Commas, dashes, ellipsis

Front

What is a comma?

Back

A comma is a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence or to separate items in a list.

Front

When should commas be used in a list?

Back

Commas should be used to separate three or more items in a list, e.g., "I bought apples, oranges, and bananas."

Front

What is a dash?

Back

A dash (—) is a punctuation mark used to indicate a break in thought or to set off a phrase for emphasis.

Front

How do you use dashes in a sentence?

Back

Dashes can be used to add additional information or to create emphasis, e.g., "She was going to the store—if it wasn't raining."

Front

What is an ellipsis?

Back

An ellipsis is a series of three dots (...) used to indicate the omission of words or a pause in thought.

Front

When should ellipses be used?

Back

Ellipses should be used when quoting text to indicate that some words have been omitted, e.g., "To be or not to be... that is the question."

Front

What is the purpose of using commas in compound sentences?

Back

Commas are used before conjunctions (like 'and', 'but', 'or') to separate independent clauses in compound sentences.

Front

How do you correctly use dashes to separate clauses?

Back

Dashes can be used to separate clauses for emphasis, e.g., "The results were clear—everyone passed the test."

Front

What is the difference between a dash and a hyphen?

Back

A dash (—) is longer and used for breaks in thought, while a hyphen (-) is shorter and used to connect words or parts of words.

Front

How can ellipses change the meaning of a quote?

Back

Ellipses can change the meaning by omitting parts of the quote, which may alter the context or emphasis of the original statement.