PUNCTUATION MARKS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CONTENTS 

The Introduction (1) The A Group Punctuation Marks

(i) Colons (:)

(ii) Commas (,)

(iii) Dashes ( ­_ )

(iv) Exclamation Mark (!)

(v) Full Stop (.)

(vi) Question Marks (?)

 (vii) Semi-Colon

(2) The B Group Punctuation Marks:

(i) Apostrophe (’)

(ii) Hyphen (-)

(iii)Brackets or Parenthesis ( )

            * Double/Multiple Parenthesis:

(iv) Quotation Marks/Inverted Commas (‘…’ or “…”)

(v)Capital Letters

(3) The “C” Group Punctuation Marks

(i) Asterisks (*)

(ii) Ellipses

(iii) Caret (∧)

The Introduction

The more commonly used punctuations in English are: capital letters and full stops, question marks, commas, quotation marks, semi-colons, colons, exclamation marks, dash, hyphen and others. They may be grouped in two ways: the terminal markers which are applied at the end of sentences, and the interior markers used within the structures. The reason for punctuations is for the clarity of information design. It gives concise understanding to readable documents. Take the excerpt below for instance,

Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the result presentable by sheer humbug. If you use readymade phrases, you not only don’t have to hunt about for words: you also don’t have to bother with the rhythms of your sentences since these phrases are generally so arranged as to be more or less euphonious (George Orwell, 1946).

There are four different punctuations in this excerpt taken from Orwell’s paper, Shooting an Elephant; each has a purpose it represents. There are three periods which divides the excerpt into three different sentences. There are two commas, two genitives and a colon. Above all, the colon appears most significant here. The colon divides the last sentence into its two principal parts: the introductory generalization and the list of specific reasons. The commas within the introductory generalization mark distinction between what I may refer to as cause and effect. The cause therefore presents a condition which is fulfilled by the succeeding expressions. The period closes the entire statement as well as the individual expressions.

Punctuation Rules

Punctuation consists of both rules and conventions. There are rules of punctuation that have to be followed; but there are also punctuation conventions that give writers greater choice. It would be nice if punctuation could be reduced to a set of clear, simple directions: always use a comma here, a semicolon there, a dash in such-and-such a place. But it cannot. Much depends, as we have just seen, on what you want to do.

In fact, punctuation is a mixed bag of absolute rules, general conventions, and individual options. For example, a declarative sentence is closed by a full stop/period: that is an inflexible rule. On the other hand, placing a comma between coordinated independent clauses (“The sun had already set, and the air was growing chilly”, for instance) is a convention and not a rule. Because it is a convention, it is sometimes ignored; especially if the clauses are short and uncomplicated. By the way, with the presence of the coordinate, “and”, the sentence is not tented if the comma is removed. Of course, a comma or another mark may be used unconventionally because a writer wants to establish an unusual stress or rhythm. Such is a good example of individual options.

But, while punctuation as actually practiced by good writers may seem a mélange of rules, convention, and idiosyncrasy, it does not follow that anything goes arbitrarily. To punctuate effectively you must learn when rules are absolute; when conventions allow options (and, of course, what the options are); and when you may indulge in individuality without misleading the reader. Your part as a writer is to keep the reader in mind. Younger, less experienced readers, for instance, need more help from punctuation than older; even the sophisticated ones.

In the discussions of the various punctuations that follow, we shall try – as far as is practical – to distinguish among rules, conventions, and unconventional but possible uses. At times the distinctions may seem a bit confusing. It is no good, however, making up easy rules about how to handle punctuation. Such directives may be clear, but they do not describe what really happens. Instead, we must look at what skillful writers actually do. To diminish some of the confusion; just remember that clarity of communication is the one simple "rule" underlying all effective punctuation.

Be reminded also that punctuation is not something you impose upon a sentence after you have written it out. Commas, semicolons, and the other marks are intimate parts of grammar and style. Often mistakes in punctuation do not simply mean that a writer broke an arbitrary rule; rather they, at times, signify his or her confusion about how to construct a sentence. To write well, you must punctuate well; and to punctuate well, you must also write well. Few of the punctuations that are used often by writers are discussed below.

