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Punctuation Marks

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Ranjith
from hyderabad |

Punctuation marks give meaning to and enhance the language we use. They help us to a great extent and convey what we really have in our mind.They look like artforms; each one of them bringing different images to our minds.

For example, the writer here ( sorry, link not found: The Hindu Open PageTongue out) says that the apostrophe looks like a comma hanging in the air. What images do each of the following punctuation marks bring to your mind?

  • . Full Stop
  • , Comman
  • ? Question Mark
  • : Colon
  • ; Semicolon
  • ' Single Inverted Comma, Apostrophe
  • " Double Inverted Commas

Which is the punctuation mark that you like to use frequently and what is the one which you feel people around you overuse? (Overuse refers to using it even though it is unnecessary)

And, finally would you mind sharing any experiences of yours related to punctuation marks.

Replies 1 to 5 of 5

Pooja Pradeep
from Bangalore |

I use "!" Exclamation mark a lotWink. Actually OVERUSETongue outTongue out.

Haven't noticed other people'sSurprised.

Ranjith
from hyderabad |

If your smileeys were replaced by non graphic symbols, you would be overusing : - ) ( ; ..... all the punctuation marks Tongue out

Ranjith
from hyderabad |

Here's my reply, definitely the first one unlike hereWink. I haven't had any opinions on any punctuation mark, whether it is before I read that article whose link I had given or even even reading reading it. But since, I feel that the thraed creator has to give a reply, here are the images that I would force from now onwards to pop into my mind whenever I see them:

. Dimensionless

, Something we can use to test if the ink flow is smooth

? Well built

, both tall and fat

: I can never accept that it is a punctuation mark

; eye wink Winkand a punctuation mark that I feel can very easily replace the comma

" Rain drops trickling from the roof

' The rain drop that has lost its partner Tongue out

Coming to any incidents, I just remember one. It was in our second nor third class (not sure): We were asked in an exam a 'Fill in the blank' question whose answer was apostrophe. The teacher must have realized that none of the students must be knowing the answer and so the question has been chnaged and also we were told that anyone answering the questio.n (correctly Undecided ) would be given grace marks. And the answer that I have given was some abbreviated form of a negation - don't or somethinbg like that.

And the punctuation mark I like to use as often as I can is the semicolon, though I hardly use it. Andthe inspiration here being the open page and editorial in the Hindu where it is often used.

Ranjith
from hyderabad |

Again the second reply... Undecided Taken time to format it after copy pasting it from notepad....

Anunoy Samanta
from Bardhaman |

and my favourite punctuation marks are "..." which i use instead of any coma,fullstop or what so ever Laughing

and i have full faith on the notion that i overuse it all the time... i love it coz i feel that thoughts in our mind also flow in that same pattern... got it?... cheers!

Ranjith
from hyderabad |

I have started using them after seeing other do so on Indi........................................... Laughing

Micky Fernandez
from Kolkata |

Have you read any of the newspaper articles of the columnist Herb Caen?

Anunoy Samanta
from Bardhaman |

i've seen it enough how english is taught in:

10th - Laughing

12th- Foot in mouth

graduation- Frown

so we cant really feel pathetic judging our co-bloggers merely by their '10+2+3' plus points... may be it's the bad air which ruining our good habits and making us addicts to all possible addictions of adopting shortcuts in each and every field Tongue out

Ranjith
from hyderabad |

Though unrelated to the topic of discusions, your reply reminds me of a joke which I have seen on facebook. It was about how difficulty level of problems increases from class sums to homework sums to those asked in exams. The question was about finding the equivalent resistance.

Class  : Simple combination of just two or three resistors

Home Work : Complex but solvable and requires time

Exam: I doubt if it can be solved with just the basics

Smile