Punctuation seeks to do for written composition what inflections and pauses accomplish in vocal expression. It makes clear what kind of an expression the whole sentence is: whether declarative, exclamatory, or interrogative. And it assists in indicating the relations of the different parts within a sentence. While there is practically uniformity in the method of punctuation at the end of a sentence, within a [302] sentence punctuation shows much variety of method. Where one person uses a comma, another inserts a semicolon; and where one finds a semicolon sufficient, another requires a colon. It should be remembered that the parts of a sentence have not equal rank; and that the difference in rank should, as far as possible, be indicated by the marks of punctuation. Keeping in mind, also, the fact that the internal marks of punctuation,—the colon, the semicolon, and the comma,—have a rank in the order mentioned, from the greatest to the least, a writer will use the stronger marks when the rank of the parts of a sentence demands them, and the weaker marks to separate the lesser elements of the sentence. The sentences below illustrate the variety which may be practiced, and the use of punctuation to show the relation and rank of the elements of a sentence.
- Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste but there are definite rules for final punctuation.
- Internal punctuation is largely a matter of taste; there are, however, definite rules for final punctuation.
- Internal punctuation, the purpose of which is to group phrases and clauses which belong together and to separate those which do not belong together, and to indicate the relative rank of the parts separated, is, to a great extent, a matter of taste: on the other hand, there are definite rules for final punctuation, the object of which is to separate sentences, and also to assist in telling what kind of a sentence precedes it; that is, whether it be declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory.
Looking at the first sentence, we find two elements of equal rank separated by a comma. Some authors would prefer no punctuation at all in a sentence as short as this. Again, if one wished to make the two elements very independent, he would use a semicolon. There would be but little difference in meaning between no punctuation and a comma; but there is a wide difference in meaning between no punctuation and a semicolon. The independence caused by the use of the semicolon is felt in the second sentence, where the words are the same except one. In this sentence [303] a colon might be used; and one might go so far as to make two sentences of it. Notice that in these two sentences the question is how independent you wish the elements to be, and it is also a question of taste. In the third sentence, there are elements of different rank. To indicate the rank, punctuation of different value must be introduced. The two independent elements are separated by a colon. A semicolon might be used, if a semicolon were not used within the second independent element. This renders the greater mark necessary. Look at the commas in the first independent element. The assertion is that “internal punctuation is a matter of taste.” This is too sweeping. It is modified by an explanatory phrase, “to a large extent;” and this phrase is inclosed by commas. Moreover, the long clause indicating the purpose of internal punctuation is inclosed by commas. The use of a semicolon in the second part falls under the third rule for the semicolon. If one should substitute for this semicolon a comma and a dash, he could use a semicolon instead of a colon for separating the two main divisions of the sentence. However, the method in which they are first punctuated is in accord with the rules generally accepted. The simplest of these rules are given below but one must never be surprised to find a piece of literature in which the internal punctuation is at variance with these rules.
CAPITAL LETTERS.
- A capital letter begins every new sentence.
- A capital letter begins every line of poetry.
- All names of Deity begin with a capital letter.
- All proper names begin with capital letters.
- All adjectives derived from proper nouns begin with capital letters.
- The first word of every direct quotation begins with a capital letter.
- Most abbreviations use capital letters.
COMMAS.
- A series of words or a series of phrases, performing [304] similar functions in a sentence, are separated from each other by commas, unless all the connectives are expressed.
- “Her voice was ever soft,
- Gentle, and low,—an excellent thing in woman.”
- “Good my lord,
- You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
- Return those duties back as are right fit,
- Obey you, love you, and most honor you.”
- But, “shining and tall and fair and straight,” because all the connectives are expressed.
- Words out of their natural order are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
- “To the unlearned, punctuation is a matter of chance.”
- Words and phrases, either explanatory or slightly parenthetical, are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
- “Then poor Cordelia!
- And yet not so; since, I am sure, my love ’s
- More richer than my tongue.”
- However when phrases and clauses are quite parenthetic, they are separated from the remainder of the sentence by parentheses, or by commas and dashes. The comma and dash is more common, and generally indicates a lesser independence of the inclosed element.
- “Then Miss Gunns smiled stiffly, and thought what a pity it was that these rich country people, who could afford to buy such good clothes (really Miss Nancy’s lace and silk were very costly), should be brought up in utter ignorance and vulgarity.”
- The nominative of direct address, and phrases in the nominative absolute construction are cut off by commas.
- “Goneril,
- Our eldest born, speak first.”
- “The ridges being taken, the troops advanced a thousand yards.”
- Appositive words and phrases are separated from the remainder of the sentence by commas.
- “In the early years of this century, such a linen weaver, named Silas Marner, worked at his vocation, in a stone cottage that stood among the nutty hedgerows near the village of Raveloe, and not far from the edge of a deserted stone-pit.”
- [305] When words are omitted, the omission is indicated by the use of a comma.
- “Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor;
- Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despis’d!”
- A comma is used before a short and informal quotation.
- “In the bitterness of his wounded spirit, he said to himself, ‘She will cast me off too.’”
- A comma is used to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence sufficiently involved to necessitate some mark of punctuation, and yet not involved enough to require marks of different ranks.
- “But about the Christmas of the fifteenth year a second great change came over Marner’s life, and his history became blent in a singular manner with the life of his neighbors.”
- Small groups of more closely related words are inclosed by commas to indicate their near relation and to separate them from words they might otherwise be thought to modify.
- “In this strange world, made a hopeless riddle to him, he might, if he had had a less intense nature, have sat weaving, weaving—looking towards the end of his pattern, or towards the end of his web, till he forgot the riddle, and everything else but his immediate sensations; but the money had come to mark off his weaving into periods, and the money not only grew, but it remained with him.”
“Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low,—an excellent thing in woman.”
“Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.”