but I do get annoyed too when I see people using "its" instead of "it's" (by the way, is this use of quotation marks correct. Also when they use "too" and "to" interchangeably.
Can I ask for a clarification? What is the rule when you need to use the possessive ('s) after a word that ends in "s"?
Example: The ink of the pages --> the pages' or the pages's?