A study on how to use some common punctuation marks in writing English

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG
------------------------------

ISO 9001 : 2008

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ

HẢI PHÒNG - 2010

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HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT
-----------------------------------

GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON HOW TO USE SOME COMMON
PUNCTUATION MARKS IN WRITING ENGLISH
By:
Đoàn Minh huyền
Class:
Na1001
Supervisor:
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thu,M.A

HAI PHONG - 2010

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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG
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Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp

Sinh viên:............................................................Mãsố:............................
Lớp:.............................Ngành:..................................................................
..
Tên đề tài: .................................................................................................
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Nhiệm vụ đề tài
1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt
nghiệp
( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ).
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2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán.
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3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
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CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI
Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất:
Họ và tên:.............................................................................................
Học hàm, học vị:...................................................................................
Cơ quan công tác:.................................................................................
Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................

Người hướng dẫn thứ hai:
Họ và tên:.............................................................................................
Học hàm, học vị:...................................................................................

Cơ quan công tác:.................................................................................
Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................
Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010
Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010
Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN
Sinh viên

Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN
Người hướng dẫn

Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010
HIỆU TRƯỞNG

GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị

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PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN
1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt
nghiệp:
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…………………………………………………………………………Đánh
giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm
vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu…):

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3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ):
……………………………………………………………………………..
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……………………………………………………………………………..
Hải Phòng, ngày ….. tháng ..… năm 2010
Cán bộ hướng dẫn
(họ tên và chữ ký)

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NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ
CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP
1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài
liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài.

2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện :
(Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ)

Ngày.......... tháng......... năm 2010
Người chấm phản biện

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the process of my completing graduation paper, I have received
great of assistance, guidance from many people.

First of all, I wish to express my deepest thanks to the supervior - Mrs.
NGUYEN PHUONG THU, M.A who gave me base knowledge of study and
helped me to complete this graduation paper.

In addition, I am also graceful to many teachers in Foreign Language
Department of Hai Phong Private University who taught me through four
years of university and helps me have ideas and knowledge to found this
research.

Last but not least, I am really thankful to my family and all my friends who
always help and encourage me. Without their support, I could not complete
this research.

Hai Phong , June 2010
Student

Doan Minh Huyen
NA 1001

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TABLE CONTENT

PART I – INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1
I. Rationale of study ....................................................................................... 1
II. Aims of the study ...................................................................................... 2
III. Scope of the study ..................................................................................... 2
IV. Methods of the study ................................................................................. 3
V. Design of the study ..................................................................................... 3
PART II – DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1 : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND...................................... 4
I. The history of punctuation marks ............................................................... 4
II. Definition of punctuation marks ................................................................ 6
III. Classifications of punctuation marks ....................................................... 7
1. Punctuation marks classified by function ........................................... 7
1.1. Separation of language function ............................................. 7
1.2. Specification of language function ......................................... 8
2. Punctuation marks classfied by place ............................................... 8
2.1. Separate punctuation marks .................................................... 8
2.2. End punctuation marks ............................................................ 8
3. Punctuation marks classified by syntax ............................................... 9
3.1.The syntactic junctures of a text .............................................. 9
3.2.The syntactic junctures of a sentence ....................................... 9
IV. Punctuation in different sentence structures ............................................. 9
1. Punctuation in simple sentence ........................................................... 10
2. Punctuation in compound sentence ..................................................... 10
3. Punctuation in complex sentence ........................................................ 11
4. Punctuation in compound-complex sentence ...................................... 11

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CHAPTER 2:

