English Language Punctuation Sentence Endings

Three of the fourteen punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence endings. They are the period, question mark, and exclamation point. The period (.) is, according to yourDictionary.com, placed at the end of declarative sentences and other statements thought to be complete, and after many abbreviations. For example: As a sentence ender: Jane and Jack went to the market . After an abbreviation: Her Mar . birthday came and went. Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence. For example: When did Jane leave for the market ? The exclamation point/mark (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis.
1. Within dialogue: Holy cow! screamed Jane. 2. To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious !

The Comma, Semicolon and Colon

The comma, semicolon and colon are often misused because they all can indicate a pause in a series. According to yourDictionary.com, the comma is a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. Additionally, it is used in letter writing after the salutation and closing. Separating elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black , green , and blue shoes. Letter Salutations: Dear Uncle John , Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies , and we went to the beach. According to yourDictionary.com, the semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses and indicating a closer relationship between the clauses than a period does. For example: John was hurt ; he knew she only said it to upset him.

A colon (:) has two main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series and often after the salutation of a business letter, according to yourDictionary.com. The second is within time expressions. Colons have been used throughout this article to indicate examples. Within time, it is used to separate out the hour and minute: 12 : 15 p.m.

The Dash and the Hyphen

Two kinds of dashes are used throughout written communications. They are the endash and the emdash. According to yourDictionary.com, an endash is A symbol (-) used in writing or printing to connect continuing or inclusive numbers or to connect elements of a compound adjective when either of the elements is an open compound, as 1880 - 1945 or Princeton - New York trains. However, the emdash has more complicated grammatical use. The symbol of is used to indicate a break in thought or sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added for emphasis, definition, or explanation, or to separate two clauses, according to yourDictionary.com. Use it in the following manner: We only wanted to get two birds but the clerk talked us into four pregnant parakeets. A hyphen (- ) is the same symbol as the endash. However, it has slightly different usage rules. Use a hyphen between the parts of a compound word or name or between the syllables of a word, especially when divided at the end of a line of text. Examples of this in use include: Between a compound name: Mrs. Smith - Reynolds Within a compound word: back - to - back Between syllables of a word when text is on divided: The thought ful girl brought cookies to her ailing neighbor.

Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses

Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further explanation or are considered a group. Parentheses (()) are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks, according to yourDictionary. However, parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing the meaning in most cases. For example: John and Jane ( who were actually half brother and sister ) both have red hair. Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations. For example, yourDictionary.com uses them when you look up word definitions. At the bottom of each definition page, brackets surround a technical description of where the word originated.

According to yourDictionary.com, braces ({}) are used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit. They are not commonplace in most writing, but can be seen in computer programming to show what should be contained within the same lines.

Apostrophe, Quotation Marks, and Ellipses

The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipses. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any form. An apostrophe (') is used to used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations. Examples of the apostrophe in use include: Omission of letters from a word: An issue of nat ' l importance. Possesive case: Sara ' s dog bites. Plural for numbers: Sixteen people were born on dates with 7 ' s in them. The yourDictionary website defines quotations marks ( ) as Either of a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word, but also to indicate meanings or glosses and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word. For example, whenever this article has copied direct definitions from yourDictionary, quotation marks have been placed around the item. Single quotation (') are used most frequently for quotes within quotes. The ellipses is generally represented by three periods (. . . ) although it is occasionally demonstrated with three asterisks (***). The ellipses should be used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words. Ellipses are frequently used within quotations to jump from one phrase to another, omitting unnecessary words that do not interfere with the meaning. Students writing research papers or newspapers quoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipses to avoid copying lengthy text that is not needed.

The 20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement in Standard English 1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the concept. The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry. 2. Dont get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement. The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good. 3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement. The colors of the rainbow are beautiful. 4. When sentences start with there or here, the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly. There is a problem with the balance sheet.Here are the papers you requested. 5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use. Does Lefty usually eat grass? Where are the pieces of this puzzle. 6. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form. The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon. 7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person or thing. Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish. 8. If the words each, every, or no come before the subject, the verb is singular. No smoking and drinking is allowed.Every man and woman is required to check in. 9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also the verb is singular.

Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident. 10. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the preposition determines the form of the verb. All of the chicken is gone.All of the chickens are gone. 11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement. Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running. 12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural. Dogs and cats are both available at the pound. 13. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb. Do your sisters or your girlfriend want any pizza? 14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs. Everybody wants to be loved. 15. * Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both) that always take the plural form. Few were left alive after the flood. 16. If two infinitives are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb. To walk and to chew gum require great skill. 17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they take the singular verb form of the verb, but when they are linked by and they take the plural form. Standing in the water was a bad idea.Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies. 18. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form. The herd is stampeding. 19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.

The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks. 20. Final Rule Remember, only the subject affects the verb!

What is a Predicate?
Simply put, the predicate of a sentence is the part that modifies the subject in some way. Because the subject is the person, place, or thing that a sentence is about, the predicate must contain a verb explaining what the subject does. Look at some of the shorter sentences in the English language:

She danced. The subject of the sentence is she, the person about whom the speaker is speaking, but what is being conveyed or expressed about this person? She performed an action, of course; she moved her body; she danced. The word that modifies the subject she is the past-tense verb danced. It talked! It might be a baby saying a word for the first time, a parrot squawking hello, or even an inanimate object somehow bestowed with the power of speech. What you know about it is that, according to the speaker, it spoke. Talked modifies the subject it.

These sentences are very simple examples of what predicates are, since the predicate is expressed entirely by one word. Predicates may also be whole phrases.

Predicate Phrases
I am is often described as the shortest sentence in the English language, but this is not exactly true. I am may contain a subject and a verb, but it doesnt explain what I am; an additional piece of the phrase is necessary to complement the verb. Whatever you add to I am technically forms the predicate of the sentence. Take, for example, the phrase I am playing guitar all day. The subject of this sentence does not changeI remains the focus of the sentence; the person about whom the sentence is written; the noun around whom the action centers. What has changed is that the weak to-be verb am is enhanced by the presence of additional words explaining what and how. I am playing. Playing what? I am playing guitar. How are you playing guitar? I am playing guitar all day. Now you see? The verb phrase am, the verb phrase am playing guitar, and the adverbial all day fully express what the subject I is trying to say. The sentence now has both a subject and a predicate.

Understanding Other Examples

Now that you know I am is not technically a full sentence, youll probably be quick to notice other examples that seem like full sentences but lack a predicate, such as I can and I will. What might confuse you is the sentence that seems to lack a subject. As surprising as it may

sound, the shortest complete sentence in the English language is the imperative, Go! How can this be? After all, go is a verb seemingly without a subject or a predicate. There are two things youll need to understand before this example will make sense.

First, if you tell a person to do something, they are the assumed subject of the sentence. What the imperative (meaning, do this!) form of the to go verb is addressing is the person to whom you are speaking. What you really mean when you shout go! is, (You) go! Unlike the to be verb used above in the I am example, go is an action verb, not just a state of being. Go is therefore a complete predicate in and of itselfit needs no further explanation or qualification to make sense. (You) can go anywhere, as long as (you) heeds the imperative.