Punctuation marks are the road signs and traffic signals to writings. They govern reading and provide clues for navigation through a network of ideas; the mark connections, deviations, draw attention on points of interest along the reading tract and mark geographic boundaries. They provide us with the practical ways of making our communications understandable. They bear the burden of certain communication gaps that would make our communication short and twisted. It is convenient to discuss punctuation in three broad categories here. They are the “A” group, the “B” group and the “C” group punctuation marks.

ONE 
The A Group Punctuation Marks:

The A group may be better classified as the stops. The “stops” (terminal marks) include full stop and other marks marked with similar distinct features. Stops take their name from the fact that they correspond (though only loosely) to pauses and intonations in speech, vocal signals which help listeners to follow what we say. Below are some punctuation marks categorised under stops.

(i) Colons (:)

A colon works like a flare in the middle of the road. It signals the reader to stop briefly and proceed, paying close attention to the situation ahead; the detail of which will be revealed as you move along. Usually, a colon follows an introductory statement that requires a follow-up explanation. Examples:

She is an ideal colleague: honest, reliable and competent.

Only two applicants showed up for the interview: James and Amanda.

Colon is used to indicate that material is to follow. The material that follows may be a summary, a list, a complete sentence, a question, or a quotation. If the items in the material that follow the colon consist of only one or two words, they may be separated simply with commas as shown in the examples above.

All the material that follows the colon is ‘suspended’ from it as the completion of the introductory words. When there is only a small amount of material, it can be presented conveniently within your normal paragraph layout. But often you will want to help your reader see the elements in your list, and you will use ‘display’ tactics to do so – you will inset the list vertically. Again, theoretically, you should retain the same pattern of punctuation, with intermediate semi-colons, and a final full stop.

The principal additions to the keyboard are:

* A transmission key;

* Five cursor-control keys;

* An Operator’s Guide.

It is often difficult to decide whether a ‘colon plus list’ layout is being used genuinely to help in the completion of a thought or simply to emphasize a pattern of information. One way to determine/test this is to look at the introductory element before the colon. If the introductory element is an incomplete sentence, punctuate the list with lower-case initial letters, intermediate semi-colons, and a final stop. In this way, you signal to your readers that you want them to connect the listed items closely with the incomplete sentence before the colon. If the introductory element is a complete sentence, punctuate each item in the list with an initial capital letter and a final full stop (or no stop). In this way, you emphasize the comparative independence of the items.

Many organizations now specify that writers use just one method of punctuating all lists in their writings. It seems a pity to lose the ability to signal different functions of the list layout after a colon; but it is indicating that a list will follow. It is certainly wise to ask all writers in a given context to conform to the same convention(s). Showing sequence or hierarchy in a list after a colon If you wish to show that the items in your list are in a sequence or hierarchical order, use numbers. Examples: 1. ......... ; 2. ......... ; 3. ......... . Or letters: a) ......... ; b) ......... ; c) ......... .

If you wish to show that the items in your list are separate and parallel, but in no significant order or hierarchy, bullets may be advisable: • ......... ; • ......... ; • ......... . or (sparingly, now that bullets are usually available on word-processing equipment) use dashes: – ......... ; – ......... ; – ......... . If you wish to throw particular emphasis on the formality or weight of a direct quotation, precede it with a colon.

(ii) Commas (,)

Of all the punctuation marks discussed in the English language, comma is most often used in expressions; perhaps, because of its multiple functions among the mechanical properties of language. We use commas to separate words or phrases that mark where the voice would pause slightly. Example:

            - At times, I don’t really like sleeping all through the night without reading.

- However, all will be revealed tomorrow at midday.

- We had, in fact, lost all of our money.

- In literature, we believe that the biggest picture is painted, not by hands and brush            and pants, but through words.

Commas are used for several reasons. Some of these reasons include:

(i) To separate a list of similar words or phrases. In this case, commas function as polysyndetic coordinators used to avoid the preponderance of “and” coordinating conjunctions. Example:

- It is important to write in clear, simple, accurate words.

- They were friendlier, more talkative, more open than last time we met them.

- They travelled through Enugu, Onitsha, and Calabar.

            - We took with us bread, cheese, and fruit.

(ii) In the construction of complex sentences, commas are used to separate the dependent clause from the independent clause. Examples:

            - When I travelled last week, I saw him.

