All that pesky punctuation PART 1 (end punctuation, apostrophes, quotation marks)

Happy Friday!

I hope your week has gone well.

Last week, we looked at the common uses of commas. Today, we're going to take look at most other commonly-used punctuation marks.

Why is punctuation so important? The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use). For example, in the book Eat, Shoots & Leaves, the author tells the story of a panda that goes into a restaurant, and after eating, he pulls out a gun and shoots it. The bewildered waiter asks, "Why did you do that?" The panda pulls out a wildlife magazine [from where, I'm not certain] and points to an article. "See?" he says. "This article says that a panda eats, shoots, and leaves." "Umm," says the waiter. "I believe there's a faulty comma here. It should say, 'A panda eats shoots and leaves.'"

Get it?

I've said before that the only way we writers can communicate to our readers is the words we use ... and the way we use them.

So let's look at how you can communicate to your readers by the simple use of punctuation:

Periods are hard stops that let your reader know your sentence is complete.

Exclamation points show excitement or anxiety. I can't believe you bought me a car!

Question marks ... Well, this one is clear, isn't it?

Apostrophes have two uses:

1) They show possession. The blue BMW is Scott's car.
2) They facilitate contractions. I don't want to go to the store.

IMPORTANT KEY: Two notable exceptions are the pronouns it and you. The possessive form of it is its; it's is the contraction it is. The possessive form of you is your; you're is the contraction you are.

Quotation marks indicate dialog or a quote that will be cited. Always use double quotation marks.

Sharon said, "I want to go to the store."

Discussing the importance of proper punctuation, Professor Rinehart wrote, "The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use)."

NOTE: Single quotation marks are used only with quotes within quotes. I have an example of this at the end of the panda story.
IMPORTANT KEY: Periods and commas always go inside of quotation marks UNLESS you're using a citation. If I were including a citation (and I'm using MLA here) with the above quote, I'd write:

Discussing the importance of proper punctuation, Professor Rinehart wrote, "The meaning of your sentence can change dramatically depending on the punctuation you use (or don't use)" (Writing Is Painless).

On the other hand, where you place exclamation points and question marks are determined by the meaning of your sentence.

If either is part of the quotation, then it goes inside of the quotation mark.

Susan asked, "Where is the remote?"
Lisa cried, "I lost my phone!"

If either is not part of the quotation, then it does outside of the quotation mark.

Was it John who said, "I don't agree"?
I was so excited when I heard you say, "I'll be home Thursday"!

If I were standing in front of you, this would be the time I'd ask, "Any questions?" If you have some, feel free to comment! I'll get back to you by next Friday, at the latest.

Next week, we'll finish up punctuation marks, including semi-colons, colons, hyphens, m-dashes, and more!

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart