Section 9

Language

  1. List 122. Common Features of Language
  2. List 123. Parts of Speech
  3. List 124. Key Verb Concepts
  4. List 125. Common Verb Tenses
  5. List 126. Irregular Verb Patterns
  6. List 127. Basic Sentence Patterns
  7. List 128. Capitalization Guidelines
  8. List 129. Contractions
  9. List 130. Punctuation Guidelines

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Research articles on the best practices for teaching language frequently begin by pointing to dated studies that showed traditional grammar instruction was ineffective. The evidence was convincing: language elements taught in isolation did not contribute to the broader goal of improving students' ability to communicate clearly and effectively in speech and writing. Consequently, many schools deemphasized language in their curricula and focused on increasing opportunities for students to write across content areas.

The ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively with multiple audiences and in multiple formats requires student knowledge of the conventions of language, including grammar. The imperative to address this is clearly stipulated in the Common Core State Standards for language as well as for writing.

If traditional ways of teaching grammar and other aspects of language were not effective, which methods are effective? Current research suggests some promising practices.

Saddler's (2013) review highlights the strategy of sentence combining as a way for students to engage in the mindful practice of manipulation of words, phrases, and clauses to form more coherent and mature writing. Several other studies found sentence combining to be useful in developing grammar and structure knowledge.

Researchers are looking for methods of teaching language skills that result in the application of language conventions in writing. Promising practices teach language elements as part of focused mini-lessons, during revising and editing, in writing workshops, and simultaneously with other authentic writing experiences. Chin (2000, p. 1) calls the use of student writing as the springboard for teaching grammar “the most beneficial way” of helping students improve their command of grammar.

The lists in this section provide resources for just-in-time skill building or review of key language elements. See lists in the spelling and writing sections for additional resources for teaching English language conventions.

  1. Bromley, K. (2015). Best practices in teaching writing. In L. B. Gambrell & L. M. Morrow (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (5th ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
  2. Chin, B. (2000). The role of grammar in improving student writing. Sadlier-Oxford 6–12, William H. Sadlier. Retrieved from: www.sadlier-oxford.com/prof_development/paper_chin.cfm
  3. Dunn, P., & Lindblom, K. (2003). Why revitalize grammar? English Journal, 92(3), 43–50. Retrieved from ERIC EJ660679
  4. Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools; A report to Carnegie Corporation. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
  5. Hudson, R. (2001). Grammar teaching and writing skills: The research evidence. Syntax in the Schools, 17, 1–6. Retrieved from www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/writing.htm
  6. Larsen-Freeman, D. (1997). Grammar and its teaching: Challenging the myths. Retrieved from www.cal.org/content/search?SearchText=Larsen-Freemanteaching+grammar&SearchButton=Search&SubTreeArray%5B%5D=63
  7. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00–4769). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
  8. Saddler, B. (2013). Best practices in sentence construction skills. In S. Graham, C. MacArthur, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Best practices in writing instruction (2nd ed., pp. 238–256). New York: The Guilford Press.

image List 122. Common Features of Language

The word language refers to a complex and distinctly human phenomenon. Language is the system of words we use to express thoughts and communicate with others. The word language also means the particular set of sounds, words, and rules used by a specific community or group, for example, the English language, the Polish language, the Italian language. Although we often refer to language as thoughts expressed in the form of spoken or written words, a language can also express thoughts by signs and gestures, as in the American Sign Language.

Linguists, those who study language, estimate there are more than 6,500 in the world today. However, more than 98 percent of the world's population speak one of only 1,330 languages. The following list describes ten features all spoken languages have in common.

Common Features of Language

  • Separable. The individual sound units (phonemes) used in a language are different enough from one another that they can be separated. That means the users of a language can tell one sound or phoneme from another and can produce each separate sound.
  • Arbitrary. There is no necessary, natural, or logical connection between the sound symbol (word) and its meaning. Consider the word dog. There is nothing about the sound of the word that has any relation to the animal itself. This is clear when we consider the canine animal English speakers call dog is called le chien by speakers of French, Hund by speakers of German, kutya by speakers of Hungarian, and perro by speakers of Spanish.
  • Symbolic. Languages use one thing to represent another. The object or concept and the word used to name it are separate. The word-symbol represents the reality, but it is not the reality itself.
  • Semantic. A language links particular words (symbols) to particular meanings (concepts or objects). These word-meaning links are shared by the speakers of the language; for example, the word beet refers to the same root vegetable no matter who uses the word.
  • Systematic. Languages build in a hierarchy from a single speech sound (phoneme) to sound with meaning (morpheme), to words, to phrases, to sentences, and so on. There are rules that enable people to put the pieces together in meaningful ways.
  • Patterned. Users of a languages do not put its elements together randomly. Each language has organized patterns or rules for combining its elements. For example, the sounds for the letters a, n, p, and s can be used to form pans, naps, span, and anps (not an English word yet, but it could be). However, the same letters cannot be combined as psna, nspa, or spna to form a pronounceable English word. Similarly, different types of words can be arranged in some sequences but not others. For example, we can say I am wearing slippers or Am I wearing slippers? but not Slippers am wearing I. The rules for combining words into meaningful sentences are called a language's syntax or grammar.
  • Creative. A person can use the elements of a language (its sounds, meaningful word parts, and rules) to create never-before-used sentences that another speaker of the language can understand. For example, She found the soft, fat, blue plaid cat on the floor in the closet in Sally's sister's bedroom is a sentence that likely has never been written or spoken before but can be understood by English speakers. This creativity feature means we can produce limitless new words, phrases, and sentences and arrange them to meet our communication needs.
  • Learned. A person needs to be exposed to a language in order to acquire and use it. A dog that does not hear another dog bark will still bark. No exposure or learning is needed. By contrast, humans are born with the physical and cognitive capabilities for learning any of the world's spoken languages but acquire their first language only in a sociocultural setting through interaction with experienced users—members of their family.
  • Unbound. Users of a language are not bound to time, place, reason, or reality. We can talk about events in the present, the past, or the future. We can talk about things that are real or imagined, possible or impossible, true or untrue, and in this or a distant place.
  • Controlled. Users of a language control what they say. They can think about the words before they say them. They can monitor what they are saying and alter the way they are saying it. A speaker can stop speaking, even mid-word.

image List 123. Parts of Speech

Humans have been using spoken and written words for more than forty thousand years. As our ancestors' language grew, patterns of word use evolved. Over time, language became more complex and the patterns of use adjusted to aid the communication of more complex ideas. These patterns, called the grammar or syntax of a language, guide the way different types of words can be arranged meaningfully.

English has eight different types of words that are called the parts of speech. This list describes each part of speech and its use.

Noun A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. It can act or be acted on.
Examples Marianne, bowlers, cousins, neighborhood, Baltimore, attic, Asia, Liberty International Airport, Golden Gate Bridge, glove, class, triangle, goodness, strength, joy, perfection
Proper noun A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are capitalized and usually do not have plural forms.
Examples Gabriella, Toms River, Kleenex
Common noun A common noun is a nonspecific person, place, or thing. Unless it is at the beginning of a sentence, a common noun is not capitalized.
Examples teacher, girls, pets, book, movie, city, detergent
Pronoun A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Examples he, you, they, them, it, her, our, your, its, their, anybody, both, nobody, someone, several, himself, ourselves, themselves, yourself, itself, who, whom, which, what, whose
Adjective An adjective is a word that is used to describe or qualify a noun or pronoun. Adjectives tell what kind, how many, or which one.
Examples green, enormous, slinky, original, Italian, some, few, eleven, all, none, that, this, these, those, third
Article An article is a special type of adjective that signals whether you are talking about a specific or definite noun or making a general statement about a nonspecific noun. The definite article the is used for specific nouns. The indefinite article an is used for nonspecific nouns that begin with a vowel sound. The indefinite article a is used for nonspecific nouns that begin with a consonant sound.
Examples I want the red apple. I want an apple. I want a red apple.
Verb A verb word that shows physical or mental action, being, or state of being. A verb tells what the noun or pronoun is or is doing.
Examples swayed, cowered, dance, study, hold, think, imagine, love, approve, considered, am, is, was, were, has been, seems, appears, looks, feels, remains
Adverb An adverb is a word that is used to describe a verb. An adverb tells where, how, or when. Adverbs can qualify any part of speech except a noun or pronoun. Adverbs frequently end in -ly.
Examples quietly, lovingly, skillfully, slyly, honestly, very, quite, extremely, too, moderately, seldom, never, often, periodically, forever
Conjunction A conjunction is a word that is used to join words or groups of words.
Examples and, or, either, neither, but, because, while, however, since, for, yet, still
Preposition A preposition is a word that is used to show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word.
Examples across, below, in, toward, within, over, above, on, under, until, of, beyond, from, during, after, at, against
Interjection An interjection is a word or phrase that is used to express emotion. Interjections often show surprise, anger, fear, or joy. They are frequently uttered suddenly in response to news or an event.
Examples Thank goodness! Finally! Cheers! Oh! Aha! Darn! Eek! Yuck!

image List 124. Key Verb Concepts

Verbs are powerful words in language. You cannot have a complete sentence without one. Yet, a sentence can be complete with just one word, as long as it is a verb: Run! Stop! Go! Many verb-use patterns are learned naturally as individuals mimic the language patterns they hear. Some are less common and require direct instruction.

To help students make effective use of verbs, be sure they are familiar with the key verb concepts in the following list. Keep in mind students learning Standard American English may not yet have had sufficient experience hearing correct usage and, consequently, may need more practice recognizing and applying standard forms.

  1. Verb. A verb is the part of speech that tells an action or a state of being. For example, in Brayden smiles, smiles is an action verb. It tells what Brayden does. In Brayden was happy, was is a state of being verb. It tells Brayden's state or condition.
  2. Principle parts. The six main forms of a verb are called its principle parts. They are used for different tenses and purposes. The principle parts of most verbs are created by changing the base or simple form. Some verbs have irregularly formed principal parts that have to be learned. Here are the principle parts of the verb paint:
    infinitive to paint simple form paint
    -s form, third person, singular paints simple past painted
    present participle painting past participle painted
  3. Tense. The word tense comes from the Latin word tempus meaning time. Verb tenses are the different forms of a verb that show an action or state in the present, past, or future.
  4. Person and number. The person of a verb tells about the subject of the verb. The number tells whether the subject is singular (one) or plural (more than one).
    Singular Plural
    First person is the person speaking or writing. I play. We play.
    Second person is the one spoken to. You play. You play.
    Third person is the one or those spoken about. He plays. She plays. It plays. They play.
  5. Third person –s. When using the third person singular, -s or -es is added to the verb form. For example: She sings. He goes. It stings.
  6. Verb-noun agreement. The form of the verb must be in agreement with (or appropriate for) the person and number of the subject. For example, in Darin works hard, the subject is singular and in the third person; therefore, the third-person singular form of the verb—works—is used. In Darin and Jess work hard, the subject is plural and in the third person; therefore, the third-person plural form of the verb—work—is used. When the number and person of the verb matches the number and person of the subject we have verb-noun agreement.
  7. Mood. The mood of a verb tells about the intention of the speaker or writer. There are three moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive (infrequently used).
    1. The indicative mood is used to make statements or ask questions.
      1. Marie is playing the piano. Is Marieplaying the piano?
    2. The imperative mood is used for commands, requests, and directions.
      1. Play a holiday song. Please play one more. Open to page 33.
    3. The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish or something contrary to fact. In the subjunctive mood the helping verb were is used for all persons and numbers.
      1. I wish I were taller. If you were taller, you could reach to top shelf.
  8. Voice. The voice of the verb shows whether the subject is the doer of the action (active voice) or whether the action is done to the subject (passive voice)
    1. Active. Chuck saw him.
    2. Passive. Chuck was seen by him.
  9. Auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs because they are used with another verb in a verb phrase that conveys ideas of time, judgment, possibility, or other meaning.
    am were does had might could
    is being did having must should
    are been has can will would
    was do have may shall ought to
  10. Conjugate a verb. To conjugate a verb means to set out all of its forms according to tense, voice, mood, number, and person. List 125, Common Verb Tenses, shows the conjugation of the verbs paint and blame.

image List 125. Common Verb Tenses

Actions that we speak of or write about can be happening now, sometime in the past, or in the future. The action can be completed or it can be continuing. Sometimes, we speak about one action that occurred in relation to another action that was also occurring in the past. Each of these situations can be communicated clearly using one of the verb tenses.

When we conjugate a verb we show the forms it uses to show tense, voice, person, number, and mood. Use the conjugations and examples in the following list to see how to form and use the most common verb tenses.

Active Voice, Indicative Mood

Present Present tense is used to make a general statement or when talking or writing about something that usually happens. Example: I always paint on Fridays.
Singular I paint. You paint. He (she or it) paints.
Plural We paint. You paint. They paint.
Past Past tense is used to tell about something that happened and is over. Example: I painted last Friday.
Singular I painted. You painted. He (she or it) painted.
Plural We painted. You painted. They painted.
Future Future tense is used to tell about something expected to happen in the future. Example: I will paint this coming Friday.
Singular I will paint. You will paint. He (she or it) will paint.
Plural We will paint. You will paint. They will paint.
Present progressive Present progressive tense is used to tell about an action that is ongoing. Example: I am painting a table today.
Singular I am painting. You are painting. He (she or it) is painting.
Plural We are painting. You are painting. They are painting.
Past progressive Past progressive tense is used to tell about something that was ongoing for a period in the past. Example: I was painting the table when she called.
Singular I was painting. You were painting. He (she or it) was painting.
Plural We were painting. You were painting. They were painting.
Future progressive Future progressive tense is used to tell about something that will be ongoing at some time in the future. Example: I will be painting the table all day Friday.
Singular I will be painting. You will be painting. He (she or it) will be painting.
Plural We will be painting. You will be painting. They will be painting.
Present perfect Present perfect tense is used to tell about something that happened in the past and was completed before the present time. Example: I have painted before now.
Singular I have painted. You have painted. He (she or it) has painted.
Plural We have painted. You have painted. They have painted.
Past perfect Past perfect tense is used to tell about something that happened in the past prior to another event or time. Example: I had painted toys before I painted furniture.
Singular I had painted. You had painted. He (she or it) had painted.
Plural We had painted. You had painted. They had painted.
Future perfect Future perfect tense is used to tell about something that will happen in the future before another specified event or time. Example: Next week, I will have painted four hundred tables.
Singular I will have painted. You will have painted. He (she or it) will have painted.
Plural We will have painted. You will have painted. They will have painted.
Present perfect progressive Present perfect tense is used to tell about something that began in the past and is continuing in the present. Example: I have been painting on Fridays for many years.
Singular I have been painting. You have been painting. He (she or it) has been painting.
Plural We have been painting. You have been painting. They have been painting.
Past perfect progressive Past perfect progressive tense is used to tell about something that began in the past and continued for a period before another event or time happened. Example: I had been painting chairs when I began painting tables.
Singular I had been painting. You had been painting. He (she or it) had been painting.
Plural We had been painting. You had been painting. They had been painting.
Future perfect progressive Future perfect progressive tense is used to tell about something that will have been ongoing for a period in the past and is continuing. Example: In June, I will have been painting for ten years.
Singular I will have been painting. You will have been painting. He (she or it) will have been painting.
Plural We will have been painting. You will have been painting. They will have been painting.

Active Voice, Imperative Mood

Singular Paint
PluralPaint

Passive Voice, Indicative Mood

Present Present tense is used to make a general statement or when talking or writing about something that usually happens. Example: Usually, I am blamed.
Singular I am blamed. You are blamed. He (she or it) is blamed.
Plural We are blamed. You are blamed. They are blamed.
Past Past tense is used to tell about something that happen and is over. Example: I was blamed last week.
Singular I was blamed. You were blamed. He (she or it) was blamed.
Plural We were blamed. You were blamed. They were blamed.
Future Future tense is used to tell about something expected to happen in the future. Example: I will be blamed next week.
Singular I will be blamed. You will be blamed. He (she or it) will be blamed.
Plural We will be blamed. You will be blamed. They will be blamed.
Present progressive Present progressive tense is use to tell about an action that is ongoing. Example: I am being blamed all the time.
Singular I am being blamed. You are being blamed. He is being blamed.
Plural We are being blamed. You are being blamed. They are being blamed.
Past progressive Past progressive tense is used to tell about something that was ongoing for a period in the past. Example: I was being blamed throughout last season.
Singular I was being blamed. You were being blamed. He was being blamed.
Plural We were being blamed. You were being blamed. They were being blamed.
Present perfect Present perfect tense is used to tell about something that happened in the past and was completed before the present time. Example: I have been blamed before now.
Singular I have been blamed. You have been blamed. He (she or it) has been blamed.
Plural We have been blamed. You have been blamed. They have been blamed.
Past perfect Past perfect tense is used to tell about something that happened in the past prior to another event or time. Example: I had been blamed before I was questioned.
Singular I had been blamed. You had been blamed. He had been blamed.
Plural We had been blamed. You had been blamed. They had been blamed.
Future perfect Future perfect tense is used to tell about something that will happen in the future before another specified event or time. Example: By the end of the day, I will have been blamed again.
Singular I will have been blamed. You will have been blamed. He (she or it) will have been blamed.
Plural We will have been blamed. You will have been blamed. They will have been blamed.

Passive Voice, Imperative Mood

SingularBe blamed
PluralBe blamed

image List 126. Irregular Verb Patterns

Most rules have exceptions, and exceptions can cause problems. Here is an extensive list of verbs and their principal parts that do not follow the regular pattern. (Regular verbs form the past or past participle by simply adding -d or -ed. For example: call, called, has called.)

Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle\hbox to\z@ {$^{*
am was been
are (pl.) were been
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent or bended bent or bended
bet bet bet
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
burst burst burst
cast cast cast
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
dig dug dug
dive dived or dove dived
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamed or dreamt dreamed or dreamt
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got gave
give gave given
go went gone
grow grew grown
grind ground ground
hang hung or hanged hung
has had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
is was been
keep kept kept
kneel kneeled or knelt kneeled or knelt
know knew known
lay laid laid
leap leaped or leapt leaped or leapt
leave left left
lie lay lain
light lit lit
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
mow mowed mowed or mown
put put put
quit quit quit
read read read
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
saw sawed sawed or sawn
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
set set set
shake shook shaken
shine shined or shone shined or shone
show showed shown or showed
shrink shrank or shrunk shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
slit slit slit
sow sowed sowed or sown
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
spin spun spun
spit spit spit
split split split
spread spread spread
spring sprang or sprung sprung
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
string strung strung
swear swore sworn
sweat sweat or sweated sweat or sweated
sweep swept swept
swim swam or swum swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
thrust thrust trust
understand understood understood
wake woke or waked woken or waked
wear wore worn
weave wove woven
weep wept wept
wet wet wet
win won won
wind wound wound
write wrote written

* Note: The past participle also needs one of the following verbs: was, has, had, or is.

image List 127. Basic Sentence Patterns

Parts of speech are put together to form sentences according the established patterns or syntax of a language. Not all languages follow the same patterns for constructing meaningful sentences. For example, in English, an adjective generally precedes the word it describes as in red box. In Spanish, the order is reversed as in caja roja. For speakers of languages other than English, our sentences may seem to be in an unnatural order until they have had sufficient time to adapt to hearing and reading them in our conventional order.

The list of basic sentence patterns and variations shows the most common arrangements of words that form sentences. Remember: every sentence must have at minimum a noun (or pronoun) and a verb. These are called the subject and predicate of the sentence. Imperative sentences may use only the verb (predicate), with the subject—you—unstated but understood, as in Run.

n/v noun/verb Children sang.
n/v/n noun/verb/noun Jenn trained the puppy.
n/v/adv noun/verb/adverb Chris stirred briskly.
n/lv/n noun/linking verb/noun Tom is chairman.
n/lv/adj noun/linking verb/adjective Brayden looks sleepy.
n/v/n/n noun/verb/noun/noun Jason gave Cynda flowers.

Variations of Basic Sentence Patterns

Affirmative to Negative

  1. It is raining. / It is not raining.

Affirmative to Question

  1. The bottle is empty. / Is the bottle empty?

Use of “There”

  1. A man is at the door. / There is a man at the door.

Request or Command

  1. You mow the grass. / Mow the grass.

Active to Passive

  1. The dog chased the fox. / The fox was chased by the dog.

Possessive

  1. Gian owns this car. / This is Gian's car.

Prepositional Phrase Added

  1. This is Gian's car in the garage.

Adverbial Phrase Added

  1. Birds fly swiftly together.

Present to Past

  1. I live in New York. / I lived in New York.

Simple Past to Progressive Past

  1. I live in New York. / I was living in New York.

Past to Future

  1. I lived in New York. / I will live in New York.

Certain to Uncertain

  1. I will do it. / I might do it.

image List 128. Capitalization Guidelines

Review these guidelines with your students and provide practice exercises for problem areas. Give proofreading assignments to help students become sensitive to the proper use of uppercase letters. Writing letters to favorite authors, illustrators, or others provides a fun and authentic writing experience as well as the opportunity to apply many of these guidelines.

  • Capitalize the pronoun I.
    1. I often sleep late on weekends.
  • Capitalize the first word of any sentence.
    1. Kittens are playful.
  • Capitalize the first word and all important words in titles of books, magazines, newspapers, stories, and so on.
    1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  • Capitalize names of specific people, events, dates, and documents.
    1. Eunice Smith, Toronto, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, September, the Constitution
  • Capitalize the names of organizations and trade names.
    1. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kleenex
  • Capitalize titles of respect.
    1. Mr. Limoncelli, Ms. Polk, Sister Valerie
  • Capitalize names of races, languages, religions, and deity.
    1. Caucasian, Spanish, Catholic, the Almighty, Jehovah
  • Capitalize the first word in a direct quotation.
    1. Ann inquired, “Where is the suntan lotion?”
  • Capitalize abbreviations and acronyms, all or part.
    1. US, UNESCO, CA, St., PhD

Optional Capitalization

  • All letters in a title or sign
    1. BOOK OF LISTS; THE SOUP SHACK
  • Special emphasis
    1. She yelled, “STOP. SEND HELP IMMEDIATELY.”
  • Subheads and outline words

image List 129. Contractions

Contractions are single or combined words that are shortened by substituting an apostrophe for a letter or letters. Some contractions represent more than one combination. For example, what's stands for what is and what has as in What's his name? What's happened? Use this list to review how to form and use contractions.

be would, had have, has will, shall not
I'm I'd I've I'll can't
he's he'd he's he'll don't
she's she'd she's she'll isn't
it's it'd it's it'll won't
we're we'd we've we'll shouldn't
you're you'd you've you'll couldn't
they're they'd they've they'll wouldn't
that's that'd that's that'll aren't
who's who'd who've who'll doesn't
what's what'd what've what'll wasn't
where's where'd where've where'll weren't
when's how'd how've how'll hasn't
why's why'd why's why'll haven't
that's there'd there've these'll hadn't
there's could've those'll mustn't
here's would've there'll didn't
one's should've this'll mightn't
who're might've needn't
why're
how're
what're

Apostrophes are also used in some slang, dialect, and old-fashioned words.

Ma'am (madam) ain't (am not) d'you (do you) shan't (shall not)
Y'all (you all) bro' (brother) let's (let us) ’twas (it was)

image List 130. Punctuation Guidelines

Punctuation is important. It signals to the reader that we are making a statement or asking a question. It tells when to stop and when to pause. Without punctuation, we would have trouble understanding what the writer meant.

Here's an example of a sentence without punctuation: Ted said Todd is very tall. Now, here are the same words punctuated two different ways.