PUNCTUATION MARKS IN WIRTING ENGLISH .................................. 12
I. An overview on punctuation marks ............................................................ 12
II. The functions of the punctuation marks .................................................... 14
1. Punctuation that separates elements .................................................... 14
2. Punctuation that joins sentence elements ............................................ 16
3. Punctuation that encloses sentence elements ...................................... 17
4. Punctuation that indicates omission .................................................... 18
III. How to use some typical punctuation marks in writing English .............. 19
1. Comma ( , ) ......................................................................................... 19
2. Period ( . ) ............................................................................................ 31
3. Apostrophe ( ‘ ) .................................................................................... 36
4. Colon ( : ) ........................................................................................... 40
5. Question mark ( ? ) ............................................................................. 43
6. Exclamation point ( ! ) ...................................................................... 48
CHAPTER 3 : SOME ATTENTIONS TO AVOID MISUSE OF
PUNCTUATION IN WRITING ENGLISH
I. The comma splice and run-on sentence ....................................................... 50
II. Some attentions to avoid misuse of punctuation marks in writing english
1.Unnecessary commas ........................................................................... 52
2.Misuse of period ................................................................................... 55
3.Overuse of colon ................................................................................... 56
4.Misuses of apostrophe .......................................................................... 57
5.Misuse of question mark ...................................................................... 58
6.Misuse of exclamation mark ................................................................ 58
PART III – CONCLUSION .........................................................................
1. Summary of the study ................................................................................
2. Suggestions for further study .....................................................................
APPENDIX
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REFERENCES ...............................................................................................
A STUDY ON HOW TO USE SOME COMMON PUNCTUATION
MARKS IN WRITING ENGLISH
PART I – INTRODUCTION

I. Rationale of study
After four years of studying at Haiphong Private University, I feel more
confident with my skills and knowledge of English that I have been taught
here. Since the first year I have made certain progresses in improving my
English thanks to my HPU‘s teachers. The graduation is coming soon and up
to now I feel no regret choosing English as my major. Of all subjects, I
choose one small aspect of grammar for my graduation paper, it is
punctuation marks. They are used in our fours English skills - listening,
speaking, reading and writing.So, you sometimes wonder why punctuation
marks are used popularly in studying English. Punctuation is used to create
sense, clarity and stress in sentences.They are signals, tools we use to
organize word arrangements to facilitate readability. Punctuation affects the
rhythm of how a sentence is read, as well as the actual meaning of the writing.
When writing, you use punctuation marks such as comma, question mark or
the others to make your meaning clear, and help reader read texts easily,
avoid confusion and understand more clearly what the writer has intended.
When you speak, you can pause, stop, or change your tone of voice to make
your meaning clear, and make listeners understand the speaker‘s emotion.
You can quickly see why and how important punctuation is in the following
example if you try and read it without punctuation at all.
Jack pulled the kitten s tail and his mother said to him don t pull the kitten s
tail Jack Jack answered I m not pulling it Mummy I m holding it and the kitten
s pulling
Now let's see how punctuation makes a difference.

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Jack pulled the kitten‘s tail, and his mother said to him:―Don‘t pull the
kitten‘s tail, Jack!‖ . Jack answered:―I‘m not pulling it, Mummy. I‘m holding
it , and the kitten‘s pulling‖.
Although punctuation marks are small aspect of grammar, they are one of the
many important elements of writing. Without them, sentence is not sentence.
Punctuation helps direct us through written language with its system of
symbols and the rules for using them. Correct usage of punctuation marks as
correct tense of verbs, correct forms of nouns, and so on, help we improve our
writing skill and learn better.

II. Aims of the study
Punctuation can be thought of as a means of indicating the pauses and
changes of tone that are used in speech to help communicate the meaning of
sentences. Punctuation help you to see the grammar of a sentence and which
parts belong together. It also helps you to understand how the sentences
would sound if the person using them is speaking instead of writing.
However, many people find using punctuation marks very confusing, and
even learners of English use punctuation badly or even incorrectly. So, my
research is designed in such a way that it helps the Vietnamese beginners of
English have basic knowledge of the punctuation marks, know their
importance and how to use them correctly in writing English through doing
some practicing exercises which will be available in the appendix.