            - Anywhere he went, he was doing good.

            - It was an expensive hotel in the centre of Stockholm, but we decided it was worth the money.

When a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, we commonly use a comma to separate the clauses. We, however, do not always do this in short sentences sometimes. When we use subordinate or non-finite comment clauses to give further details or more information, we commonly use commas to separate the clauses:

- You do need to wear a darker jacket, if I may say so.

- To be honest, I thought they were very rude.

(iii) Comma can be used to perform the tasks of parentheses in some relatively long expressions. We use commas in this sense to mark non-defining clauses. Such clauses normally add extra, non-essential information about the noun or noun phrase. I consider this form of the use of commas the most complex. Example:

- The ambulance, which arrived five minutes after the accident, took   three   people            to the hospital immediately.

            - Ajegule, which had lasted long as Nigeria ghetto and hideout for hoodlums,             has      been depopulated.

            - It was a contemporary of, and ethnically and culturally very similar to, the polities             in predynastic Naqada of Upper Egypt.

(iii) Dashes ( ­_ )

Dashes are effective as long as they are not overused. Used selectively, dashes can provide dramatic emphasis for a statement, but they should not be used flagrantly as a substitute for all other forms of punctuation. Dashes can be used in the following ways:

(i) To denote afterthought:

- I just wanted to thank you for a lovely evening – we really enjoyed it.

- Make yourself confortable, eat whatever you wish – make sure you don’t overfeed.

(ii) To indicate parenthesis: Dashes are used to set off heavy parenthetic statement within a sentence. Example:

The Pre-Dynastic population comprised at least three distinct racial elements - over a third of ‘Negros, a third of Mediterraneans, a tenth of Cro-Magnoids and a fifth of individuals crossbred - to varying degrees.

When dashes are used to indicate parenthesis, the parenthetic expression housed the dashes should appear like a relative independent entity, such that when such a parenthetic statement is removed the expression that contains it will remain a complete structure. Parenthetic statements should be emphasis targeted at clarifying the content message in the overall expression.

* Pineapple – my favourite fruit – has been of steady supply this year.

* Michael – a close friend of mine – is now a lecturer.

            * Our teacher – who often gets cross when we’re late – wasn’t cross at all.

We observe from the above examples that dashes are used interchangeably with commas. But under closer observation, it is apparent that dashes dramatize parenthetic statements more than commas do. Dashes are more common in informal writing. They can be used in similar ways to commas or semi-colons. Both single and multiple dashes may be used:

(iv) Exclamation Mark (!)

Generally, an exclamation mark is used to express astonishment or surprise. In scientific and technical writing, you are unlikely to find many appropriate occasions to use one. But it is a legitimate signal, and can sometimes be used effectively to highlight a surprising fact or to reinforce a warning:

            - Note that smoke from vehicles and the smoke from light generating plants can take           lives easily!

            -There is no free sex without HIV chances; you better abstain from premarital sex!

A special use of the exclamation mark is relevant to the study of mathematics, basically to indicate a factorial (the product of all the positive integers from 1 to n), which simply symbolizes “n!”. If you are using an exclamation mark in this special way in your text, it is advisable to avoid using the same mark to express astonishment or surprise.

(v) Full Stop (.)

Every normal sentence ends with a full stop, otherwise it continues further. It does not matter the length of the sentence or the number of clauses that comprise a sentence, at any point, wherever a full stop is applied is considered as the end of such a sentence. Basically, the principal use of the full stop or full point is to signal the end of a declarative or imperative sentence. In American English, full stop is conveniently referred to as period.    - The electric current fluctuates throughout the production period (declarative).

            - Arrange the bottles in the refrigerator in the order of their heights (imperative).

Full stops are used for many other purposes in the English language communication. For instance, we use full stop in marking titles, abbreviations and acronyms. Examples:

Titles: Mr., Mrs., Miss., Dr., Prof., Engr. etc.

Acronyms: B.A., M.D., Inc., Int’l., USA., ECOWAS., UK. etc. 

Full stop is used as a decimal marker in mathematical studies. A full stop is the conventional decimal marker. The marker may be placed as a mid-point (1.5, technically ‘half’). In addition to closing sentences, we also use full stops in initials for personal names:         E. O. Nnaji, C. A. Achebe, M.K.O. Abiola etc.

