How to use various punctuation marks?

Common punctuation marks usage

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1. Types and usages of punctuation marks

(1) Period marks

1. The period mark at the end of a sentence

includes three types: period, question mark, and exclamation mark, indicating a large pause after finishing a sentence.

(1) Period (.)

Period is used at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a pause after the declarative sentence is completed. For example:

① People across the country, especially young people, must seriously study and understand the history of the motherland, especially the history of modern times.

② Please close the door.

③ We must go back today.

④The get out of class is over.

No matter how long the sentence is, as long as it is a declarative sentence with a complete structure and independent meaning, a period pause should be used after the sentence. Imperative sentences with a soothing tone (such as Example 2), declarative sentences with emphasis (such as Example 3), and sometimes single-word sentences without a main clause (such as Example 4) also use periods to express the declarative tone.

(2) Question mark (?)

Question mark is used at the end of a sentence to express a questioning tone. For example:

Why are you back so late today?

Who is he? From where?

When using question marks, you should pay attention to the following points:

① Rhetorical questions and hypothetical questions are both doubtful questions. The former only asks but does not answer, and the definite meaning to be expressed is contained in the question; the latter asks and answers itself in order to attract the reader's attention, but both are in a questioning mood, so a question mark is used at the end of the sentence. For example:

During the fierce war, didn’t we once walk back and forth in the fields looking for weeds?

Who created the human world? It’s us working people.

②Although the choice question contains two or more choices, it is still a complete sentence and expresses a complete meaning. Therefore, only one question mark is used in the sentence, and each item in the sentence is Use commas between them; but sometimes in order to emphasize the independence of each option, you can also use a question mark after each item. For example:

Did she become a beggar after leaving her fourth uncle's house, or did she first go to Mrs. Wei's house and then become a beggar?

Should you invigilate the exam tomorrow, or should I invigilate the exam?

What about standing in front of them and leading them? Or stand behind them and criticize them? Or stand on the opposite side of people and oppose them?

③Some imperative sentences expressing a euphemistic tone can also use a question mark at the end of the sentence. For example:

Can you please move your stool a little?

Would you like to come over?

④ In some question sentences, the subject and predicate are inverted, so be careful to put the question mark at the end of the sentence. For example:

What's wrong, you?

⑤ Although some sentences contain interrogative words (who, what, how, etc.), they are not really asking questions, but expressing a declarative mood, so periods are used. For example:

I don’t know who he picked up at the station.

I have nothing, but I don’t know what others think.

(3) Exclamation mark (!)

The exclamation mark indicates a pause at the end of an emotionally charged sentence.

① Indicates the pause at the end of an exclamatory sentence. For example:

Once it takes root, it is not afraid of being trampled or ravaged, but it still gets up again and again and blooms with tiny flowers!

Sing to welcome Hong Kong’s return!

② Use exclamation points for imperative sentences with a very strong tone. For example:

Sister-in-law Xianglin, just leave it alone!

③ Use an exclamation point after a strong rhetorical question. For example:

There is nothing in the world that does not contain contradictions!

④ Exclamation points can be used for single-word sentences with strong tone, non-subject-predicate sentences and exclamations with strong emotions. For example:

Long distance!

Plane!

Ah! You're on the wrong track.

⑤ Use exclamation points after salutations, responses and onomatopoeia, and at the end of slogans if they contain strong emotions.

2. Sentence dots

There are four types of dots: comma, semicolon, pause and colon, which indicate pauses and structural relationships in the sentence.

(1) Comma (,)

Indicates a pause in the middle of a sentence.

① In complex sentences, commas are often used within or between clauses. For example:

Although the so-called memories can make people happy, sometimes they can also make people lonely. What is the meaning of having the spiritual thread still holding the lonely time that has passed away? And I am suffering from this. You can't completely forget it. This part that can't be completely forgotten has now become the origin of "The Scream".

② When the subject of the sentence (a complex phrase is the subject) is long, or when the subject is short but needs to be emphasized, or when there is a modal particle after the subject, a comma should be used after the subject. For example:

This huge blow and unspeakable grief almost knocked Wu Jichang down.

He is our class teacher, Teacher Liu.

You are so disappointing.

③ The predicate of the sentence is a subject-predicate phrase. Sometimes the subject needs to pause, so use a comma. For example:

Lu Xun had long opposed this foreign stereotype.

④ When the object of the sentence is long, use a comma in front of it. For example:

I remember that she was still a naive little girl at that time.

⑤ The adverbial is at the beginning of the sentence, and a comma is used after the adverbial. For example:

In the blink of an eye, four large piles of firewood at Gangjian Gangjian are ready!

⑥ Used between inverted sentence components. For example:

Come out, you guys! (subject-verb inversion)

There are many lush trees growing on all sides of the lotus pond. (attributive postposition)

Our motherland is leaping forward at a high speed, along the road to victory. (Adverbial postposition)

⑦ Used between parallel phrases. For example:

Tongmuling, Huangyangjie, Zhushachong, Bamianshan and Shuangmashi are the five major outposts of Jinggangshan.

Pencils, erasers, electronic calculators, various compasses, large and small plastic triangles, occupy half of the desk. (Because some of the listed ingredients are long and the pauses are large)

Rice, wheat, cotton, chemical fertilizers, petroleum, and coal are all materials purchased and sold by the state. (Because there are different levels between items, commas are used to distinguish different parallel levels, and spaces are used to indicate the parallelism of various components in the same level)

⑧ Used after related words. For example:

He is not working very hard yet, but compared with before, he has made considerable progress.

⑨ Some special elements in a sentence are generally separated from other elements by commas. For example:

Lao Li, our monitor, went to Beijing yesterday to receive an award. (Apposition)

What kind of class, or more precisely, what kind of class position one stands on, has what kind of ideal. (Insert)

(2) Semicolon.

① Indicates the pause between parallel clauses within a complex sentence. For example:

With this style of work, if you use it to discipline yourself, you will harm yourself; if you use it to teach others, you will harm others; if you use it to guide the revolution, you will harm the revolution.

② Sometimes semicolons are also used in repeated sentences that are not parallel. For example:

Citizens of our country who are over 18 years old, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, occupation, family origin, religious belief, education, property status, or length of residence, have the right to vote and be elected; Exceptions are made for persons deprived of political rights in accordance with the law. (Transitional relationship)

If you use a comma in this sentence, it will be difficult to distinguish the two meanings. If you use a period instead, it will cut off the coherent meaning, so use a semicolon. For example:

I have been warned a long time ago, "Sir, I'd better write a little; Liu Hezhen loved to read his articles when he was alive." (used in causal sentences to express two meanings)

Some points that should be noted when using semicolons:

① Single sentence parallelism requires a coherent momentum. Generally, commas are used instead of semicolons. For example:

Treat your comrades as warm as spring, treat your work as hot as summer, treat individualism as the autumn wind sweeps away fallen leaves, and treat your enemies as ruthlessly as the harsh winter.

② Parallel relative sentences, use commas instead of semicolons for shorter clauses. For example:

Modility makes people progress, pride makes people fall behind.

Zhang Hua was admitted to Peking University and Li Ping was admitted to a technical secondary school.

(3) The pause mark (,)

The pause mark represents the smallest pause inside a sentence, and is often used between parallel words or phrases, for example:

(The field director) introduced us to the wild animals that Dong Kun and the others hunted: fox, box, Yao, Shui Lai, wild cat... there were many kinds.

① If there are conjunctions "and", "and", "and", "or", "or", etc. in the parallel words, there is no need to use a comma. ("And" conjunctions are generally used between parallel words with only two items or between the last two items of multiple parallel words.)

② If there are parallel words in the parallel words, the large parallel words Use commas and pauses between small words. For example:

The explosion of atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs, and the launch and recovery of artificial satellites mark that the development of science and technology in our country has reached a new level.

③ Parallel words are used as predicates and complements. Instead of commas between parallel words, use commas. For example:

You must continue to improve, become literate, and produce.

This story is true and touching.

④ Some parallel words do not pause or have a small pause when reading, and there is no ambiguity. In this case, there is no need to add a pause in the middle. For example:

This is a completely unrelated matter.

(4) Colon (:)

① Used after the salutation at the beginning of letters and speeches, it means to attract others’ attention; used after “so-and-so said”, Indicates that the following is a quote.

② Used after a general statement to indicate that there will be detailed explanations later or to indicate that the words before the colon cause the following words. For example:

There are several postures for spinning: you can spin while sitting on a futon, you can spin while sitting on a low stool, or you can spin while standing with the spinning wheel raised high.

③ Used at the end of a prompt to indicate what is to be said, what is thought, or what is analyzed later. For example:

I think: Hope does not matter whether it exists or not.

④ Used before explaining descriptive words. For example:

...Marx discovered the law of development of human history, which is a simple fact that has always been concealed by complicated ideologies: people must first eat, drink, live, and clothe, and then...

⑤ Used in front of a summary to summarize the above. For example:

Zhang Hua was admitted to Peking University and studied in the Department of Chemistry; Li Chong entered a secondary technical school and majored in mechanical manufacturing; I worked as a salesperson in a department store: we all have a bright future. (A colon is used before an umbrella statement)

The colon’s prompting effect should be played to the end of the sentence, that is to say, the colon should last until the end of the sentence, not just in the middle of the sentence. If you want to cover several sentences or a paragraph, you usually need to use sequence words or quotation marks. For example:

…The party’s discipline must be reiterated: (1) individuals obey the collective; (2) the minority obeys the majority; (3) subordinates obey superiors; (4) the entire party obeys the central government.

He continued: "It has been raining heavily here recently. Mom has gone to Beijing. Xiaohong went to high school."

Be careful when using colons:

< p>Use "xx said" before the quotation with a colon; between the quotation with a comma; after the quotation with a period. For example:

He was very surprised and said: "Ah, it turns out to be you!"

"Comrades!" the district party committee secretary said, "The names on this district party member registration form 34 people, except for Comrade Lao Zhao and Huang Shuying, and except for the traitor Huang Youcai, the rest are here."

"What a coincidence, the store is already full," the proprietress said with an apology.

(2) Labels

Labels mainly indicate the nature and function of statements, including quotation marks, dashes, brackets, ellipses, emphasis marks, book title numbers, connection numbers and special numbers.

(1) Quotation marks ("")

① Indicates direct quotation, for example:

It immediately reminds people of Du Fu's poem: "Qun Shan Wanzheng went to Xingmen, and Mingfei still had a village."

② indicates emphasis. For example:

Indentured workers do not have the freedom to "do" or "not do".

③ Expresses sarcasm and denial. For example:

Do you want it to "remain famous forever"? A few "kind" bosses went to the market to collect some vegetable leaves and soaked them in salt. This was their rare delicacy.

④ indicates a specific title. For example:

"Lu Chai Bang" is anxious to bring the porridge in the big pot to a boil.

⑤ Sometimes used to quote idioms, proverbs, idioms, etc. For example:

"Like bathing in the spring breeze", well, the spring breeze makes people happy and exciting!

When using quotation marks, please note:

① When there are quotations within the quotation, use double quotation marks on the outer layer and single quotation marks on the inner layer: If there are two quotation marks within the single quotation marks, For quotations, use double quotation marks, and so on. For example:

(A lady) went on to explain: "When harvesting beans and sweet potatoes, fill them with fat. The meat is fragrant and rich in oil. As the saying goes, 'Eight pounds of meat is filled with seven pounds of oil.'"

② If the quotation is an independent sentence with complete meaning, put the period mark at the end of the sentence inside the quotation marks. For example:

I think of Jia Dao's poem in the Tang Dynasty: "Only in this mountain, the clouds are deep and I don't know where to go."

③ The quotation is incomplete or the quotation is part of my own words. , at this time, the period mark at the end of the sentence (except for question marks and exclamations) is placed outside the back quotation marks. For example:

When writing an article, you should "see the strangeness in ordinary words, the danger in common words, the novelty in old words, and the color in plain words".

