tailieunhanh - Oxford practice grammar with answers part 39

Appendix 3: Punctuation A Full stop (.), question mark (?) and exclamation mark (!) A sentence ends with one of these punctuation marks. Full stop: It's cold today. The office was closed. Please be careful Question mark: Who's that? Did you see the show? Could you wait, please? Exclamation mark: Oh, no! I don't believe it! In the US a full stop is called a 'period'. | Appendix 3 Punctuation A Full stop . question mark and exclamation mark A sentence ends with one of these punctuation marks. Full stop It s cold today. The office was closed. Please be careful Question mark Who s that Didyou see the show Could you wait please Exclamation mark Oh no I don t believe it In the US a full stop is called a period . B Semi-colon We can use a semi-colon between two separate statements which are linked in meaning. Melanie is a very kind person she visits David in hospital every day. We could also use a full stop here. C Colon We can use a colon before an explanation or before a list. Vicky felt nervous she hated the dark. There wasn t much in the fridge a couple of sausages some butter half a bottle of milk. D Dash - A dash is rather informal. It is sometimes used instead of a colon or a semi-colon. I m having a great time - there s lots to do here. Vicky felt nervous - she hated the dark. E Comma We often use a comma when we link two statements with and but or or. Daniel was tired and his feet were hurting. It s a really good camera but I can t afford it. Note the two subjects in each sentence Daniel. his feet and It. I. When there is only one subject we do not use a comma. Daniel sat down and took his shoes off. We can also use a comma when a sentence has a linking word like when or although. When the office is busy Sarah has to work late. For commas with relative clauses see Unit 141. Sometimes a comma can separate off an adverb or a phrase. Sarah unfortunately has to work late. On busy days Sarah has to work late. Here the commas separate off on busy days and unfortunately. The rules about commas are not very exact. In general commas are more likely around longer phrases. With a short phrase there is often no comma. On busy days Sarah has to work late. Sometimes she has to work late. It is less usual to separate off something at the end of the sentence. Sarah has to work late when the office is busy. She stayed late to get the work .