III. Scope of the study
The use of punctuation marks can be very complex and flexible. Each
punctuation mark can be used in many different ways. Within the shortage of
time, experience, and references, it is impossible for me to study all

punctuation marks in English. So, I only choose to study the punctuation
marks that are most commonly used and suggest ways to avoid misusing

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them in writing. Moreover, I will give the explanations of their usages and
examples.

IV. Methods of the study
In order to complete my study on punctuation marks in writting English, the
following methods have been applied:
- Finding definitions of punctuation, classification of punctuation marks by
reading reference books and documents, accessing the internet, looking for
related dictionaries, and searching in library.
- Collecting specific examples.
- Having discussions with my supervior.

V. Design of the study
My research paper is divided into three parts :
* The first part is the Introduction which states the rationale, the aims, the
scope, the methods and the design of the research.
* The second part is the Development that includes three chapters :
- Chapter I is the theoretical background which states some definitions of
punctuation , classification of punctuation marks, the history of punctuation ,
and their roles in writting
- Chapter II is a research on two parts: The introduction of punctuation
marks, the functions of punctuation marks and how to use some common
punctuation marks in writing English.
- Chapter III is some attentions to avoid misuse of punctuation marks in

writing English.
* The last part is the Conclusion that includes the summary of the study,
suggestions for further study, and some practical excercises for a better use of
punctuation marks.

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PART II – DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I. The history of punctuation marks
Language was spoken before it was written. In speech, pauses are expressed
naturally. When telling a story, no one says the word ―comma‖ when the
story calls for a pause, or ―period‖ when an idea is complete. When language
first was written, however, the reader had to guess where the pauses and
breaks were. Indeed, readers in ancient times and the Middle Ages found it
very difficult to understand texts due to the lack of punctuation marks. In
ancient Greece, the preferred method of writing did not even allow spaces
between words. Reading and comprehending were difficult tasks that only
the best and most dedicated scholars could figure out.

According to historians, the ancient manuscripts had no punctuation, the
words had been written serial no spaces. In ancient Roman times, when
philosophers rewrote their speechs and lectures , they only used a single
punctuation to alluded to pause for breath and get their breath. The first
recognized formal system of punctuation was developed by the Greek scholar
Aristophanes of Byzantium (c 257 BC – c 185–180 BC), librarian at
Alexandria around 200 B.C. His system used only a set of three points of

varying heights (distinctiones):
-For a short passage (a komma), a ―media distinctio‖ dot was placed midlevel (·). This is the origin of the modern comma punctuation mark (a short
pause), and its name.
-For a longer passage (a colon), a ―subdistinctio dot‖ was placed level with
the bottom of the text (.), similar to a modern colon or semicolon.
-For very long pauses (periodos), a ―distinctio point‖ near the top of the line
of text (·).
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For centuries after the invention of punctuation it was used haphazardly and
illogically. William Caxton, who lived in the 15th century, is known to have
been the first British printer. His use of punctuation marks reveals no clear
system and often causes more confusion for the reader than it relieves.The
invention of the printing press was the catalyst for the development of
punctuation signs. For some 250 years after Caxton, printers both in the
British Empire and in the United States increasingly felt the need for an
adequate, understandable, and orderly system of punctuation. Their efforts
eventually resulted in a reasonably uniform code, but it was not until the
middle of the 19th century that books, magazines, and newspapers in the
English language adopted a system which generally would seem clear and
organically helpful to present-day readers. Other punctuation marks used in
modern English include parentheses, question mark, exclamation mark,
quotation marks, hyphen, apostrophe, backslash and ellipsis mark.
(Source:
Punctuation in English since 1600
/> />
II. Definition of punctuation marks
Punctuation is means to help readers easily understand the sentence. This is
considered the end stage of sentence structure. Theodore Bernstein - Editor of

The New York Time-ever compared punctuation as ―traffic signals‖ along
the way that readers are going.
The word ―punctuation‖ comes from the Latin word ―punctus‖, which means
―point‖. There are some definitions of punctuation marks which I know.