④ If the quotation has several consecutive paragraphs, use a front quotation mark at the beginning of each paragraph, and use a back quotation mark until the end of the last paragraph.

⑤ If you only express the general idea of ??what others said and do not quote them as they are, no quotation marks are needed.

(2) Dash (——)

① Indicates that the dash is followed by an explanation. For example:

The boss or the handyman holds stacks of rosters and stands lazily at the main entrance - in front of a wooden barrier that looks like a ticket office at a train station.

② Indicates the progression of meaning. For example:

Every year - especially during times of floods and droughts, these leading workers with connections in Japanese factories...

③ Indicates a change, jump or turning of meaning. For example:

"The dried rice smells so good - have you heard the news?" Mr. Zhao Qi said standing behind Qijin and opposite Qijin's sister-in-law.

I didn’t want to go at first, but my mother-in-law insisted that I go and see him again - what’s there to see!

④ Indicates the prolongation of speech. For example:

We call out affectionately in front of Tiananmen: Zhou——President——Limitor

⑤ Indicates a large pause or interruption in speech. For example:

Lu Daiping: Relative?

Zhou Puyuan: Well, - we want to repair her tomb.

⑥ means summarizing the above. For example:

Making trouble, failing, making trouble again, failing again, until destruction - this is the logic of imperialism and all reactionaries in the world towards the people's cause, and they will never violate this logic.

⑦ Used before subtitles. For example:

Burning at the stake - in memory of Giordano Bruno

⑧ Indicates the enumeration and inheritance of matters. For example:

In the past five years, driven by reform and opening up, our country's national economy has continued to develop, and the overall situation is very good.

——The national economic strength continues to be significantly enhanced

——The major proportional relationships of the national economy are further harmonized, and macroeconomic benefits have been improved.

——The living standards of urban and rural people have further improved.

(3) Brackets (())

Brackets indicate the annotated part of the text. The comments in parentheses are relatively general and have no specific restrictions. Generally, there is no need to read them out. For example:

① The discovery of Chinese ape-man (full name "Chinese ape-man Peking species", referred to as "Peking man") in my country is a major contribution to paleoanthropology.

② He cultivated many fragrant flowers, fed and trained many small animals. (He later took care of a naughty tiger in the zoo and fed it milk by the spoonful every day.)

③ Someone used hydrogen to reduce copper oxide to obtain 5 grams of copper, please. How many grams of hydrogen participated in the reaction? These hydrogens are in the standard state! How much volume does it occupy? (The density of hydrogen is 0.09 g/L)

The notes in parentheses should be next to the text.

The brackets are part of the words in the sentence to comment or supplement, which are called brackets within the sentence.

If the annotation has punctuation, the last punctuation mark (except question mark and exclamation mark) should be omitted, (for example, ①); brackets are used to annotate or supplement the content of the entire sentence, which are called parentheses outside the sentence. If the annotation has punctuation, it can be It remains unchanged (such as | ②), or it can be used without it (such as ③).

Both brackets and dashes serve to explain, but their usage is different. When explanatory words are important, are part of the text, have a greater impact on the article, and must be read, use dashes; otherwise, use brackets.

(4) Ellipses (...)

① Indicates omissions in quotations or quotations. For example:

At that extraordinary moment, in that memorable place, I heard singing for the first time: Come in February, the scenery is beautiful, and every household is busy farming. ...

A very loud and anxious voice came from the receiver: "There is no time, please try to airlift...airlift immediately!"

② Indicates the omission of repeated words. For example:

Kong Yiji said in a low voice: "Tip off, fall off, fall off..." His face looked like he was begging the shopkeeper not to mention it again.

③ Indicates the omission of enumeration of similar things and ordinal words. For example:

(The field director) introduced us to the wild animals that Dong Kun and his team hunted: foxes, raccoon dogs, badgers, otters, wild cats... there were many kinds.

④ means silence or thinking. For example:

What is: No! Aunt Mei's body can no longer withstand the bumps on the road!

Ouyang Ping: ...

⑤ means speaking intermittently.

For example:

He...pointed directly in the north direction, "Okay, good comrade...you...you bring it to..."

