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Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
Punctuation can be used to introduce ambiguity or misunderstandings where none needed to exist. One well known example, [17] for comedic effect, is from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (ignoring the punctuation provides the alternate reading). Enter QUINCE for the Prologue Prologue If we offend, it is with our good will.
In British English, punctuation marks such as full stops and commas are placed inside the quotation mark only if they are part of what is being quoted, and placed outside the closing quotation mark if part of the containing sentence. In American English, however, such punctuation is generally placed inside the closing quotation mark regardless.
Hebrew punctuation – Punctuation conventions of the Hebrew language over time; Glossary of mathematical symbols; Japanese punctuation; Korean punctuation; Ordinal indicator – Character(s) following an ordinal number (used of the style 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or as superscript, 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th or (though not in English) 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º).
For example, the 1998 edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage used full point for the mark used after an abbreviation, but full stop or full point when it was employed at the end of a sentence; [10] the 2015 edition, however, treats them as synonymous (and prefers full stop), [11] and New Hart's Rules does likewise (but prefers full point). [12]
A number of style guides exist to provide writing standards for various professions. For example, the 2009 edition of the Associated Press Stylebook calls for a single space following the terminal punctuation of a sentence. [46] The Associated Press represents over 300 locations worldwide. [47]
Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage provides an early example of the rule: "All signs of punctuation used with words in quotation marks must be placed according to the sense." [28] When dealing with words-as-words, short-form works and sentence fragments, this style places periods and commas outside the quotation marks:
A sentence consisting of at least one dependent clause and at least two independent clauses may be called a complex-compound sentence or compound-complex sentence. Sentence 1 is an example of a simple sentence. Sentence 2 is compound because "so" is considered a coordinating conjunction in English, and sentence 3 is complex.