A quotation that is an exclamation.
What a game that was!
After words or phrases that have no
grammatical function in the sentence but indicate
strong emotion.
Great Scott ! Is it that late?
Oh! I didnt know there was anyone in the
chapel complex.
Dash
A dash is used to show an interruption within
a sentence such as a sudden break, or an abrupt
change in thought. It is also used to indicate an
unfinished sentence. The dash may also be used
to set off certain words, phrases, or clauses. A
dash is used to mean, namely, in other
words, that is, etc., before an explanation.
Examples of various uses of the dash are shown
below.
A dash encloses a thought that sharply
interrupts the normal flow of the sentence.
The title--if, indeed the poem had a
title--has escaped me.
He might--and according to plans
should--have done the work himself.
A dash is also used to indicate an
unfinished word or sentence.
He shouted, Dont she--
Did you hear--?
Quotation Marks
Quotation marks are used to enclose a word
or words of a writer when they are quoted
verbatim. These marks are used to set off direct
quotes and other words from the rest of the
sentence. Examples of various uses of quotation
marks are shown below,
A quotation set off from the rest of the
sentence.
We can reach them by telephone, she
said.
5-26
A quotation divided into two or more
parts.
GO home, he pleaded, before you
cause more trouble.
NOTE: Commas and periods are always placed
inside the quotation marks.
Semicolons and colons are always placed
outside the quotation marks.
Jim, my grandfather said, you must
stop being a burden on your family; then
he suggested that I get a job.
The following books are ones Mr. Sims
describes as required reading: the Bible,
Milton, and Shakespeare.
Quotation marks are used to enclose the
titles of chapters, articles, etc.
Read chapter 37, Childrens Poetry.
I enjoyed Alperts story, The Home of
a Stranger, in the paper.
NOTE: Book titles and names of magazines are
indicated by underlining (italics in print).
Quotation marks are used to enclose slang,
technical terms, and expressions that are unusual
in standard English.
I heard him characterized as a
screwball.
Because his first name was Fiorello, Mayor
La Guardia was known as the little
flower.
Parentheses
Parentheses are used before and after
expressions to set them off from the rest of the
sentence. The expressions that are set off may be
a word, a phrase, or a sentence that is inserted
in a sentence as a comment or an explanation. The
parentheses are closely related to the pair of
commas. They both enclose a grammatically
nonessential element in a sentence or a word,
phrase, or clause which changes the normal order