1.6 PUNCTUATION [CONTINUATION]

                       1.6 PUNCTUATION

                                                        [CONTINUATION]

8) Hyphen (-)

            Not to be confused with a dash, a hyphen is used in compound words when two or more words are connected. Here are some examples of hyphenated words:

v Step-by-step

v Mother-in-law

v Ex-boyfriend

 9) Brackets ([ ])

            Brackets are used to clarify something or for technical terms or explanations. It can also be used to clarify a subject when quoting another person or text. For example:

v She [Mrs. Ragav] agrees that cats are better than dogs.

v Arjun said that “[summer] is my favorite time of year.”

 10) Braces ({ })

            It’s unlikely you’ll need to use braces very often unless you’re writing a mathematical or technical text. However, it’s still good to know so you don’t accidentally use them instead of brackets or parentheses. Braces are usually used in operations, for example:

v 6{3x+[28+2]}=xy

 11) Parentheses (( ))

            Parentheses are used to supply further details or information or as an aside. Parentheses can often be replaced with commas and the sentence would retain its same meaning. Here’s an example:

v Anitha (who is Raj’s wife) likes to go for walks.

 12) Apostrophe (‘)

            Apostrophes are meant to show that a letter or letters have been omitted and also to indicate the possessive or contractions. It can also be used to pluralize lowercase letters. Here are some examples:

v I’ve been working from home for 6 months and it’s great.

v Rebecca’s dog had surgery yesterday.

v All that’s left to do is dot the i’s and cross the t’s.

 13) Quotation Marks (“)

            Quotation marks are used to denote text, speech, or words spoken by someone else. It is also used to indicate dialogue.  

v “I don’t like this,” said Mark.

v She told him that she “prefers not to think about that.”

 Single quotation marks (‘ ’), not to be confused with apostrophes, are often used for a quote within a quote.

v Jill told her mother “Jack ran up the hill and he said he was going to ‘fetch a pail of water’ before he fell.”

 14) Ellipsis (…)

            An ellipsis is three periods used together to represent an omission of words or letters. They are often used to jump from one sentence or phrase to another while omitting unnecessary or obvious words. It’s also used when quoting someone and unnecessary words are left out. Here are some examples:

v At midnight, she began to count down: “ten, nine, eight…” and then the ball dropped.

v When Martin Luther King said “I have a dream…” he was talking about civil rights and an end to racism.

VIDEO REFERENCE

ENGLISH : https://youtu.be/RPL8iij1X2A?si=H3V4VGZ-ABZhP3Ij

TAMIL : https://youtu.be/ORxc4OXUM6E?si=TwBE7rN1UGC8IN4a