Punctuation Rules and Tips

There are several rules to keep in mind while writing. Here we will review the most basic ones.

A sentence should be a complete thought. This means it must have a subject and a verb. Some sentences may have implied subjects as well. There are four types of sentences: imperative, declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative. Imperative sentences give commands, and can have an implied subject instead of a stated subject. In a sentence like “go to your room,” the implied subject is the person spoken to, or you. Declarative sentences make a declaration, or a statement, and usually end in periods. Interrogative sentences ask a question, and end in a question mark. Lastly, exclamatory sentences show strong emotion and usually end in an exclamation mark.

When you are talking about yourself and another person, always put the other person’s name first. The easiest way to remember this is to think of yourself as a host: the host serves the guest’s needs first. Thus, it is “Kelly and I,” not “I and Kelly.” Depending on the verb and the rest of the sentence, you may have to use another personal pronoun. To decide whether to use “I” or “me,” just remove the other person. Think of the sentence as “I went to the store,” instead of “Kelly and I went to the store.” You wouldn’t say “me went to the store,” because that is grammatically incorrect.

Another important punctuation rule arises when using commas. Commas do not separate sentences. They should not be used alone to combine sentences. Add a conjunction like “and” or “but” with a comma to combine sentences. On the other hand, semicolons can combine sentences alone.

Finally, specific words correspond to “either” and “neither.” Use “either” and “or,” or “neither” and “nor.” For instance, you say: “neither this book nor that book,” not “either this book nor that book.”

There are definitely more grammar rules out there, but here we cover the ones often missed and seldom remembered.

Writer: Anmol Guard

Editor: Rushita Paladugu