Punctuation Potpourri

Punctuation Potpourri (22:00)

Ranging from the everyday to the esoteric, this program rounds out the study of punctuation by investigating the many functions of hyphens, apostrophes, slashes, and ellipses. Topics presented include the following: using hyphens to create compound nouns and adjectives, spell out numbers, and break lines of text; using apostrophes to form contractions, possessives, and plurals; using slashes to separate lines of poetry, offer a choice between words, and represent fractions; and using ellipses to indicate omitted text, a trailing-off of thought, and a lengthy pause. (22 minutes)

Hyphens (05:58)
The hyphen creates certain compound words and turns word groups into adjectives. Some numbers require a hyphen. Hyphens also show line breaks in typewritten text.

Apostrophe (03:41)
Apostrophes form contractions of words. The apostrophe stands in for letters that are left out. Both singular and plural nouns use apostrophes to show possession.

Special Uses of Apostrophes (03:09)
Apostrophes can form plurals of letters, numbers, and words that are being referred to as words in a sentence. "Its" is a possessive, and "it's" is a contraction and can be split into "it is."

Slash (01:52)
Slashes separate lines of poetry with a space before and after the slash. They show a choice between two or more choices. Slashes are also used to write fractions as in 3/4 or 7/16.

Ellipses and Punctuation Rules (04:51)
Ellipses are three periods or dots that indicate something is left out of a sentence or passage. Ellipses are sometimes misused to change the meaning of quotes.