Rules of Punctuation. Punctuation Affects Meaning.

Rules of Punctuation

Punctuation Affects Meaning

Punctuation Affects Meaning

“Let’s eat Grandpa!”

“Let’s eat, Grandpa!”

COMMA ,

Rule #1 Always use a comma between independent clauses that are connected by a coordinating conjunction.

Walt Whitman wrote Leaves of Grass, and he printed it at his own expense in 1855.

Rule #2 Always use a comma after introductory phrases that are more than three words in length.

At the age of thirty-six, Whitman entered the American literary scene.

Basic Punctuation Rules

Exception: With short introductory phrases, the comma is optional.

At thirty-six Whitman entered the American literary scene.

Rule #3 Always use commas between items in a series.

Whitman wrote several collections of poems: Leaves of Grass, Drumtaps and Sequels, and Specimen Days.

Exception: The final comma in the series is actually optional.

Whitman wrote several collections of poems: Leaves of Grass, Drumtaps and Sequels and Specimen Days.

Basic Punctuation Rules

Rule #4 Always use commas to set off parenthetical phrases.

Whitman also wrote, in order to express his opinions on the Civil War, a collection of political essays.

Exceptions: When the parenthetical phrase is very short, the commas are optional. You may also decide to use parentheses or dashes.

Whitman also wrote (in protest) a collection of political essays.

Basic Punctuation Rules

Rule #5 Always use a comma to set off direct quotations.

In “Song of Myself,” Whitman boldly declares, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs / to you.”

Exception: You may choose to use a colon instead of a comma.

In “Song of Myself,” Whitman boldly declares: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs / to you.”

Basic Punctuation Rules

SEMICOLON ;

Rule #1 Use a semicolon between independent clauses that are not connected by a coordinating conjunction.

Whitman attended school between 1825 and 1830; most of his education, though, was self-taught.

Rule #2 Use a semicolon to set off items in a series when the items contain commas.

During the 1830’s, Whitman worked as a printer’s apprentice; he engaged in local politics; and, for a few years, he taught in Long Island schools.

Basic Punctuation Rules

COLON :

Rule #1 Use a colon to introduce a list.

Whitman wrote several collections of poems: Leaves of Grass, Drumtaps and Sequels, and Specimen Days.

Rule #2 Use a colon to introduce a quotation.

In one of his poems, Whitman penned the famous line: “Oh captain! my captain! our fearful trip is done.”

Basic Punctuation Rules

APOSTROPHE ’

Rule #1 Use an apostrophe to show possession.

Whitman’s poetry was new and exciting.

Rule #2 To form the plurals of letters, abbreviations, words referred to as words, and numerals.

Whitman wrote most of his poetry between the 1850’s and the 1880’s.

Basic Punctuation Rules

QUOTATION MARKS “

Rule #1 Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation.

In one poem Whitman boldly declares, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs / to you.”

Rule #2 Use quotation marks to enclose titles of short works (short stories, newspaper or magazine articles, songs, poems, etc.).

One of Whitman’s most famous poems is entitled “Song of Myself.”

Basic Punctuation Rules

Rule #3 Use quotation marks to enclose words used in a special sense.

In his political essays, Whitman states that the true “revolution” should be one of the interior life.

Rule #4 Quotations within quotations require the use of single quotation marks (‘ ’) to set off the interior quotation.

In Bernice Slote's essay on cosmic poetry, she states that "man is even more wildly identified [in Whitman's poetry] with every other man and animal and object...we are fishes, hawks, clouds, seas--'We are snow, rain, cold, darkness.'"

Basic Punctuation Rules

DASH --

Rule #1 A dash is used for dramatic effect or for clarity, and it is made using two hyphens (--).

One of Whitman’s most famous poems--”Song of Myself”--celebrates individuality and each person’s connectedness to the world around him.

Basic Punctuation Rules

HYPHEN –

Rule #1 Use a hyphen to join two or more words that act as a single modifier.

The thirty-six-year-old poet caused quite a sensation with his unusual style of poetry.

Rule #2 Some compound words require a hyphen.

Many people considered Whitman’s poems to be self-centered and inappropriate.

Basic Punctuation Rules