In today's world, punctuation sometimes fades into the background. Corresponding with relatives and friends by phone or computer, people not only ignore punctuation marks within a phrase, but also do without them at the end of a sentence. Perhaps the lack of time affects, or you want to save money (if funds are withdrawn for each character). But sooner or later there is a need to return to the world of a literate Russian language. Pauses, emotions, the meaning of a sentence cannot be expressed without punctuation marks. For their correct setting, certain knowledge is required.
Punctograms
What are punctograms? The first part of this word is translated from Latin as "point", "sign", and from Greek "gram" - "letter", "mark". So, literally, the term can be translated by the phrase "inscribed sign." In punctuation, a section of grammar, this term refers to the rules for the use or absence of punctuation marks. To understand what punctuation is, it is necessary to distinguish between the areas of use of symbols used in punctuation.
Punctuation marks
The first punctogram of the Russian language is a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Here you can put a period, question and exclamation marks, ellipsis. Which character appears at the end depends on the purpose of the statement. According to the chosen punctuation mark, sentences are divided into three groups (narrative, motivating, exclamatory).
With the help of interrogative sentences you can get the necessary information: "Is it cold outside?", "Is it raining?", "Bring an umbrella?", "Wear boots?".
They are pronounced with a rising tone at the end of a sentence and most often end with a question mark.
At the end of declarative sentences that convey information that is not associated with strong emotions, a dot or ellipsis (in case of understatement) is put: "The sun is shining outside." Phrases designed to convey emotions and feelings end with an exclamation mark: “How nice it is around!”.
In incentive sentences, they express a request, demand, force to do something: "Get up", "Go straight", "Turn left", "Look up". It is also possible to put an exclamation point here.
In order to emphasize the speaker's emotions, two signs can be placed at the end simultaneously: "You haven't left yet!?".
Separation marks
Separation signs (comma, dash, colon, semicolon) will help you better understand what punctograms are:
- Special techniques for designing sentences containing the enumeration: "It's nice to swim, sunbathe and play outdoor games on the sea."
- Distinguishing simple sentences combined into a single whole: “The weather was good on the first day, then the wind blew, a blizzard broke out.”
- Dash between members of the predicative (subject and predicate): "Wind is a natural phenomenon."
Isolation marks
Elevation marks (commas, brackets, dashes, colons, quotation marks) demonstrate other examples of punctograms and perform the following functions:
- Separation of definitions, circumstances, additions, applications, clarifying units and constructions: “Tomorrow, at 9.00, we will go to enjoy the beauties of the river, gently carrying its waves into the boundless sea.”
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Isolation of introductory words, phrases, sentences, plug-in and clarifying constructions: “Probably the weather will be bad tomorrow.”
- Putting punctuation marks in sentences with the appeal: "Nikita, wash the dishes, take out the trash and wait for me at the store."
- Punctuation on writing someone else's sentences: "He said it would be cold tomorrow."
It is impossible to ignore punctuation marks, because not a single emoticon can convey the emotions of oral speech in a letter so that they are understandable to all people who speakin Russian. What are punctograms you need to know along with spellings in order to learn how to correctly formulate your thoughts in writing.