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According to A grammar of the English language(1998:186).Hanoi
University of Foreign Studies: ― The punctuation marks separate , group and
qualify words and elements in sentences; they help to suggest the pause ,
intonations, and gestures that would be used in speech. Eventually you may
be able to punctuate almost by habit , but you need to formyour habit
consciously according to accepted practices.‖

According

to

the

Wikipedia‘s

website:―Punctuation

marks

are symbols which indicate the structure and organization of written
language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading
aloud. In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning

of sentences.The rules of punctuation vary with language, location, register
and time and are constantly evolving. Certain aspects of punctuation are
stylistic and are thus the author's (or editor's) choice. Tachygraphic language
forms, such as those used in online chat and text messages, may have wildly
different rules.‖

In short, punctuation is the system of symbols that we use to separate
sentences and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear. Each
symbol is called a ―punctuation mark‖. The following punctuation marks are
commonly used in English: full stop / period, question mark, exclamation
mark, comma, colon, semi colon, quotation marks, hyphen , dash, apostrophe,
parentheses, square brackets, ellipsis, and slash.

Punctuation is a set of symbols used in writing to help indicate something
about the structure of sentences, or to assist readers in knowing when to
change the rhythm or the stress of their speaking. Depending on the style of
writing and the language used, punctuation may tend towards one of these
purposes more than the other. Common units of punctuation in English and
many other languages include the comma, period, apostrophe, quotation
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mark, question mark, exclamation mark, bracket, dash, hyphen, ellipsis,
colon, and semicolon. Each of these units indicates a different thing, and
some may have multiple meanings depending on context.

III. Classifications of punctuation marks
There are many ways to classify punctuation marks. According to ―A
University Grammar of English‖ of Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum,
punctuation is classified by functions. In ―A Grammar of the English

Language-1998‖ of Hanoi University of Foreign Studies, punctuation is
classified by place. And in ―Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization- A
Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors‖ of Mary K. McCaskill
(Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia), punctuation is classified by
syntax. However, the best way to remember how many punctuation marks
there are, that is the classification by place.
1.Punctuation marks classified by function
Punctuation is placed in text to make meaning clear and to make reading
easier. The function of a punctuation mark is the basis for the rules governing
its use and should be the basis for determining whether or not it is needed.
1.1.Separation of language function
a. Successive units
 Period/ Full stop
 Colon
 Semi colon
 Comma
 Hyphen
b.Included units
The two commonest types of included unit are:
 Parenthetic (Parentheses, comma, and dash)
 Quotation marks

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The punctuation marking such included units must be correlative, one
occurrence indicating the beginning of the inclusion , a second occurrence
indicating its completion.
1.2.Specification of language function
The functions most commonly specified by punctuation signs are questions,

exclamations, gentives , contractions, and addreviations.
 Period
 Question marks
 Exclamation mark
 Apostrophe

2.Punctuation marks classfied by place
This classification relies on the position of punctuation in sentence .
2.1.Separate punctuation marks
 Comma

 Quotation marks

 Semi colon

 Hyphen

 Colon

 Apostrophe

 Dash

 Slash

 Parentheses

 Ellipsis

 Square brackets

2.2.End punctuation marks
 Full stop or period
 Exclamation mark
 Question marks

3.Punctuation marks classified by syntax
The basic fact about contemporary English punctuation is that its markers can
be placed only at the syntactic junctures of a text (as external sentence-

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markers) and at the syntactic junctures of a sentence (as internal sentencemarkers).
3.1.The syntactic junctures of a text
The syntactic junctures of a text are the points between sentences. Those
points are necessarily marked by external sentence-markers:
 Full stop

 Colon

 Question mark

 Semi-colon

 Exclamation mark

3.2.The syntactic junctures of a sentence
The syntactic junctures of a sentence are the points where its parts meet.
Those points are marked, or left unmarked, in accordance with the part-ofspeech function of the coinciding parts. The internal sentence-markers are:

