punctuation

/,pʌɳktju'eiʃn/

Thân thiện

A student carefully adds punctuation to her essay.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The system or practice of using standardized marks in written text: Punctuation refers to the set of rules and conventions for using marks like periods, commas, and question marks to separate elements, clarify meaning, and indicate pauses or intonation in sentences.
   • The marks themselves: Punctuation can also mean the specific symbols (e.g., ., ,, ?, !, ;, :, —, “ ”) used within this system.
   • (Figurative) Regular interruptions or breaks: In a broader sense, punctuation can describe anything that creates repeated, regular interruptions in a sequence or flow.

Usage and Examples

• As the system/rules:
  • Proper punctuation is essential for clear writing.
  • The teacher reviewed the rules of punctuation with the class.
• As the marks/symbols:
  • Check your essay for spelling errors and missing punctuation.
  • The most common punctuation mark is the period.
• In a figurative sense:
  • The day was a punctuation of brief meetings between long periods of work.

Advanced Usage

• "Punctuation mark": The specific term for an individual symbol used in punctuation (e.g., comma, apostrophe, hyphen).
  • The semicolon is a useful but often misunderstood punctuation mark.
• "Close punctuation": A style of writing that uses many punctuation marks.
  • Legal documents often use close punctuation.
• "Open punctuation": A modern style that uses minimal punctuation, especially in things like business letters.
  • The trend in email is toward open punctuation.

Variants and Related Words

• Punctuate (verb): To insert punctuation marks into text. Figuratively, to interrupt or accentuate at intervals.
  • Remember to punctuate your sentences correctly.
  • His speech was punctuated by long pauses.
• Punctuational (adjective): Relating to punctuation.
  • There are minor punctuational differences between British and American English.

Synonyms

• Stops (British, informal): Punctuation marks, especially periods/full stops.
• Pointing (Archaic): The act of adding punctuation.

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary meaning is grammatical and orthographic (the marks and their use in writing).
• The figurative meaning relies on the analogy of marks creating breaks in a textual "flow," applied to events creating breaks in time or a process.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the use of certain marks to clarify meaning of written material by grouping words grammatically into sentences and clauses and phrases
2. the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases
3. something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions

Từ đồng nghĩa

• punctuation mark