Capitalization and Punctuation Study Guide

Semicolons

• Between two independent clauses (an independent clause is a complete thought. It has a subject and a predicate. See Section 2.) → Edward joined the basketball team; remarkably, the 5´4˝ young man excelled at the sport.
• Between elements in a series that uses commas → The possible dates for the potluck dinner are Thursday, June 5; Saturday, June 7; or Monday, June 9.

Colons

• Before a list → Grandma brought Chloe's favorite three sweets: chocolate kisses, Tootsie Rolls, and a Snickers bar.
• Between titles and subtitles → Finding Your Dream Home: A Buyer's Guide.
• Between volumes and page numbers → Marvel Comics 21:24
• Between chapters and verse → Job 4:12
• Between hours and minutes → It's 2:00 A.M.—time to sleep.

Apostrophes

• Contractions: A contraction is a combination of two words into one, such as don't (do not) and it's (it is). The apostrophe indicates that some letters have been omitted: do + not = don[o]t; it + is = it[i]s → I can't go with you.
• Possessives: A possessive is a word that shows ownership of some sort. The dog's bowl tells us that the bowl belongs to the dog, and we make dog possessive by adding 's. If we have two dogs, however, we already have an s to indicate that there is more than one dog (plural). If the two dogs own the bowl, we make it possessive by adding an apostrophe after the s: the dogs' bowl → This is Mike's house. These are the students' desks.
• Exception: The one exception to the above rules is its and it's. The apostrophe in it's indicates a contraction of it is. To make it possessive, therefore, we do not use an apostrophe: its bowl → I think it's (it is) going to rain. The dog ate from its (possessive) bowl.

Commas

• Between items in dates and addresses → Michael arrived at Ellis Island, New York, on February 14, 1924.
• Between words in a list → The university hired a woman to direct the Bursar's, Financial Aid, and Registrar's offices.
• Between equally important adjectives (be careful not to separate adjectives that describe each other) → The reporter spoke with several intense, talented high school athletes.
• After words that precede a direct quotation → David whined, "I am famished."
• In a quotation that precedes a tag and is not a question or an exclamation → "I am famished," whined David.
• Around nonessential clauses, parenthetical phrases, and appositives. (A nonessential or nonrestrictive clause is a word or group of words that is not necessary for the sentence's completion; a parenthetical phrase interrupts the flow of a sentence; and an appositive is a word or group of words that renames the preceding noun) → Matt's mother, Janie (appositive), who has trouble with directions (nonessential clause), had to ask for help.
• Before or after a dependent clause. → We checked our luggage (independent clause), hoping for the best (dependent clause).
• Before conjunctions. (Conjunctions are words that link two independent clauses together) → Drew wanted to experience ballroom dancing before his wedding, so he signed up for lessons at a local hall.

Grammar Terms

Practice exercises for these concepts can be found at: Capitalization and Punctuation Practice Exercises