Now, in using punctuation marks, the user should be conscious of certain areas considered highly restrictive for the application of full stops. For instance, it is highly restrictive to use full stops after titles, headings and sub-headings. The reason is simple, such expressions are phrases and constructions that require additional expressions to be considered complete. They are not complete sentences.

(vi) Question Marks (?)

The primary role of a question mark is to indicate the end of a direct question. Direct questions are particularly effective in documents that hold a ‘dialogue’ with readers. And in such conversational atmosphere, the sentences carrying question marks usually require a yes or no answer. Sentences ending with question marks are regarded as interrogative sentence. Example:

- Is the man outside your teacher?

Question marks are used to express doubt: A question mark can also be used to express doubt:   

            - The result of the scan suggests that temperature is normal (?) and that

            - He requires an increase of 40% blood before he could come home?

However, in scientific and technical writing, it is probably more appropriate to express doubt by using words such as perhaps or possibly, or by re-wording the statement completely. In correspondence, we sometimes want to make a polite request, which seems like a question. Normally, such a request is NOT followed by a question mark:

            - You will join us in my mummy’s car?

(vii) Semi-Colon

Semi-colon is used in various sentences to indicate the introduction of certain item(s) that serves as an additional clause in the sentence. Basically, the sentence that involves a semi-colon must be more than one insubordinate clause. By implication, it means that it is not wise to see a semi-colon in a simple sentence or in a complex sentence. In other words, any sentence that has one or more semi-colon must be a compound sentence, compound complex sentence or a multiple sentence. This condition may guide a learner aright o know the kind of sentences to apply semi-colons in. also important to note is the position to apply this mark. For compound and compound complex sentences, semi-colons are used to introduce the last insubordinate clause. Example:

            - It is advisable to stay out of trouble; elders always say so (compound).

            - When John came this morning, he left the house briefly; he also took some money             with him (compound complex).

The sentences above are perfect examples of situations where semi-colon can fit in well. The clauses must be related for this to work. Such is the situation where semi-colon is used to connect two independent clauses instead of separating them individually using a full stop.  Semi-colon is a co-ordinating mark that is often used more conveniently instead of such co-ordinating conjunctions as “and, or, but” and “yet”. We can see from the above examples that the respective semi-colons appeared, introducing the last independent clause. The case with multiple sentences is not in anywhere different. The only difference is that multiple sentences contain more than one semi-colon compared to compound and compound complex sentences. Example:

History is for human self-knowledge: knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is .

Semi-colon is also used in separating items after an ‘invoicing’ colon. An invoicing colon is the colon that announces that several things are to follow. The use of semi-colons to separate the items that follow an ‘invoicing’ colon is usually at constant practice among writers. It seems (to me) the most common use of semi-colon known to the English language users. Once the individual items consist of several words, it appears relatively instinctive for the writer to apply semi-colons in separating them. Example:

            The responsibility of a father in the home: to provide security; to provide food or    money to buy them; to undertake his children’s education and to provide shelter      and clothing for the family.

Considering the example above, the “unvoiced” or “invoicing” colon in the beginning served the purpose of introducing the different units carefully separated by semi-colon. The colon is unvoiced because is eluded

Note:   Do not use semi-colon to signal/introduce or announce unvoiced expressions. A colon is the correct        signal to indicate that a list of items is about to follow.

TWO
The B Group Punctuation Marks:

Apart from these ones that show pauses, there are others that do not purely show pauses. These more purely visual signals do not mark pauses (though occasionally, some of them signal voice intonations). They include the apostrophe, the quotation mark, the hyphen, the parenthesis and bracket, the ellipsis, and diacritical marks (marks placed with a letter to indicate a special pronunciation). Along with these marks we consider capitalization and underlining (or use of italics), though, in a strict sense, these are not matters of punctuation.

(i) Apostrophe (’)

One prominent uses of apostrophe as its role in sentences the indication genitive. We use an apostrophe to indicate the possessive form of nouns. Example:

            - The group’s proposals were discussed at length ... (singular group).

            - The groups’ proposals were discussed at length ... (plural groups).