 Comma

 Dash

 Semi colon

 Parentheses

 Colon

 Square brackets

But, if the punctuation marks are classified into syntactic, two markers, the
apostrophe ( ‘ ) and the hyphen ( - ), are not punctuation marks because they
are morphological, as distinct from syntactic markers: They are markers of
words, not of sentences.
(Source: />
IV. Punctuation in different sentence structures
Punctuation marks are the signposts in the structure of sentences. They guide
you when looking at the way sentences are made up.You should be familiar
with basic sentence construction, made up of a subject, object and verb, and
understand the purpose of using basic punctuation such as commas and full
stops.

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1.Punctuation in simple sentence
A simple sentence is composed of 1 independent clause.
There is no standard punctuation for simple sentences, almost punctuation

marks can be used.
Ex: I play CDs.
The subject 'I' carries out an action 'play' and this is related to the object 'CDs'.
The sentence starts with a capitalised word and ends with a full stop.

2.Punctuation in compound sentence
A compound sentence is composed of 2 or more independent clauses.
- 2 independent clauses can be joined by a comma and a coordinating
conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so).
Ex: Road construction can be inconvenient, but it is necessary.

- 2 independent clauses can be joined by a colon when you wish to
emphasize the second clause.
Ex: Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town: parts of
Main, Fifth, and West Street are closed during the construction.

- 2 independent clauses can be joined by a semicolon when the second
clause restates the first or when the two clauses are of equal emphasis.
Ex: Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town; streets
have become covered with bulldozers, trucks, and cones.

3. Punctuation in complex sentence
A copmplex sentence is composed of 1 or more dependent clauses and 1 or
more independent clauses.
- An introductory dependent clause with the independent clause can be
joined by a comma.

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Ex:

Because road construction has hindered travel around town, many

people have opted to ride bicycles or walk to work.
Many people have opted to ride bicycles or walk to work because road
construction has hindered travel around town.

4. Punctuation in compound-complex sentence
A compound-complex sentence is composed of 1 or more dependent clauses
and 2 or more independent clauses.
- An introductory dependent clause with an independent clause can be
joined by a comma. Separate 2 independent clauses with a comma and
a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so).
Ex: When it is filtered, water is cleaner, and it tastes better.
- An introductory dependent clause with an independent clause can be
joined by a comma. Separate 2 independent clauses by a colon when
you wish to emphasize the second clause.
Ex: Whenever it is possible, you should filter your water: filtered water is
cleaner and tastes better.

- An introductory dependent clause with an independent clause can be
joined by a comma. Separate 2 independent clauses by a semicolon
when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses are of
equal emphasis.
Ex:

When it is filtered, water is cleaner and tastes better; all things

considered, it is better for you.

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CHAPTER 2
THE PUNCTUATION MARKS IN WIRTING ENGLISH

I. An overview on punctuation marks
According to ―Collins easy learning Grammar & Punctuation‖ by Harper
Collins Publishers - First edition 2009, ―English – Vietnamese dictionary (Từ
điển Anh- Việt)‖ by Trung tâm khoa học xã hội và nhân văn Quốc gia, Viện
ngôn ngữ học, and there are 14 marks which punctuated in writing English.

1.1. Full stop(Brit) or Period(Us)
It is the punctuation mark consisting of one dot.The full stop symbol
derives from Aristophanes of Byzantium who invented the system of
punctuation where the height of placement of a dot on the line determined its
meaning. The word period comes from periodos (a going round) which in
turn was derived from peri (round, about) and hodos (a way). For very long
pauses (periodos), a ―distinctio point‖ near the top of the line of text (·). The
meaning is clear: the end of a sentence, which most often requires a period,
marks a cycle, a circumference, of thought and expression.

