Reading, Language, and Literature, Part 11

Question 1: List some uses of the colon and its purpose.

Answer 1: The colon is used primarily to call attention to the words that follow it. In addition, the colon has some other conventional uses:1. Use a colon after an independent clause to direct attention to a list, an appositive, or a quotation.2. Use a colon between independent clauses if the second summarizes or explains the first.3. Use a colon after the salutation in a formal letter, to indicate hours and minutes, to show proportions, between a title and subtitle, and between city and publisher in bibliographic entries.A colon must be preceded by a full independent clause. Avoid using colons in the following situations:1. Between a verb and its object or complement2. Between a preposition and its object3. After such as, including, or for example

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Question 2: List some uses of the apostrophe. List two common errors in using apostrophes.

Answer 2: An apostrophe is used to indicate that a noun is possessive. Possessive nouns usually indicate ownership, as in Bill’s coat or the dog’s biscuit. Sometimes ownership is only loosely implied, as in the dog’s coat or the forest’s trees. If it is unclear whether a noun is possessive, turning into phrase may clarify it.If the noun is plural and ends in–s, add only an apostrophe. To show joint possession, use –’s with the last noun only. To show individual possession, make all nouns possessive.An apostrophe is often optional in plural numbers, letters, abbreviations, and words mentioned as words. Common errors in using apostrophes include the following:1. Using an apostrophe with nouns that are not possessive2. Using an apostrophe in the possessive pronouns its, whose, his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs

Question 3: Discuss the uses of quotation marks.

Answer 3: Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations of a person’s words, spoken or written. Do not use quotation marks around indirect quotations. An indirect quotation reports someone’s ideas without using that person’s exact words.Set off long quotations of prose or poetry by indenting. Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation. Quotation marks should be used around the titles of short works: newspaper and magazine articles, poems, short stories, songs, episodes of television and radio programs, and subdivisions of books or web sites.Punctuation is used with quotation marks according to convention. Periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, whereas colons and semicolons are placed outside quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation points are placed either inside or outside quotation marks, depending on the rest of the material in the sentence.Do not use quotation marks around the title of your own essay.

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