This section focuses on detecting grammatical errors in punctuation, such as periods, semicolons, and commas. Knowing where and when to use these punctuation marks is essential to doing well in this section.
Some tips to know for this section include:
- Periods are used to end a declarative sentence. They block run-on sentences from occurring.
- Be aware of independent clauses vs. dependent clauses. Independent clauses require commas before the conjunctions and/or/but. A good test is whether the part after the and/or/but can stand alone as a sentence. If it can, that makes it an independent clause, requiring a comma.
- Commas are used after a prepositional phrase:
- If you look outside, you will see a ….
- Around the corner, there was a…
- In spite of the weather, he still….
- At the start of the game, the team…
- From the onset, the author…
- Commas are used after transitional words or phrases:
- However, it leads me…
- Although he left, it was….
- First, I wanted to…
- In conclusion, the essay…
- On top of that, it played….
- Apostrophes should be used when:
- Forming possessive nouns: He’s, She’s, It’s, The dog’s, The children’s.
- To show the omission of letters: I am = I’m; Cannot = Can’t; Do Not = Don’t
- To form plural numbers, letters, or symbols: She got three A’s, The temperature is in the 60’s, The students added #’s to their messages.
- Use semicolons when combining independent clauses without using a conjunction. It’s important to note that semicolons must show a relationship between both ends of the independent clause.
- Example: Jackie Robinson won a World Series with the Dodgers; that same year he batted over .300. (There are two independent clauses that combine together without using “and”).
- Use hyphens when forming a single idea from two or more words (i.e. editor-in-chief, free-for-all, clean-cut) and can sometimes be used to avoid duplicated vowel words (i.e. pre-emptive, anti-oppression) and triple-consonants (bull-like, fall-like). It can also be used when two adjectives come together before a noun. For example, the “icy-hot atmosphere” and the “strong-tempered player.”
- Note: Be careful with words where there’s a root involved. Words like “post-”, “-less”, and “Off-” can act as both words on their own and as prefixes/suffixes.
- Question marks are used when asking questions.
Example 1
Look at the following sentences. Which underlined words contain a punctuation error:
1. On the left of the school you will find the principal’s office; it is decorated accordingly. If you have any questions, be sure to ask.
2. Cindy got all A’s on her report card, and was rewarded with a party. On the other hand, her brother Jason got poor grades, and as a result, he didn’t get anything.
3. Ben’s dog, Holly, wasn’t feeling well so Ben took her to the doctors office. As soon as she got her medicine, Holly’s condition improved dramatically.
4. Yesterday, my father-in-law and I went to see a three-dimensional movie. It was an awe-inspiring film that left us speech-less.
5. In essence, World War II caused lots of friction between the USA and the Soviet Union as a result, the Cold War was born. It wasn’t until the 1980s that this war ended, thus ending Communism in Russia.
Answers
1. There should be after the word “school” since it is the end of a prepositional phrase.
2. There shouldn’t be a comma after “card.” This is a dependent phrase, while the last sentence in this question, there is an independent clause after “result” and a comma is required.
3. In this sentence, “doctors” should have an apostrophe and be “doctor’s” since it shows possession of the doctor’s office.
4. In this sentence, speech-less should not be hyphenated since “less” is not used as a word in this case but rather as a suffix.
5. There should be a period after “Soviet Union” since it is the clear end to a sentence. Commas are correctly used here in the other places.