How To WRITE Awesomely

How to GRAMMAR - Punctuation

How to GRAMMAR - Punctuation

Oh Lord baby Jesus, a lot of you people out there have issues with grammar.

But so do I. . .

No one wants to sit through horrible garble unless it has a good plot, and even then, it makes it difficult for us readers to understand. Let me just give an example:

"i love you christopher", Layla said and smiled so cutely. i love you 2", he exclImed. We lived hPply ever afters.

It was so disjointed and terrible I winced just writing it.

→ Now, first let me point out of some of the obvious things. I didn't capitalize the I, or Christopher. Second, I didn't spell exclaimed or happily, or even after correctly. Third, the comma came AFTER the quotation mark, and fourth, smiled so cutely should be a federal crime. I don't even think that's a legitimate sentence. It definitely is not how I would want to write a sentence. Oh, and I used 2. Numbers should be spelled when you write. Unless it's a legal document, no need for actual numbers. Or if it's a list.

In this How to, I will give you tips on how to better your grammar.

For one, semi colon. Not a lot of people know what that is or how it works.

First let me show you what it is → ;

Yes it is that little coma with a period on top. We figured that out.

→ Now: what does it do?

To use my own words, it is used to link two clauses, or ideas in one sentence. Basically two sentences in one, is how my English teacher in the seventh grade explained it.

Now practice joining the two ideas or sentences using a semi colon. Let me give you a head start for #1.

#1: Jimmy was so adorable in his itty bitty footy pajamas. It was one that his mother made for him during the summer.

Jimmy was so adorable in his itty bitty footy pajamas; his mother had made it during the summer.

#2: There was no room left in the car for me. I would have to squeeze in the back with Carmen and Joy.

#3: The animal moved swiftly towards the prey. His eyes never left the limping body of squirrel.

Good? Good.

→ Next is the comma.

This should be quick and easy. A comma is used to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

OR use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

So when you describe something. (i.e It was dark, cold, and musty outside). Or before you tell something. (i.e Wait, I heard something over there).

You got it? If not, please PM me. Either I didn't describe it correctly or you're dense. Or maybe a bit of both.

Okay, next is quotation marks. My favorite.

Quotation marks are punctuation marks used in pairs to set off speech, a quotation, a phrase or a word. This is a punctuation Mark → ' '

A quotation mark is just that, but in pairs such as → " "

If your character is talking in your book, you would use quotation marks to show that he/she is speaking, such as:

"C'mon John! Bessie is waiting for us at the creek!"

That is a simple sentence showing that someone is yelling at John. You can use commas to show more than that also:

"C'mon John! Bessie is waiting for us down at the creek," Buddy shouted.

Or even: "Whoa," Lily muttered, her eyes flitting across the room.

I am pretty much assuming that you guys know what the exclamation point is, and the question mark, but if you don't here's a simple summary.

Exclamation points are used when someone is yelling, screaming, shrieking, or even talking loudly, (i.e "Hold on tight!" or "I'll save you!").

Question marks are used for asking a question, such as, "Who are you?" or "Why am I here?" Usually who, what, when, where, why, and how are used to ask a simple question.

LASTLY, is the colon. I seriously had to look this up in the dictionary, but it is a colon.
→ :

Those little periods that top each other just right. That's what that is.

Use a colon to introduce a series of items.

→ Here's an example... I would like the following: eggs, milk, bran, and bread. It is also used to say “here's what I mean.”

Okay, that was my quick lesson on How to GRAMMAR - Punctuation version.

I hope you guys got what you needed from it, and I know I definitely got a better explanation on how to use grammar correctly. And by the way, if I offended you in here by calling you dense i promise you I was just joking lol.

Alright, I'll update next time with How to WRITE CONFLICT/DRAMA

~ Absolutely_Positive ♥

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E DI T E D 10/3/16