  1. “Ted,” said Todd, “is very tall.”
  2. Ted said, “Todd is very tall.”

Punctuation helps readers avoid confusion.

This list will help students review the use of punctuation marks. Refer to it as part of your proofreading and editing practice. Post an enlarged copy on the wall where students can see it during their writing activities.

Name Symbol When used
Period .
  1. At the end of a statement or declarative sentence. Birds fly.
  2. At the end of a command or imperative sentence. Go home.
  3. After most abbreviations. Mr. Co. Ave.
  4. To show money and decimal numbers. $1.99 and 3.1416
Question mark ?
  1. At the end of a question or interrogatory sentence. Who is he?
  2. To express doubt. He ate 14 doughnuts?
Exclamation point !
  1. To show strong emotion with a word. Great!
  2. To show strong emotion with a sentence. You're the best!
Quotation marks “ ”
  1. To show a direct quote. She said, “May I help you?”
  2. To set off a title of a short poem. He read “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.”
  3. To imply sarcasm or someone else's use of a term.

    The “hero” was not at home.
Single quotation marks `
  1. To show a quote within a quote. She said, “You call him a ‘friend’ of yours.”
Apostrophe '
  1. To form the possessive. Bill's bike
  2. In contractions, to show missing letters. Isn't
  3. To form the plurals of symbols. Two A's
Comma ,
  1. To separate items in a series. one, two, three
  2. To separate things in a list. bread, milk, cheese
  3. To separate parts of a date. February 22, 2025
  4. After the greeting in a friendly letter. Dear Gerry,
  5. After the closing in a letter. Sincerely,
  6. To separate the city and state in an address.New York, NY
  7. To separate a name and a degree title.Elena Jag, MD
  8. Between inverted names. Smith, Joe
  9. In written dialogue between the quotation and the rest of the sentence. She said, “Stop it.” “OK,” he replied.
  10. Between more than one adjective or adverb. The big, bad wolf.
  11. To set off a descriptive or parenthetical word or phrase.Tina, the announcer, read her lines.
  12. Between a dependent and independent clause.After the game, we went home.
  13. To separate independent clauses. I like him, and he likes me.
  14. To set off incidental words. I saw it, too. Naturally, I went along. Oh, I didn't see you.
Parentheses ( )
  1. To show supplementary material. The map (see below) is new.
  2. To set off information more strongly than with commas. Joe (the first actor) was ready.
  3. In numbering or lettering a series. Choices: (a) a game or (b) a song; two steps: (1) Open the door. (2) Step in.
Colon :
  1. To introduce a series. He has three things: a pen, a book, and a backpack.
  2. To show a subtitle. The Book: How to Read It
  3. To separate clauses. The rule is this: keep it simple.
  4. After a business letter greeting. Dear Ms. Turner:
  5. To separate hours and minutes or to show ratio. 10:15 A.M.3:1 ratio
Semicolon ;
  1. To separate sentence parts more strongly than a comma.November was cold; January was freezing.
  2. To separate sentence parts that contain commas. He was tired; therefore, he took a nap.
Hyphen -
  1. To join parts of compound words. mother-in-law
  2. To join parts of a compound adjective. brick-faced house
En dash – To show period of time or space between destinations.
2015–2025 San Francisco–Elizabeth
Em dash — To show the insertion of descriptive information.
Carla—the tallest student—held the flag.
Ellipsis …
  1. To show that words have been left out. The boy …was not home …so his mom answered the phone.
  2. To show a pause for suspense or to heighten mood. The announcer called out, “The winner is …Chris.”
Bullet •
  1. To show the items in a list.

    Things to do on Saturday:

    • Go swimming.
    • Visit Kathy.
    • Clean my room.
Slash, virgule, stroke, diagonal /
  1. To show lines of poetry. Twinkle, twinkle, little star/how I wonder …
  2. To set off numbers or symbols. /a/ first point, /b/ second point
  3. To indicate phonemes. /b/ is the first phoneme in “boy”
  4. To show common fractions. 3/4