Always use an apostrophe and an “s” to mark a possession. Beware of the ambiguity created by the omission of both “s” If the noun you wish to make a possessive already ends with an s, you have the option of adding just an apostrophe, or an apostrophe and an “s”:

            - I am talking about one of the chassis’ galvanized upper arms.

Apostrophe can be used in forming plurals. Usually we form plurals of letters, numbers, symbols, acronyms, or words we are discussing as entities, by simply adding a small “s”. Apostrophe is used to signal contractions: Apostrophes are correctly used to form contractions like don’t, can’t, what’s, and it’s. However, though the advent of ‘user-friendly’ documentation has encouraged experiments with contractions, many readers still feel that contractions slip below the level of propriety suitable for formal writing in business, industry, and research. So, I recommend that you use contractions only in informal writing, such as hand-written internal memorandum or e-mails to friends and colleagues.

Sometimes an apostrophe is used to indicate that letters have been omitted from an abbreviated word in a column heading or other cramped space. Unfortunately, there are no general rules about which letters you should omit, or about whether you should form abbreviations by contraction or truncation. A sensible principle is to omit the smallest number of letters that space will permit, leaving recognizable syllables wherever possible. Example: Inter’l (International)

(ii) Hyphen (-)

The more remarkable difference between dashes and hyphens is that while dashes occur mainly within sentence level, hyphens occur mainly within word level. Hyphens are most relevant in binding certain compound nouns, whose meanings would be caught independently, together.

(i) To indicate words that spilt over lines: Primarily, hyphens are used to divide words into their composite syllables. To do this perfectly, learners need deliberate use of the dictionary to be familiarized with the basic procedure for splitting words into different syllables as that would help them to have a ground understanding of this simple function of hyphens. With this knowledge the learner defeats the difficulty encountered when a particular word overlaps or spills over from one line to the other. Examples:

Examined       =          exam-ined, examin-ed

Complained    =          com-plained, complain-ed

Computer       =          com-puter, comput-er

Maintenance  =          main-tenance, mainten-ance

Note the examples above. The part of the word that spills over lines must allow the earlier part to be a complete morpheme. Trying to identify the positions where the morphemes that comprise a word are connected will save time for a learner trying to hyphenate.

(ii) To create compound words: Many compound nouns are created using hyphens, while others are combined naturally. When hyphens are used to form compounds among nouns, the resultant words receive the binding hyphens at the end of the preceding words. Where certain adverbial particles are used to form a compound, the hyphenations occupy the connecting gaps/space between the composite words. Examples:

Passers-by

Directors-general

Motorists-public

Lady-typists

Mothers-in-law

A God-knows person

The God-would-punish pastor

The all-too-human error

The high-flying glider etc.

Such compounds as beginning with the prefix, “self” are to be dully hyphenated. Examples:

Self-reliance

Self-discipline

Self-actualization

Self-medication etc.

Those compounds that border on numbers are also to be hyphenated for precision and clarity. Examples, compound numbers ranging from twenty-one through ninety-nine are to be hyphenated between.          

(iii) Brackets or Parenthesis ( )

Brackets have a similar function to dashes. They often add extra, non-essential information or to separate certain information which the writer would not want to include in the serial flow of the sentence. The principal use of parentheses is to mark the boundaries of an ‘aside’ or extra remark within a statement. Parenthesis comes from the Greek word meaning ‘word or words added within or beside your main thesis’. The term has become used to describe both the marks used to signal the ‘intrusion’ and the content they enclose.

We use parentheses as just one way of showing the boundaries of a parenthetic remark inserted in a sentence. Depending on the ‘depth’ of the aside (or distance of the topic of the additional remark from the topic of the main sentence), we mark its boundaries with a pair of commas, a pair of parentheses, or a pair of dashes. If you use parentheses to enclose an inserted remark, parentheses mark the boundaries of the ‘intrusion’ into the sentence. In this you do not need additional punctuation. Example:

            *The glass content of this material is low (10% by weight) for this application.

Before describing the use of parentheses, it is pertinent to note the variations of the terminology used to discuss this topic. In computing and other subjects, different kinds of brackets are used to symbolize precise meanings. So, the main advice I can give on the use of parentheses and brackets as part of mathematical or scientific nomenclature is that the user should choose one system and use it consistently, preferably conforming to the most-used conventions in your science or technology.

Double/Multiple Parenthesis:

Occasionally, you may want to enclose a parenthetic remark within a parenthetic remark. You can do this by using commas, parentheses, dashes, or even (to avoid having round brackets within round brackets) square brackets. Examples:

- [Down [from [above the altar]]] groaned a mysterious voice.

- The man is said to be [from [out [of the darkness]]].

(iv) Quotation Marks/Inverted Commas (‘…’ or “…”)

In direct speech, we enclose what is said within a pair of single or double quotation marks. We find single quotation marks becoming more common among users than the double quotation marks, but they are all the same. Direct speech begins with a capital letter and can be preceded by a comma or a colon:

- “We are behind scheduled,” Mary said to her friends.

            - ‘It might rain today,’ said Joyce.

There are cases where both single and double quotation marks may be used in the same sentence. This situation only occurs when the reporter is found reporting the speech that has another direct speech in it. Example:

            - While James spoke, he exactly said, “The book I present to you says, ‘A good           student listens to his teacher,’ that is my advice to you all.”

In this condition, it depends on the user’s choice on which to use first. It is only ungrammatical if the user places the different marks wrongly.

(v)Capital Letters

We use capital letters to mark the beginning of sentences. It is the marker that shows that a new sentence has just begun after the previous sentence. The capitals that begin sentences are seen at the first letter that begins every sentence. Examples:

            - Mummy is cooking food.

            - Bembe is the ancestral home of Mexico.

The letters “M” and “B” begins the respective sentences, to show this, they are written in capitals. Capitals are also used to indicate proper nouns in every expression. Proper nouns include personal names (including titles before names), nationalities and languages, days of the week and months of the year, public holidays as well as geographical places: Example: Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, Europe, Edina, Mr. Bigs, Monday, February, Easter, Dr., Mr etc.

Capital letters are used: in writing the topic of every discussion and the heading of every formal letter. To write the topic of any discussion or the heading of a formal letter, two either formats of capitals are used depending on the choice of the writer. The first format is the type that permits the writer to write all the letters in capital. Example:

            - AN APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF A CLERICAL OFFER.

            - THE STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

The second format is more technical than what we can see in the two topics above. As against the examples above, the second format requires the writer to identify all the major parts of speech or content words (noun, verb, adverb and adjective) found in his topic and assign initial capitals to them, while the grammatical or functional words remained with small letters. Example:

            - An Application for the Post of a Clerical Offer.

            - The Structure of Modern English Grammar.

In the examples above, application, post, office, structure, English and grammar are all nouns, while clerical and modern are adjectives. Note: the involvement of an and the in the capitalization is not based on this rule. They are assigned initial capitals because they begin their respective sentences. Above all these, we use capital letters to indicate abbreviated words, example: WHO, ECOWAS, UNICAL, EBSU, TISS etc.

THREE
The “C” Group Punctuation Marks

The C group may be considered as the most exceptional group among punctuation marks. They, originally, are not supposed to be grouped into punctuations considering their remarkable conditions. Unlike the A and B groups discussed above, C group do not enforce any semantic corroboration or have any phonetic impact on their content sentences. Instead, they are used to mark special items in sentences and also to fill up certain unintended spaces caused by omission. For precision, we may conclude that they are more syntax dependent.

Capital letters should be included in the C group, but since they create certain impression in sentences, it is not too permissive to include them. Any time capital letters are used in a sentence, it enforces the restraint of a noun either by semantic reason or by syntactic reason. Semantically, we know that any word capable of taking capital initial within a sentence (not at the beginning of the sentence) is only a proper noun or initials which represent the exact names of an organisation or concepts that are of equal grammatical stand with proper nouns. On the other hand, any word capable of beginning a sentence is syntactically considered to be a noun, a noun phrase or any other nominal property created by adjectival, a participial, a gerund, a pronoun or an adverbial particles; it does not matter the part of speech such a word may belongs to, it either becomes nominal or noun representatives based on syntactic reasoning. There are exceptions to this condition. These rules may not apply if the expression is interrogative or exclamatory. For these reasons capital letters are grouped to B. The C group includes:

(i) Asterisks (*)

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, asterisks are used in writing as reference marks. They indicate omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings. The idea of asterisks came from the image of stars. Therefore ancient linguists (particularly the Greeks) used it as a pointer to objects, terms, lists, items of importance on maps the same way as stars indicate relevant points, time, places and periods.

