Punctuations are like the traffic signals of written

English. These small marks, like periods, commas,

question marks, exclamation points, colons,
semicolons, quotation marks, apostrophes,
hyphens, and dashes, play a crucial role in ensuring
clear and effective communication. Without proper
punctuation, a sentence can become confusing
Punctuatio misleading, or even change its meaning entirely.

n Imagine reading a sentence that just runs on and

on, with no stops or breaks – it would be difficult to
understand! Punctuation helps us understand the
flow of ideas, separates independent clauses, and
indicates pauses etc. By mastering punctuation,
English learners can ensure their writing is clear,
professional, and interpreted exactly as intended.
  A teacher said,
 A woman: without her man, is
nothing.
Example
 A woman: without her, man is
nothing.
  Definition: Terminal Punctuation
marks are used to end a sentence
and sometimes a word too.
Terminal
Punctuatio  Period/Full Stop (.)
n  Exclamation Mark (!)
 Question Mark (?)
  Definition: The period or full stop is
used to mark the end of two types of
sentences:
 Declarative Sentences
 I teach English.
Period/Full
 Our class will end this week in sha
Stop Allah.
 We should have a sound breakfast in
the morning.
  Please don’t feed the birds.
 Let me know what time your flight
arrives.
 If it rains tomorrow, bring your
Imperative umbrella.
Sentences  Shut the door.
 He is asking if you could please help
him.
  Definition: The Exclamation mark is
used to convey strong emotions.
 I am really excited about my new job!
 I will mark you absent if you come
Exclamatio
late tomorrow!
n Mark (!)
 Don’t play with your life!
 Ooh! You just stepped on my foot.
  Definition: A question mark is used
to mark the end of a question:
 What do you do?
Question  How is your father now?
Mark (?)  Is it your pen?
 Where do you live?
 Are we there yet?
  It is used for two purposes:
 For contraction and to mark
possession.
Apostroph
e (‘)  They’re coming.
 He isn’t the student of this class.
 He’s at college.
  Have you seen Ali’s car?
 It’s my brother’s marriage.
 Army’s rules are said to be very
tough.
Apostroph  This book’s page number 107 is a
e must readable.
 His mobile’s battery is damaged.
 It’s and its.
 Shams’
 A:
1. Cat’s
2. Aren’t
3. I’d
4. Let’s
Answers of 5. Ali’s
Exercise 1: 6. Children’s
A, B 7. Won’t
8. Isn’t
9. Captain’s
10.There’s
 B:
1. Contraction
2. Possession
3. Contraction
4. Possession
5. Contraction
6. Possession
7. Contraction
8. Possession
9. Contraction
10.Possession
  Definition: Hyphens are used to link
words with each other in order to
make a new word.
 It is a one-way street.
 He is talking to his father-in-law.
Hyphen  Her mother-in-law loves her a lot.
 She has 3 brother-in-laws.
 I bought him chocolate-covered
biscuits.
 He is the student of pre-engineering.
  A:
1. High-tech
2. Wide-brimmed
3. Half-moon

Exercise 2. 4. Chocolate-chip

A, B 5. Heavy-duty

Hyphen 6. World-class
7. Bright-red
8. Long-distance
9. No hyphen is needed
10.Bird-feeder
 B:
1. Turquoise-colored
2. No Hyphen (Separate Words)
3. No Hyphen (Separate Words)
4. Forty-two-year-old
5. Well-known
  Definition: A dash is used before a name
indicating a source of the preceding
material, for, from and to, use it instead of
parenthesis in the middle of a sentence.

 Democracy is the government of the

Dash people, for the people and by the people.
— Abraham Lincoln
 He worked in this company from 2018—
2020.
 He told us (about his life) in English.
 He told us—about his life—in English.
  We use double inverted commas for
Direct Speech, for quotation or for an
important sentence and even words.
 He said, “I will not attend the class”.
Single/
Double  Quaid-azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Inverted was a great intellectual. I love his
quotations. In one of his quotations
Commas he says, “There is no power in the
world to undo Pakistan”.
 1. Mom said, “Clean your room before you go outside and play.”
2. The advertisement declared, “This product is a miracle cure.”
3. Shakespeare wrote the famous play, Hamlet.
4. “Let’s go for a hike in the mountains this weekend.”
suggested Sarah.

Exercise 3 5. The warning sign read, “Danger: High Voltage.”

6. “May the force be with you,” is a famous line from Star Wars.
Inverted 7. Grandma always says, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a

Commas man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

8. Are you sure you heard him say, “I won’t be home for
dinner?”

9. The title of the book is “Pride and Prejudice.”

10.“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” is a wise saying.
11. “Is this the right bus for downtown?” I asked the stranger.

12. The teacher announced, “The test will begin in five

minutes.”

13. The doctor advised “Get plenty of rest and take your
medicine on time.”

14. The famous quote, “I have a dream,” belongs to Martin

Luther King Jr.

15. The newspaper headline screamed, “Local Hero Saves

Family from Fire!”

16. The GPS announced, “Recalculating route…..”

17. We sang along the lyrics, “You’ve got a friend in me.”

18. The fortune cookie message read, “Great things are coming
your way.”

19. “Where are you going?” Dad asked curiously.

20. The movie poster boasted, “The summer’s hottest

blockbuster!”
  Definition: We use Ellipsis to show
hesitation or ambiguity in a sentence
or to leave the statement incomplete.
 I uh…… I don’t know.
Ellipsis  He is……. He is not coming.
 The question is that …………
 Can you………….
 A:
The high-wire walker announced with a
confident grin, “I’ll cross the tightrope
Exercise 4: blindfolded!” The crowd gasped, some
even yelled, “It’s too dangerous!” But
Overall the determined performer ignored
exercise for them, focused only on the long, thin
Week 1 wire stretched between the buildings.
Taking a deep breath, he began his
precarious journey, inching his way
across the rope.
 B:
The mailman greeted Sarah with a wide
grin. “Didn’t you order a self-help book
yesterday? It’s right here,” he said, holding
up a bright pink package with a title that
screamed “Find Your Inner Superhero.”
Sarah laughed. “I can’t believe you
remembered!” She snatched the package,
practically ripping it open with excitement.
“This is perfect for my upcoming
presentation at work,” she thought.
“Maybe it’ll even help me conquer my
stage fright!”
 C:
The chef served a delicious dish
called chicken pot-pie. It looked
amazing on the plate: however,
when I took a bite, something
didn’t taste quite right. I looked
closer and saw a tiny green object
nestled amongst the vegetables.
It was a peapod! I couldn’t believe
it. I never eat peas.
  Definition: Pauses are the signs of
punctuations in English which are
used to tell the reader to pause for a
while.
 These are
Pauses  Comma (,)
 Semicolon (;)
 Colon (:)
 a) It is used to separate items in
a list
I want to buy sugar, milk, eggs, flour, fruits and
vegetables.
I want to take English and Computer classes.
We need to buy eggs and flour for the cake.
Comma b) Separate words that are not the part of the
sentence.
We usually put it at the end of sentence
adverbs: unfortunately, frankly, hopefully,
sadly, etc.
Unfortunately, he missed his flight.
  I need to buy apples, bananas, and oranges
at the grocery store.
 The children played with dolls, cars, and
blocks in the sandbox.

Answers of  He packed a swimsuit, a towel, and

sunscreen for the beach.
Exercise 1,  They visited Paris, Rome, and London on their
A: European vacation.
 The restaurant served pasta, pizza, and salad
as appetizer.
 b)Forms of Address:
 Ali, can you answer this
question?
Comma  Ma’am, can I get my result?
 Sir, could you please repeat the
last topic.
 1. Ahmad, could you please pass the salt?
2. I believe, Sarah, that you have the
wrong answer.
3. Listen up, It’s time for an
Answers of announcement.
Exercise B: 4. You know Ali, you are absolutely right.
5. Excuse me sir, you dropped your wallet.
 c)Use of Comma after dependent
clause but if it comes first in the
sentence.

 When I was a child, I was very sick.

Comma  I was very sick when I was a child.

 While going for the marriage party, I bought
a gift for the groom.
 Because he didn’t study, he failed.
 1. Because I love to read, I spend most of my
free time with a book.
2. Although it was raining heavily, we decided
to go for a walk.
3. When the sun finally set, the sky was ablaze
Answers of with vibrant colors.
4.
Exercise C: If you want to succeed, you must work hard
and be persistent.
5. Since I had finished my work early, I decided
to treat myself to a movie.
 d) We can use it in the middle of
two independent clauses right
before the coordinating
conjunction.
 They offered him a promotion, but he denied
it.
Comma  I was waiting for the doctor, but he never
came.
 He is tall, but his brother is short.
 She studied hard, so she got first position.
 1. I love to read books, but I also enjoy watching movies.
2. She finished her homework early, so she decided to
watch a movie.
3. The sun was shining brightly, and the birds were singing
happily.
Answers of 4. He wanted to go to the party, but he had to study for a
Exercise D: test.
5. They ordered pizza for dinner, or they could have
ordered Chinese food.
  Definition: The semicolon (;) is
used to combine closely related
sentences:
 I thought the food was amazing. He thought it was
terrible.

Semicolo  I thought the food was amazing; he thought it was

terrible.
n  It’s a great book; in fact, I love reading it.
 She was very eager to start the job; nevertheless,
she was afraid of failure.
 Ali wanted to go to the party; however, he had to
study for exam.
 1. The sun was shining brightly; the birds were singing
happily.
2. I love to eat ice cream; it’s my favorite dessert.
3. She is a talented artist; she paints beautiful pictures.
4. The book was very interesting; I could not put it
down.
5. He is a kind and gentle person; everyone likes him.
Answers of 6. The children were playing in the park; they were
Exercise 2 having fun.
7. It was a cold winter day; we stayed inside and played
games.
8. She baked a delicious cake; it smelled amazing.
9. The movie was exciting; I was on the edge of my
seat.
10.We went to the beach; we built sandcastles and
swam in the ocean.
  A Colon is a punctuation mark than can
be used in the following ways:
 Before a list that is introduced by a complete
sentence.
i. The reporter interviewed the following people:
the department heads, the members of the
Colon faculty council, and a representative group of
students.
ii. I invited the following people to my party: Ali,
Ahmad and their families.
iii. We will need the following ingredients: milk,
sugar, flour, and eggs.
 1. The grocery store had a wide variety of fresh
produce: crisp, apples, juicy oranges, ripe
bananas, and plump berries.
2. She packed her suitcase with essential items for
her trip: comfortable clothes, toiletries, a good
book, and her camera.
Exercise 3, 3. The restaurant offered a diverse menu: vegetarian
options, seafood dishes, and homemade pasta.
A: 4. To make a delicious smoothie, you’ll need these
ingredients: frozen berries, yogurt, a banana, and
handful of spinach.
5. The library had a vast collection of books: classic
novels: thrilling mysteries: informative
biographies: and engaging children’s stories.
 To introduce the effect, or logical
consequence of an action.
i. There was only one way he could win: he had to
cheat.
Colon ii. She forgot her umbrella: got drenched in the
sudden downpour.
iii. The hikers underestimated the trail’s difficulty:
they were exhausted by nightfall.
 1. He practiced diligently for months: her hard
work paid off with a flawless performance.
2. The company implemented strict cost-cutting
measures: layoffs and reduced benefits
became inevitable.
Answers of 3. He chose to ignore the warning signs: disaster
struck when the storm hit.
Exercise B 4. We invested heavily in renewable energy: our
carbon footprint decreased significantly.
5. The detective followed the clues meticulously:
the truth about the crime was revealed.
 It can be used before a quotation:
i. This is what Plato had to say about
mathematicians: “I have hardly ever known a
mathematician who was capable of reasoning.”
ii. The wise old man offered this sage advice:
Colon “Knowledge is power, but wisdom is the true
strength.”
iii. The motivational speaker concluded with a
powerful statement: “Believe in yourself, and the
world will believe in you.”
 1. The professor began the lecture with a
famous quote: “To be or not to be, that is the
question.”
2. The child’s favorite bedtime story started with
these words: “Once upon a time….”
3. The motivational speaker emphasized: “The
Answers of only limits you have, are the ones you set for
Exercise C yourself.”
4. The news anchor solemnly announced: “We
interrupt this program with breaking news….”
5. The poet penned a powerful line: “Hope is the
thing with feathers that perches in the soul.”
 After salutation in a business letter or
memo:
i. Dear Senator XYZ:
ii. Dear Mr. Ali: Thank you for your prompt
Colon response to our inquiry regarding the
project.
iii. Dear Sir or Madam: Please find enclosed the
necessary documents.
 To separate hours from minutes
or minutes from seconds and to
show ratios.
Colon i. Ali, please set the alarm clock for 6:00
ii. Mix the oil and vinegar at a 1:2 ratio.
iii. The train arrives at 10:35.