Grammar Smart 3rd Edition - Princeton Review 2014

A. The Period
PART 4. Punctuation

To Semicolon Or Not To Semicolon

It’s time to deal with those tiny scratch-marks known as punctuation. Like syntax, punctuation can be part of a writer’s style; in some instances, the rules are fuzzy enough that a writer can choose his or her manner of punctuating to suit his or her purpose. Hemingway, to go back to our example in the introduction, was a big fan of the period. Simple sentence, period. Henry James needed dozen of semicolons and thousands of commas, parentheses, and dashes just to get through one sentence.

The purpose of punctuation is to make the act of reading your sentences easier and to make the movement of the eye across the page smoother. The purpose of punctuation is not to draw attention to itself—you want the reader to pay attention to what you have written, not to the placement of commas. Try to cultivate a natural, easygoing punctuation style. If you happen to read something in which the punctuation seems irritating, take a minute to figure out what, precisely, seems bothersome about it.

This chapter is not meant to be complete; it covers basic rules, common confusions, and common errors.

A. The Period

The period signals a full stop.

Rules For Periods

1. Put a period at the end of a sentence.

2. Put a period after most abbreviations: Mr. Wifflamoo, Mrs. Dingdong, Pres. Clinton, Nov. 12, a.m., etc. Some abbreviations don’t need periods: FBI, NBC, JFK (government organizations, networks, monograms).

3. (Put a period at the end of a complete sentence enclosed by parentheses.) Put a period outside parentheses if what is enclosed by parentheses is not a complete sentence (like this).

4. Put a period inside quotation marks: The sign said “No Admittance.”