In the present time, asterisks are no longer used to indicate omissions of words or for any unattested linguistic reference as obtained in the writings of ancient philosophers and historians. In our everyday language use, our sentences reflect two broad uses of asterisks. These common uses are:

(i) To show the list of item belonging to particular idea(s): When a writer, by contempt, wishes not to contain the bulk of idea belonging to a group, he is always at liberty to itemize them linearly; either within the same sentence or in different lines where each point stands alone. Preferably, he may use commas or semi-colons to separate the items when they are stated linearly. But when he wishes to state the items individually, asterisks may be useful. Example:

- A good institution expects its students to:

* Attend lectures.

* Study very hard.

* Make good results. and

* Come out in flying colours.

(ii) To marks a particular item for reference purpose: Asterisks can be used to indicate attention on a particular item. We see this in compositions. While a writer writes, he makes use of some words which may be ambiguous within the context passage or words that require more explanation for clarity purpose. Faced with any of these challenges, the writer asterisks the concerned word for further explanation.  Such asterisked words are usually referred to the footnote reference where the explanation is made. Sometimes, the writer may create a foot note or he may wish to create a glossary for such special items. We find this form of asterisks in works of literature and in textual books.

(ii) Ellipses

An ellipsis is omission of one or more words from a sentence, usually from a quoted sentence or paragraph. Ellipses are marked with three elliptic points; three dots, full stops, or periods set at normal character spacing along a line of text. Examples:

- According to the principal, “Every student should come to the assembly and …, after that they return to their classes and stay quiet”.

- If you travel to Sokoto, Kano, Jos …; all the states in northern Nigeria is not habitable by any none Muslim.

An ellipsis may be at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, or between two complete sentences. To show an ellipsis at the end of a sentence, indicating that a statement was not finished, simply use three elliptic points. An exclamation was not finished, put a question mark or exclamation mark after three elliptic points.

To show the omission of one or more complete sentences from between two other complete sentences, precede the elliptic points with the normal full stop (placed close to the final word) at the end of the first sentence, and follow them with a capital letter to signal that the subsequent words were the beginning of a new sentence.

Note: Ellipses are marked with three dots. If the dots are not up to three, then they are not ellipses. When the dots are four, it means that the sentence that carries the ellipses ends with the fourth dot. Other punctuation marks may come immediately after ellipses. This does not change anything; the punctuation marks will still play the roles they perform in every other sentence.  What is very important is to remark the point where the ellipsis appears in the sentence it is seen. 

(iii) Caret (∧)

Carets are basically useful in writing whenever there is need to insert any item that is omitted in a sentence, unintentionally. To include the omitted item, the writer applies a caret to contain the word. Carets were originally (and is still) used in handwritten form as a proofreading mark to indicate where a punctuation mark,  letter, word, or phrase should be inserted in a document. We make use of carets in handwritten scripts and through typewriting machines.

            Exercises

(A) Rewrite the following sentences applying capital letters where appropriate:

1. iniobong is too selfish that, I dislike it.

2. the father said, “I don’t like it”.

3. i heard about it a minute ago.

4. i will sit for jamb examination next Saturday.

5. the event will take place on 25th august, this year.

6. that’s really great! please keep it up.

7. abu speaks both igbo and the efik fluently.

8. we live at sam egwu way, abakaliki.

9. he smiled and said, “no julius, i am really stronger than you”.

10. all bantu originates from south eastern part of nigeria.

(B) Below is an introductory note a speaker gave about himself. Examine the sentences carefully and place the punctuation marks you have studied at the appropriate positions to make the note readable.

allow me to introduce myself in my previous position i was known as the king of sales i hope to earn the same title within your company my name is frances fortune i have thirteen year experience in corporate sales and account management i have been the top rated seller for two years in a row in my previous position clients recognize me as dependable honest and resourceful i have a strong work ethic and great interpersonal skills i excel at goal setting and time management however you dont have to take my word for it i will be happy to provide personal and professional references upon request you are welcome to contact my previous employer to inquire about my work performance i look forward to speaking with you in person in the near future