Punctuation marks,  when used appropriately make for clarity and easy reading. When used inappropriately, they lead to confusion and distortion.


FULL STOP (OR PERIOD)

Is used at the end of the sentence. 


COLON

Used to introduce a quotation that is longer than a sentence and remains within a paragraph.


SEMI-COLON

A semi-colon is used to separate a list of phrases in a sentence.

Also used to separate two sentences that are grammatically independent but have a closely connected meaning, eg Angie is a good speaker; she speaks very clearly.


COMMA

Use the comma to separate items in a list.

Commas are used as a ‘soft break’ within a sentence, rather like a breathing space when speaking

Used for parenthetical phrases e.g James Riddle, the head of Philippines’s Camera Bureau in the National Capital Region, was elected as employees’ council representative at the weekend.


DASH AND HYPHEN

They serve nearly two opposite purposes and are, therefore, not interchangeable. A dash separates, while a hyphen joins two ideas. A  dash is spaced, a hyphen not. Use hyphens sparingly.


Hyphen example:

  • fifty-one
  • eighty-nine
  • thirty-two
  • sixty-five


Dash example:

  • You may think she is a liar - she isn't.
  • She might come to the party - you never know.