Punctuation
El Punto
El punto, también conocido como punto final en inglés británico, marca el final de una frase. El punto también se utiliza para expresar abreviaturas, separar números enteros de decimales y crear elipsis (tres puntos que indican que falta alguna parte de una frase).
Mr. Pirez was happy to be part of the new team.
I woke up at 6 a.m. on the dot.
They spent $76.37 in total.
Then he took the microphone, and we all know what happened next…
La Coma
En inglés, las comas separan las frases en partes manejables. He aquí las distintas formas de utilizar las comas.
Separación de Sustantivos, Verbos y Adjetivos
She studied math, geography, history and political science that semester.
I will take almonds, pine nuts, Brazil nuts and macadamias please.
He was so happy he jumped, yelled and danced all the way home.
Yesterday I tripped, dropped my bag and cut my hand falling down the stairs.
My sister is a smart, funny, ambitious and generous person.
I was not impressed by the rusty, dirty and generally beat up car he had for sale.
Separación de Oraciones Independientes
We drove home, we did all of the laundry, after that we fell asleep.
I will go tomorrow, I might even get there early.
Separación de Cláusulas No Restrictivas
The party, which started at 7 p.m., was for her thirtieth birthday.
My grandma, who is Hungarian, loves to knit scarves for all of her grandchildren.
Ápendices Interrogativos
He left work at noon, didn't he?
We’ve been on the waitlist for months, haven't we?
Interjecciones
Wait, you don't have the tickets?
Hmm, this isn't exactly what I meant.
We're having ham for dinner, yes.
El Signo de Exclamación
Los signos de exclamación se utilizan para expresar sorpresa, asombro o para dar énfasis.
Oh my goodness!
You can't be serious!
Turn the music down right now!
El Signo de Interrogación
El signo de interrogación muestra una palabra, frase o cláusula interrogativa en inglés.
Where are you going later?
Marc likes chicken, doesn't he?
Is my backpack in the backseat of your car?
You do?
Los dos puntos
Los dos puntos son signos de puntuación que preceden a una lista o explicación.
I chose five subjects to study this term: psychology, sociology, biology, chemistry and physics.
There were only two rules: keep your room clean and help out with the cooking.
I had one thing on my mind: how to make as much money as possible that summer.
El punto y coma
El punto y coma separa elementos de listas largas y une cláusulas independientes. Son más fuertes que las comas, pero no tan definitivos como los puntos.
I hate doing laundry; all of the separating annoys me.
Many world landmarks, the Matsushima islands in northeastern Japan; the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia; Yosemite National Park in the United States and Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe, were still on his bucket list.
La Comilla
Las Comillas se utilizan cuando se escribe algo que otra persona ha dicho exactamente.
He told me to "start acting like an adult or leave"!
In my opinion the most beautiful thing shakespeare ever wrote was "This above all: to thine ownself be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."
I wasn't quite sure what she meant by "respectable clothes", so I wore this suit." %}
El Apóstrofe
Existen dos usos para el apóstrofe en Inglés. Los apóstrofes sustituyen a las letras que faltan en las contracciones:
He can't (cannot) come to work today, he's sick.
You shouldn't (should not) smoke in the hospital.
I'm (I am) running late!
El otro uso de los apóstrofes es para indicar posesión:
Miranda's purse was stolen from her car.
The school's front gate is locked.
The bus' window had been smashed in the storm.
The women's bathroom line up was very long.
El Guión
En inglés, el guión se utiliza para palabras compuestas y también para la división de palabras.
The ghost-like figure stood at the window.
My eight-year-old sister came first in the race.
One-fifth of the team had forgotten their hockey sticks.
She kept her computer up-to-date with the latest security software.
Paréntesis
Los paréntesis se utilizan de forma similar a las comas: muestran información adicional que no es necesariamente esencial para el significado de la frase.
Her bedroom (which was the biggest) had a huge window overlooking the lake.
I didn’t go to the party (I would have seen him if I did).
One-fifth of the team had forgotten their hockey sticks.
The car (a 2012 Subaru Outback) was filthy from the drive through the field.