⑥ indicates the interruption of language. For example:

"I don't have a lot of money. I have to sell these and then go..."

"Oh, you have released a Taoist platform, and you still say you don't have a lot of money?" You now have a concubine with three wives, and you only carry eight sedans when you go out. Isn’t that enough? ... You can’t hide anything from me.”

⑦ It means that the words are not finished and the meaning is not finished. For example:

For so many years, he has not had time to listen to my report once. Prime Minister, Prime Minister, where can I report to you now? ...

But suddenly I received reliable news that Rou Shi and thirteen other people had been shot dead at the Longhua Police Headquarters on the night of February 7 and 8, and he had been shot ten times. bomb.

That’s it! ...

When using ellipses, please note:

① The ellipsis means "etc.", "etc.", so there is no need to use "etc.", "etc." after the ellipsis.

②The ellipsis occupies the position of two characters, one to six dots. If what is omitted is a large paragraph or a few paragraphs of text or poetry, it can be represented by twelve dots, in a separate line, without a grid.

(5) Book title number (""〈〉)

The book title number indicates the name of a book, chapter, newspaper, play, song, etc. For example:

a. "Middle School Students" b. "Chinese Newspaper" c. "The Sound of the Waves Are Still"

When using the book title number, please note:

① In the book title When there is a book title, use a double title number on the outside and a single title number on the inside. For example:

"Reflections on Reading "The Story of Shizhongshan"".

② When the book title and chapter title are used together, write the book title first, then the chapter title, with a spacer in between, and then add the book title number. For example:

"Gouzi Encouraging Learning".

2. The position of punctuation marks

In addition to using punctuation marks correctly, you should also pay attention to the writing position.

Period, question mark, exclamation mark, semicolon, colon, comma, and pause. These seven types of dots must be placed next to the text when writing, placed below the right side of the text, and occupy one character space. .

Quotation marks, brackets, and book titles are all used before and after text and occupy one character space. The first half of these three labels can appear at the beginning of a line, but cannot be placed at the end of a line; the second half can appear at the end of a line, but cannot be placed at the beginning of a line.

When writing, ellipses and dashes are placed in the middle of the character grid, occupying two characters. They can appear at the beginning of a line or at the end of a line, but they cannot be used separately, that is, they cannot occupy one space at the end of the previous line and one space at the beginning of the following line.

The spacer and hyphen are placed in the middle of the words to be spaced or connected. When writing, they occupy one word and are in the middle of the box. The connecting number occupies half a character when connecting Chinese pinyin, but occupies two characters when marking the start and end points of time running by transportation departments such as railways and highways.

Emphasis marks and proper names are placed below the text and do not occupy separate spaces.

Summary of regular methods

The examination of punctuation marks in the College Entrance Examination generally has a high level of comprehensiveness and skill. Comprehensiveness refers to the combined use of multiple punctuation marks and technical index points. Variable usage in a certain language environment (flexible use).

1. To solve punctuation questions, it is necessary to make it clear that the period indicates the length of the pause.

For example, colons are easy to use to express general and differentiated sentences, and dashes are used to express explanations or comments. Confusing usage. For example:

Put punctuation in the boxes of the following sentences:

① There will be the following programs at today’s party□Dance, solo, duet, cross talk and acrobatics.

② This workers’ congress has three agendas: review the regulations on rewards and punishments, adopt a three-year plan, and elect directors of the workers’ congress.

③ my country’s four great inventions, gunpowder, printing, compass, and papermaking, have made great contributions to the development of world history.

④ The ultimate purpose of Hu Shi’s academic activities is to act as an accomplice to the enemies of the Chinese people: imperialism, feudal warlords, and the comprador bourgeoisie.

Answer: Use colons in sentences ①② and dashes in sentences ③④.

In the above four example sentences, it seems that there are general and detailed parts, but why are colons used in sentences ①② and dashes in sentences ③④? How to distinguish it?

