The end of a statement. [e.g. full stop (.), question mark (?), and exclamation mark ( ! )
A short period of rest [comma (,) and semi-colon(;).
That something belongs to someone [apostrophe (‘).
Omission of a letter or letters [apostrophe (‘).
Direct speech [quotation marks (“”) or (‘’).
Intention to list a number of words [colon (:).
Full stop (.)
- A full stop is shown by a dot, and placed at the end of a sentence.
- A sentence may be one, two or more words long.
- The full stop is placed at the end of every complete statement.
- The words following a full stop must begin with a capital letter.
- Full stops are used to show:
1. The end of a statement or a sentence.
Examples
Yes.
No.
My name is John.
2. Short forms or abbreviations.
Examples
Nov. is short form for November.
P.O stands for Post Office.
A.U. stands for African Union.
3. Short forms of names and titles.
Examples
Mr. stands for Mister.
Prof. stands for Professor.
Rev. stands for Reverend.
Dr. stands for Doctor.
Question mark (?)
This is placed at the end of every asking statement.
Examples
What do you do for a living?
How old are you?
Why is he so late?
It’s a bright day, isn’t it?
When will the meeting start?
No question mark is needed at the end of reported speech.
Example
She asked whether the baby had arrived.
The words following a question mark must start with a capital letter.
Exclamation mark (!)
- The exclamation mark is used to show surprise, excitement, pain, disgust or even satisfaction.
- The following expressions often come before certain statements of exclamatory remarks: wow! (great surprise); yippee! (excitement); ouch! (pain); ugh! (disgust); aha! (satisfaction).
Examples
Oh! What a pretty little doll she is.
Ah! This is just what I have been looking for.
Ouch! My toe hurts.
Ugh! What a messy job he has made of it.
Give it to me! Now!
He has dropped the camera!
Oh dear! Not again!
As with full stops and question marks, the word after an exclamation mark begins with a capital letter.
Comma (,)
A comma is used to indicate the pauses that we make in speech.
It is used:
(a) To separate words in a list. For instance:
She was presented with a pen, a watch, a pair of shoes and a tennis racket for her birthday.
Cabbage, cauliflower, sukuma wiki and carrots are all vegetables.
(b) Before and, but, for, so, nor, and yet. For instance:
She attended Bidii Primary School, Hekima Secondary School, and the Utalii College before proceeding to the University of Nairobi.
The day was cold and rainy, so we stayed indoors and studied.
(c) To join clauses in a sentence. For instance:
She gathered all the dirty clothes, washed them, put them out to dry, and ironed them.
The girl, who did well in her exams, got a scholarship to join a university.
(d) Indirect and direct speech. For instance:
1. Mary said, "It's time I told you about it."
(e) In certain situations. For instance:
To separate items in dates: September 24, 2005.
To separate addresses: Mombasa, Kenya.
The salutation and closing of a letter: Dear Mum, Yours cordially,
After a name followed by a title: Mary Wambugu, Marketing Manager.
The following are some examples on the use of commas
Either John, Paul, Tom or Mary will have to go.
The cleverest girl in the school, Anne Wanyonyi, won the top prize.
Joyce Mutua, a mother of three, had twins at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
The use of commas is sometimes a matter of choice.
You may or may not use commas in statements such as the following.
I have mended all the children’s clothes (,) except Peter’s.
There will be a film show tomorrow (,) after the talk.
She will apply for the job next year (,) when she will be a year older.
Semi-colon (;)
This is used to separate items in a list.
It is similar to a full stop and a comma in that it marks a pause.
A semicolon can also be used to separate two independent parts of a sentence.
Learn more from this video
Examples
You can reach Nakuru through three different routes from Eldoret: you may go through Burnt Forest; this is the most direct route; you can go through Kabarnet and Marigat; you can also reach Nakuru through Eldama Ravine.
Parents are always right; however, they should learn to listen to their children.
Apostrophe ( ' )
The apostrophe is used to mark:
(a) Possession:
To singular nouns you add /’s/ and to plural nouns ending with /s/ you put the apostrophe after the /s’/.
Examples
The headmaster’s desk.
The pupils’ books.
Men’s clothing.
Mark’s bicycle.
(b) Ommission of a letter or letters.
Examples
I’ll do it: comes from I will…
He’d name the thief: comes from he would …
She can’t pay her debt: comes from she cannot…
It’s ten minutes to two o’clock: comes from… of the clock.
Quotation marks (‘ ’) or (“ ”)
These are sometimes called speech marks or inverted commas.
Double marks (“_”) or single marks (‘_’) may be used.
The single quotation marks are more commonly used.
They are also referred to as opening (“…..) and closing (…..”) inverted commas, because they are used at the opening and closing of spoken words.
They are used in direct speech to show words actually spoken.
Such words are put between the quotations marks.
Examples
‘Come here,’ said his mother.
‘Well,’ said the tour operator, ‘we shall set off for the National Park straight away.’
‘Can you come before noon?’ asked the teacher.
Colon (:)
The colon is usually used after a complete statement to introduce other related ideas like lists or series.
The team has seven strong players: Mohammed, Kazungu, Ali, Tom, Peter, Ojwang and Noor.
The main rivers of Africa are: the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger.
Dash (–)
In writing, the dash serves the purpose of indicating an abrupt break in a sentence.
The doctors thought the lady had lost her mind- that she was insane.
We climbed Mt. Kenya- the highest mountain in the country.
Marion is a girl- the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.
We were learning about HIV/AIDS- a deadly disease.
