Punctuation marks

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*Sama*

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Hi everybody,
I have a broblem with punctuation marks. I dont know when I use these marks , ` ' : ; " and others. So I will be glad if someone helps me know the difference and the usage of each.

Sama
 

Rover_KE

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Hi, Sama, and welcome to the board.

As you can see from this website, which you might find helpful:

What Are the Fourteen Punctuation Marks in English Grammar?

this is a subject which is too wide-ranging to be answered here.

Ask again if you have any more specific questions. Try to give examples of sentences of your own which you have attempted to punctuate yourself and we will be glad to help.

Rover:)
 

TheParser

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Hi everybody,
I have a broblem with punctuation marks. I dont know when I use these marks , ` ' : ; " and others. So I will be glad if someone helps me know the difference and the usage of each.

Sama

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Sama.

(1) Yes, punctuation (using those marks) is very confusing.

(2) I think that you have to make a decision:

Do you wish to follow American or British English?

(a) There are some differences.

(3) Post your questions here, and many people will advise you.

***** Thank you *****
 

Raymott

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Do you wish to follow American or British English?
I'd say this is an unnecessary burden.
Differences are minimal and, I think, not absolute. Besides, s/he might want to choose an Australian style sheet.
 

*Sama*

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Guys, I don't know how to thank you.
These links are really helpful:)


***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Sama.

(1) Yes, punctuation (using those marks) is very confusing.

(2) I think that you have to make a decision:

Do you wish to follow American or British English?

(a) There are some differences.

(3) Post your questions here, and many people will advise you.

***** Thank you *****

Hi TheParser,
I didn't know that there was any difference in punctuations marks and I am interested in American English.so, What are the differences?
 

*Sama*

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I'd say this is an unnecessary burden.
Differences are minimal and, I think, not absolute. Besides, s/he might want to choose an Australian style sheet.
Now I am alittle confused. Is it necessary or not to know the diffenrences?
 

TheParser

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Guys, I don't know how to thank you.
These links are really helpful:)




Hi TheParser,
I didn't know that there was any difference in punctuations marks and I am interested in American English.so, What are the differences?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Sama.

(1) I am no expert in American punctuation -- and certainly not in

British punctuation.

(2) Here in the United States, for example, one would write:

Tom says, "I love this website." (period inside)

I think (THINK) that our British friends would write:

Tom says, "I love you". (full stop -- British term for period -- outside)


(3) Furthermore, whereas Americans use " ...", I read that some British

people use or used to use '...'

Tom says, 'I love you'.

(4) Also, there are little things like "Mr." with a period in the States, but

no period in British English.

(5) As I suggested in my post, you will have to decide which system you

wish to follow and then work very hard to learn it . For example, if you

choose the American system, do a lot of reading of American newspapers

online. Study their punctuation.

(6) I am sure that you will receive many interesting answers from British

and American posters.

(7) Do not feel sad. Even native speakers have problems with

"proper" punctuation.

***** Thank you *****

P. S. Of course, if you google "English punctuation," you will find many

results about the differences between American and British practice.
 

bertietheblue

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Now I am alittle confused. Is it necessary or not to know the diffenrences?

Definitely not. Why?

(a) As far as I'm aware*, there are no absolute differences in usage. The differences are in preference (eg Americans use the serial comma more often, most (but not all) American style guides prescribe punctuation within quotation marks);
(b) the differences in preference are minimal; and
(c) these differences are insignificant.

In addition, beyond certain fields (eg publishing, English teaching, lingusitics) where usage might be of interest, hardly any native English speakers are aware of the differences.

Having said all that, the differences are so few that you could familiarise yourself with them in no time. Why not start by scrolling down to section 6.2 on the Wikipedia page on AmEng/BrEng differences:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences

*I bottled it and added this - it is, after all, a bold statement I am making. But can anyone tell me a concrete difference between AmEng and BrEng punctuation that is universally applied?
 
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*Sama*

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Sama.

(1) I am no expert in American punctuation -- and certainly not in

British punctuation.

(2) Here in the United States, for example, one would write:

Tom says, "I love this website." (period inside)

I think (THINK) that our British friends would write:

Tom says, "I love you". (full stop -- British term for period -- outside)


(3) Furthermore, whereas Americans use " ...", I read that some British

people use or used to use '...'

Tom says, 'I love you'.

(4) Also, there are little things like "Mr." with a period in the States, but

no period in British English.

(5) As I suggested in my post, you will have to decide which system you

wish to follow and then work very hard to learn it . For example, if you

choose the American system, do a lot of reading of American newspapers

online. Study their punctuation.

(6) I am sure that you will receive many interesting answers from British

and American posters.

(7) Do not feel sad. Even native speakers have problems with

"proper" punctuation.

***** Thank you *****

P. S. Of course, if you google "English punctuation," you will find many

results about the differences between American and British practice.

Thank you I really appreciate your help:)
and I understood what you mean.
 

*Sama*

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Definitely not. Why?

(a) As far as I'm aware*, there are no absolute differences in usage. The differences are in preference (eg Americans use the serial comma more often, most (but not all) American style guides prescribe punctuation within quotation marks);
(b) the differences in preference are minimal; and
(c) these differences are insignificant.

In addition, beyond certain fields (eg publishing, English teaching, lingusitics) where usage might be of interest, hardly any native English speakers are aware of the differences.

Having said all that, the differences are so few that you could familiarise yourself with them in no time. Why not start by scrolling down to section 6.2 on the Wikipedia page on AmEng/BrEng differences:
American and British English differences - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*I bottled it and added this - it is, after all, a bold statement I am making. But can anyone tell me a concrete difference between AmEng and BrEng punctuation that is universally applied?

Thank you so much. The link is really helpful and I needed it. I wanted to know a lot of things about the differences between the two languages and I am reading it. So, I am really grateful :)
 
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