1.2. Comma
It is the punctuation mark and has the same shape as an apostrophe or
single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from
them in being placed on the baseline of the text. Some typefaces
render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight, or with the appearance of
a small filled-in number 9. In the 3rd century BC, Aristophanes of
Byzantium invented a system of single dots. For a short passage (a

komma), a media distinctio dot was placed mid-level ( · ). This is the
origin of the concept of a comma, though the name came to be used for the
mark itself instead of the clause it separated.

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1.3. Colon
It is a punctuation mark consisting of two equally sized dots centered
on the same vertical line. In the 3rd century BC, Aristophanes of
Byzantium invented a system of single dots.For a longer passage (a colon), a
―subdistinctio dot‖ was placed level with the bottom of the text (.), similar to
a modern colon or semicolon.

1.4. Semi colon
A semicolon is a punctuation mark consisting of one dot and one
comma centered on the same vertical line. It‘s a stronger stop than a
comma but not as strong as a period. The Italian printer Aldus
Manutius the elder was the first to use the semicolon to separate words
opposed in meaning and to mark off interdependent statements.The
earliest general use of the semicolon occured in 1591; Ben Johnson was
the first English writer of note to use the semicolon systematically. By
the late 18th century, the semicolon had gained widespread acceptance
throughout Europe.

1.5. Question mark
This symbol originated from the Latin questiō, meaning "question",
which was abbreviated during the Middle Ages to Qo. The uppercase
Q was written above the lowercase o, and this mark was transformed
into the modern symbol. However, evidence of the actual use of the Q-over-o

notation in mediaeval manuscripts is lacking; if anything, mediaeval forms of
the upper component seem to be evolving towards the q-shape rather than
away from it.

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1.6. Exclamation mark (Brit) or Exclamation point (Us)
The exclamation mark comes from the term note of admiration, in
which admiration referred to its Latin sense of wonderment. One
theory of its origin is that it was originally the Latin word for joy,
Io, written with the I written above the o.
The exclamation mark was introduced into English printing in the 15th
century, and was called the "sign of admiration or exclamation" or the "note
of admiration" until the mid 17th century. In German orthography, the sign
made its first appearance in the Luther Bible in 1797.
1.7. Apostrophe ( ‘ or ')
It is a punctuation mark, has the same shape as an comma
or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it
differs from them in being placed on the top right of the
text. The

modern apostrophe is derived from a medieval mark of

abbreviation, a suspension mark indicating that some letters are missing (and
therefore we use the apostrophe to mark a contraction).
1.8. Quotation marks (Brit ‗ ‘ ) or (Us ― ‖ )
They are punctuation marks used in
pairs to set off speech, a quotation, a
phrase, or a word. They come as a pair

of opening and closing marks in either of two styles: single (‗…‘) or double
(―…‖).
In the first centuries of typesetting, quotations were distinguished merely by
indicating the speaker, and this can still be seen in some editions of the Bible.
Quotation marks were first cut in metal type during the middle of the
sixteenth century, and were used copiously by some printers by the
seventeenth. In Early Modern English, quotation marks were used only to
denote pithy comments. They first began to quote direct speech in 1714. By

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1749 single quotation marks, or inverted commas, were commonly used to
denote direct speech.

1.9. Parenthese (( ))
The earliest type to appear in English fifteenth-century.

1.10. Square brakets ([ ])
Do not confuse them with parentheses, which are curved like
this ( ). It invented in fifteenth-century.

1.11. Hyphen ( a-b)
A hyphen(-) is smaller than a dash. The first use of the hyphen—and
its origination—is often credited to Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz,
Germany circa 1455 with the publication of his 42-line Bible.
1.12. Dash ( a – b )
A dash is a punctuation mark. It is similar in
appearance to a hyphen, but a dash is longer and it
is used differently. The most common versions of

the dash are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).It has an
eighteenth century invention.
1.13. Dots (Brit) or Ellispis (Us) ( … )
The ellipsis (three spaced dots) is used to show that you
have left something out of a passage you are quoting. You
can also use ellipsis to show a pause in a conversation.

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