1. The relationship between general explanation and partial explanation is different. The sub-part is a sub-statement of the general part, using colons. For example, the part after the colon in sentences ①② is a one-by-one description of the general part. If the sub-explanatory part is an annotation of the general part, a dash should be used. For example, "Gunpowder, printing, compass, papermaking" in example ③ is an annotation of the four great inventions. In example ④, "imperialism, feudal military parade, comprador" "Bourgeoisie" is a comment on the enemies of the Chinese people.

2. If a dash is used to indicate a comment, the comment can be deleted, and the content and form of the sentence will still be complete. Example 3 can be said as: "my country's four great inventions have made great contributions to the development of world history." Example 4 can be said as: "The ultimate purpose of Hu Shi's academic activities is to act as an accomplice for the enemies of the Chinese people." effect". In sentences that use colons to express general and separate sentences, the separate sections cannot be deleted.

3. Analyzing from the aspect of tone, when colons are used to express general remarks and separate remarks, the pause time in between is longer; while when dashes are used to express comments, there is no pause time or the pause time is very short.

2. The judgment of punctuation should also be based on context and semantics

For example:

⑤ "Sister-in-law Xianglin, just leave it alone! I'll do it "Stop." the fourth aunt said hurriedly.

⑥ "Just leave it alone, Sister-in-law Xianglin!" the fourth aunt said loudly and hastily.

The two sentences have almost the same meaning, one is a regular sentence and the other is a modified sentence, but the punctuation marks are the same. Why? Because this is a single sentence, "Sister-in-law Xianglin, just leave it alone!" It just pauses between the subject and the predicate. In sentence 6, the predicate is advanced, but the exclamation point is still placed after the single sentence.

⑦ We clearly see that the broad masses of people in Shanghai have made significant contributions to the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in this fight against floods.

⑧ Scientific research shows that humans evolved from apes

When the two objects are the same, a comma is used for one and a colon is used for the other. Why? Example 7 The condition for using commas is that the object is a relatively long subject-predicate phrase. If it is not separated by commas, it will be difficult to read. Example 8: The condition of using colon is to emphasize the importance of the object, so it is placed in a more prominent position.

Another example is the semicolon, which is used between the clauses of multiple repeated sentences that express a positive relationship. The main purpose is to avoid ambiguity. For example:

⑨ The bridge bricks are dark brown, indicating its long history; but they are all intact, which makes people sigh at the beauty of ancient engineering.

⑩ He thought that it was the peak of prosperity, and beyond that it would be desolate; so let us appreciate it for a while.

Example 9 is a partial correct compound sentence about a turning relationship, and Example 10 is a partial correct compound sentence about a cause-and-effect relationship. Both use semicolons.

If a comma is used between the two, it will be easy to confuse the meaning of the previous and the previous. If a period is used, the meaning of the previous and the previous will be cut off. Using a semicolon will make the relationship between the previous and the previous clear.

3. Characteristics of punctuation marks in the college entrance examination

First, practicality. The proposition materials are combined with real life, and the use of common punctuation marks is tested, such as commas, pauses, quotation marks, semicolons, book title marks, dashes, brackets, periods, question marks, etc.

The second is to pay attention to the higher technical requirements. The content of the selected materials increases from short to long, and the complexity of the content is a concrete manifestation of the skill. For example, the first sentence in the 1997 punctuation test was very long. "This economic cooperation zone has a large amount of scientific and technological information, a strong industrial foundation, a huge market for living materials and production materials, and rich resources such as animals and plants, minerals, seafood, tourism, etc." Because of the parallel phrase, the leader used a comma , the juxtaposition in the sub-items uses a comma, which is correct.

Of course, sometimes there are situations that are difficult to grasp. For example, there is a sentence in the 1997 exam question that goes like this: "When the sun is completely covered by the moon, compared with the goddess-like comet Hale-Bopp, the clear Mercury shines brightly beside the darkened sun. Next to it, Venus and Jupiter also appear in the sky at the same time. "The mistake in this question is the improper use of quotation marks. There is no need for quotation marks. If it is for emphasis, it should be marked as "Comet Hale-Bopp." Such sentences can be solved by analogy.

I hope it helps you. If so, please agree and adopt it. Thank you.