Punctuation

Hyphen (-): joins compound words or word parts. Example: well-known, mother-in-law.
Dash (—): separates parts of a sentence or shows a sudden break. Example: He was the best student — everyone agreed.

Semicolon (;): used to join two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction.
Example: It was raining heavily; we decided to stay indoors.

Inverted commas / Quotation marks (“ ”): used to enclose direct speech, titles of stories/poems, and words used in a special sense.

We use a capital letter in the middle of a sentence for: proper nouns (names of people, places, months, days), the pronoun “I”, abbreviations, and titles.

Ellipsis (...): used to show that words have been left out, or to create a pause for dramatic effect. Example: “He waited and waited... but she never came.”

“Where are you going?” asked the policeman. “I’m going to the railway station,” replied the boy.
Quotation marks around speech; question mark; comma before reporting verb; apostrophe in “I’m”; capitals for sentence beginnings.

“The train leaves at 6:30 p.m. from New Delhi Station, doesn’t it?”
Colon in time; full stops in p.m.; capital letters for proper nouns; apostrophe in “doesn’t”; question mark for tag question.

“Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India’s Missile Man, inspired millions of students across the country.”
Abbreviation with full stops; commas around the appositive; apostrophe for possession; capitals for proper nouns and title.

The shopkeeper said, “We have mangoes, oranges, and papayas. Which one would you like?”
Comma after “said”; quotation marks; commas in list; full stop after first sentence; question mark.

“It’s a beautiful day. Let’s go to Neha’s house and borrow her brother’s bicycle.”
“It’s” (it is); “Let’s” (let us); “Neha’s” (possession); “brother’s” (possession).

“Have you ever visited the Red Fort in Delhi?” asked Mrs. Gupta. “Yes, I went there last December,” replied Ankit. “It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan, wasn’t it?” he added.
Corrections: capitals (H, R, F, D, M, G, Y, D, I, E, S, J); quotation marks (3 sets); question marks (2); commas (after “Delhi”, “Yes”, “December”, “Jahan”); full stop after “Gupta”; apostrophe in “wasn’t”.

(a) “Let’s eat, grandma!” — Calling grandma to come eat (comma = direct address).
“Let’s eat grandma!” — Suggests eating grandma herself (no comma = grandma is the object). The comma saves grandma’s life!

(b) First version: A woman without a man is nothing (woman depends on man).
Second version: Without a woman, a man is nothing (man depends on woman).
Punctuation completely reverses the meaning.

Model dialogue:
“Good morning! What do you need today?” asked the shopkeeper.
“I need two notebooks and a geometry box,” said the customer.
“Sure! Would you like the large notebooks or the small ones?”
“The large ones, please. How much will it cost?”
“That will be one hundred and fifty rupees,” replied the shopkeeper.
(Award marks for correct use of quotation marks, commas, question marks, and exclamation marks.)

“India’s population is over 140 crore. The country’s capital, New Delhi, is known for its historical monuments. The children’s park near India Gate is everyone’s favourite spot. Don’t you think so?”
Errors corrected: “India’s” (apostrophe); “country’s” (apostrophe); commas around “New Delhi”; “children’s” (apostrophe); “everyone’s” (apostrophe); “Don’t” (apostrophe); question mark at end.

(a) My uncle lives in Mumbai, the financial capital of India.
(b) She bought pens, pencils, erasers, and notebooks.
(c) “Hurry up! The bus is leaving!” shouted the conductor.