“The human mind is never stationary; it advances or it retrogrades.”
With the dawn of internet, growing use of slangs and SMS language, we have forgotten the fundamental aspect of English language- Punctuation.
The word Punctuation is derived from the Latin word punctum ( a point) meaning the right use of putting in Points or Stops in writing. Punctuation marks are used to structure a sentence thus making it easier to understand.
Try reading this
One day walking together up a hill I said to Friday do you not wish yourself in your own country again yes he said what would you do there said I would you turn wild and eat mens flesh again he looked full of concern and shaking his head said no.
Now read the same with punctuations.
One day, walking together up a hill, I said to Friday, “Do you not wish yourself to be in your own country again!” “Yes”, he said. “What would you do there?” said I. “Would you turn wild and eat men’s flesh again?” He looked full of concern and, shaking his head, said, “No!”
See the difference. After punctuating, we can easily make out the conversation between two people which in the earlier paragraph appeared as a senseless amalgamation of words.
The following are the types of punctuations.
Full Stop or Period (.)
It is used to mark the end of a sentence.
Comma (,)
It is used to separate a series of words in the same sentence.
Semi Colon (;)
It represents a pause of greater importance than that shown by a comma.
Colon (:)
It is used to introduce a quotation, before enumeration or examples and between sentences grammatically independent but closely connected in sense.
Apostrophe (‘)
It is used to indicate possession and to denote the omission of letters in a contraction.
Hyphen (-)
It is used to connect the parts of a compound word. It is a shorter line than a dash.
Dash (_)
It used to indicate an abrupt stop, change of thought or to resume a scattered subject.
Inverted Commas (“)
It is used to enclose the exact words of a speaker or a quotation.
Exclamation Mark (!)
It is used to express a sudden emotion or a wish.
Question Mark (?)
It is used after a direct question.