The Grammar Doctor

Minor Marks of of Punctuation

Dashes

A dash indicates an abrupt break in the thought of a sentence. Harry decided to buy a carload of chocolate soldiers--anything to get his mind off the loss of Lola Lamour.

Parentheses

Parentheses indicate the inclusion of some subordinate element that interrupts the flow of thought in the sentence. Harry (remembering his last dance with Lola) bit off another piece of chocolate.

Quotation marks, brackets, and ellipses

Direct quotations are enclosed within quotation marks. Direct quotations are the exact words of a speaker. The quoted material is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma, which comes before the quotation marks.

Professor Stulpin stated, " Psychological analysis indicates that Dr. Savoir Faire was a sociopathic personality with schizoid tendencies, delusions of grandeur and definite paranoia. His Rorschach indicates severe sibling rivalry and a serious Oedipus complex."

If something is added to or taken from a direct quotation for the purpose of clarity, brackets or ellipses indicate the omission or addition. An ellipsis mark indicates that part of the quoted material has been omitted.

" Dr. Savoir Faire was a sociopathic personality with ... definite paranoia."

Brackets are used to insert explanatory material into a direct quotation. They show that the explanation is not part of the original quotation.

" Dr. Savoir Faire was a [sociopath whose] Rorschach indicated ... a serious Oedipal complex."


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